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Pat Ritter. Books


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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Sun Dec 06, 2015 8:40 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 9:

On the 25th July we sailed into the harbour of Gibraltar, and for the charge of 2s we were allowed to go ashore. Admiralty Docks, where several gunboats were at anchor. The Welfare Officer told the party of boys who were migrating that the Rock contained many gun galleries, which were really hidden roads containing the British guns.
From the top of the Alameda Gardens, which are situated on the hillside, a bird’s eye view of the harbour may be had, and faintly, across the Straits, Africa. When we got on the ship again, I was told that the Rock had been besieged fourteen times, and now is almost impregnable. More than 1200 years ago, the Rock was of naval importance, but now its importance cannot be over-estimated.
In the next two days the ship crossed the Gulf of Lyons, arriving at Toulon on the 27th July. For such an important town, not so impressive as should be. The streets very dirty, and narrow in most places, but in the Boulevard Strasburg some fine shops, buildings and statues. We went into the Cathedral, which was very beautiful, and the large dockyard. Most of us had the new experience of changing English money into French at the rate of five francs for a shilling.
On the voyage from Toulon to Naples, the northern part of Corsica, where Napoleon was born, and later on Elba, where he spent his last days. We reached Naples on Sunday, the 29th July, and instead of anchoring in the harbour, as we did in other ports, we went right alongside the quay, so we were able to go ashore as we pleased.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:52 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 10:

I went through the dirty, narrow streets, being Sunday, most of the shops closed. Many beautiful buildings, the best being the Museum, but the streets were in a terribly dirty state. When we got back to the ship Vesuvius stood out very plainly. The steam and smoke very interesting; sometimes rose to the heavens in spiral wreaths, and sometimes in clouds, but would never be the same for a minute. In daytime, the glare of the volcano, but ten hours later the glare of Stromboli, and later in the night Etna visible.
On Monday the ship passed through the Straits of Messina, and on the last day of July we passed the island of Crete. Next day we sailed into the harbour of Port Said, and the first thing the Statue of M. de Lesseps, the Frenchman who was in charge of the construction of the Suez Canal. Whilst a slow journey through the Canal, very interesting, by day and night, for at night lit up by buoys and the ship’s searchlight. I was told that the southern part of the Canal was closely associated with the Scriptures.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Tue Dec 08, 2015 9:16 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 11:

On the 6th of August, the island Perim, and later, the ship entered the Gulf of Aden. After a few days uninteresting sailing through the Persian Gulf, we ran into South-West Monsoon, experiencing rough weather. The sky as blue as blue, sun shining quite strong, but the waves huge, and the wind (I was afterwards told) blew at about 200 miles an hour. Most of the passengers were sick, and very few were present at meal-times. Early on the morning of the 11th of August we found ourselves in Colombo Harbour, and we made a party to go for a trip to Mount Lavinia and to have tea ashore.
The drive to the Mount very pretty, and when we reached our distination a native walked up a coconut palm. Instead of the Mount being a mountain, as I thought, a beautiful beach, miles long, fringed with coconut palms. We were driven back to town by a native in a rattling old Ford car, through the cinnamon gardens and along the Galte Face Promenade. After tea, as was our custom in every port of call, we went through the native quarters. In the streets many strong odours, the chief being fish and incense.
We sailed from Colombo at 10 p.m. the same night, and next day we crossed the Equator at 10 a.m. The fun which is usually associated with the crossing of the line was absent from the “Orama”. We did not sight land after leaving Colombo for nine days, until we reached Fremantle, the most important port in Western Australia. Very quiet for a port, but its importance is due to its nearness to Perth, the capital, which is only 12 miles away, on the Swan River, this making excellent for shipping.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:24 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 12:

We sailed from Fremantle the same day, and arrived at Port Adelaide on the 24th of August. I went through Port Adelaide to Adelaide by train, but the state trains are very slow, ours going nine miles in forty-five minutes. Pleasure broad, clean streets after the filthy streets of the foreign countries.
The ship left port the same day, and arrived at Port Melbourne on the 25th of August. I went to Melbourne by electric train, which was faster than the last train I travelled to view some of its wonderful parks and gardens. Most of the trains are run by electricity, carried by overhead wires.
The city has an excellent supply of tramcars. After two days in Melbourne, and one day’s sailing after leaving Melbourne, we arrived at one of the most wonderful harbours in the world, Sydney Harbour. The entrance is guarded by the Heads, which make the entrance very narrow, thus doing away with break waters.
The harbour stretches inland for about five miles, and in some places three miles wide. The shore formed in bays, usually covered with bushes and trees. We were welcomed by an Y.M.C.A. agent, who looked after our welfare for the next three days. Most of the buildings were ten storeys high, and the streets are typical of London streets. Hyde Park, a Cleopatra’s Needle, and Paddington in the city, similar to London. We sailed from Sydney on the 1st of September, and arrived at our destination, Brisbane, on the 3rd of September.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:39 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 13:

Chapter 2
Arrival in Brisbane my accommodation a very old building at Kangaroo Point, historical whitewashed inside and out and looked, an Immigration Centre. My first meal midday dinner, corned beef, pumpkin, mashed potatoes. I'd never before eaten pumpkin or salt beef and didn't eat any. Next time food was placed in front of me I overcome my scruples and cleaned my plate.
Two days later I met the Dean of Brisbane on Coronation Drive. A bearded man, overpowering, a look of determination in his eye, sat behind a huge wooden desk. He smoked.
'Where is your four shillings landing money? Your tin trunk was taken off at Sydney. You will pay to have it transhipped to Brisbane. The money will be taken from my wages.' He roared.
I signed papers in triplicate and received a sermon on economy otherwise I wouldn't survive in Australia. I had no money whatsoever for I couldn’t afford one penny to pay the ferry fare across the Brisbane River. Instead I walked from Kangaroo Point to Coronation Drive and back again.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:39 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 14:

A few days later I found work at a place called Kia Ora near Gympie. The train journey took six hours, a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles. I met my future boss driving a Ford Truck. I'd never seen a vehicle like this before. An old truck with a wooden floor and sides, wooden seat and a plank of wood about two feet long which jutted out each side so four passengers fitted. The hood, a canopy sheltered the driver and passengers with a curved wooden shield in front. No windscreen and travelled at speed of twenty to twenty-five miles per hour. The journey most exhilarating.
We arrived before dark and shown my quarters, a wooden extension of the garage, which housed the truck. The walls weatherboard unlined and roof weatherboard. A narrow bed and mattress and some blankets, no sheets. My work started next day making cases for bananas, yes; I worked on a banana farm. Other work, chipping weeds on the banana plantation and chopping firewood for the kitchen stove. That stove had an appetite; the missus of the place insisted she only wanted scrub oak. To get this I drove a horse and cart about half a mile, fell a tree, chopped into sections and loaded the wood onto the cart and returned to the farm. Over the next few weeks, I chopped each section into pieces cut to an exact length to fit into the stove.
I never used a hoe on or before this time so the boss showed me how to use these tools. Sometime later, I worked away on another property and someone remarked, 'you're left-handed'. I denied this and told this person the boss showed me how to do the job. He laughed and repeated I was left-handed. Ever since then I have been ambidextrous. I learned to milk cows, this was easy except when the cow moved and kicked the bucket over. No bails to secure the cow, just squat down beside her and milk. Both cows were very quiet. I remarked to the boss one day the season was autumn because a huge gum tree had no leaves. He looked at me strangely and said the tree had been ringbarked and been dead for years. Stupid me.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:31 pm

'His Life Worth Living' - Page 15:

After working on the farm for some months some peculiar happenings. The boss always paid me by cheque on a Gympie Bank. This particular time I got the cheque and went into Gympie to the bank. This Bank closed. When I returned to the farm my wages paid in cash.
Sometime later he said, 'George, a bloke is coming to the farm this afternoon. I want you to go up the paddock behind a big gum tree and stay until he leaves.' This event occurred, I wondered why I needed to hide from this person. A couple of months later I received the sack. I worked on the farm a little over twelve months. To say the least I was startled, sixteen miles from a town with all my belongings. I couldn't do anything but leave.
Sunday I walked to a farmer whom I befriended. 'What's wrong George?' He asked.
'I've been sacked somehow make tracks.' Tears filled my eyes.
‘You'd better come and stay with us lad.’ He said. I did. This man and his family became the keystone of my life. They took me in and gave me a place to call home. I in turn helped them for this man a former gold miner in Gympie suffered from miner’s thrypsis and very sick. I helped him and his wife milk forty cows, and clear their land.
One day another neighbour visited. Her husband and his brother arrived from New South Wales and purchased their property named Kia Ora. They worked hard to clear vine scrub and fence.
‘George how would you like to come and live with us.’ She asked me. I couldn’t say anything, just nod my head. Their family; three daughters and a son. A very fertile soil farm with eighty Illawarra purebred milking shorthorns.
TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK: CLICK HERE: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/591980.
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