tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post6766058928461996633..comments2023-11-04T02:36:30.385+11:00Comments on Thru my Sydney Eye: Pig-iron BobJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647929951322724618noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-54135329535844152652011-10-22T08:53:25.173+11:002011-10-22T08:53:25.173+11:00Pays to whinge, hey?Pays to whinge, hey?freefallinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08863000229609701796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-38424083676263633322011-10-15T09:08:15.556+11:002011-10-15T09:08:15.556+11:00I think the lake is the jewel of Canberra. I never...I think the lake is the jewel of Canberra. I never worked anywhere near the like - I worked in Woden, Kingston, Belconnen and Campbell - so interestingly enough have not done that walk or certainly not with a camera. I used to run breakfast seminars at the National Museum (or whatever it is called, the one where the hospital used to be). Anyway, in the early mornings the lake is always beautiful with low light and mist. <br /><br />The Carillon has always appealed to me - I like its position by the lake and its clean lines (very Canberra but much more interesting than the buildings).Joan Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16358008925558240778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-4194807463992701472011-10-15T08:31:02.691+11:002011-10-15T08:31:02.691+11:00Some really beautiful blue reflections captured th...Some really beautiful blue reflections captured there.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16361781616939928650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-24802135969952490022011-10-15T06:59:05.517+11:002011-10-15T06:59:05.517+11:00Mark - I thought you may be the one to help. I sus...Mark - I thought you may be the one to help. I suspect the yarn might be one propagated by urban myth and told to me by my father. I had never examined its veracity until last night when I had to write it down when all its internal contradictions loomed large. I agree that Japan had little post WW2 capacity and from memory exported steel only in a value-added form, radios, cars etc. i will hunt down more today, and comment when I am satisfied one way ir t'other.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09513648613788716017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-86767542798901284342011-10-15T06:42:51.643+11:002011-10-15T06:42:51.643+11:00Great post Julie. Yes agree that it is a lovely mo...Great post Julie. Yes agree that it is a lovely moment(s) to sit and listen to the Carillon play. <br />The Clarence Valley connection to this tale is when they built the Clarence River mouth Breakwall they built a rail line from Angourie to Yamba to move the rock. In the 30's the engines were sold to Japan to be smelted down.<br />I am not sure about your second idea, Australia had a large number of smelters in the 50's but possibly in the post war construction boom maybe we couldn't keep up with internal demand. You would also need to know when Japan rebuilt its smelters to the capacity to export considering the amount of steel they needed in their own reconstruction effort. If I ever find out anymore about this very interesting topic I will pass it on. You've piqued my interest.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03671691808322770184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-17864035492037685032011-10-15T02:30:20.215+11:002011-10-15T02:30:20.215+11:00The water in that first photo is so beautiful, I c...The water in that first photo is so beautiful, I could lose myself just staring at it, Julie. I don't really know why, although I suspect it is the reflection.<br />Interesting Australian history. Isn't pronunciation a strange thing? I think I like Pig-iron Bob better than Ming.<br />A purpose-built capital city is such a good idea. The capital of my home province, British Columbia, was changed from Fort Langley to New Westminster and then to Victoria, always with bad feeling attached. I was born in New Westminster and plenty of people, when I was young, still felt the capital should never have been moved to Vancouver Island. Fort Langley, meanwhile, never amounted to much except a moderately-successful tourist attraction due to, yes, the old fort.<br /><br />Kay, Alberta, Canada<br />An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous TravelKay L. Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09966266404058177742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917748826116414599.post-46523712260577509752011-10-15T00:14:52.620+11:002011-10-15T00:14:52.620+11:00I feel compelled to leave the first comment to exp...I feel compelled to leave the first comment to explain the title to this post. As well as being known as Ming (because in some circles, Menzies is pronounced 'Mingus'), Sir Robert was also known, quite disparagingly, as 'Pig-iron Bob'. In 1938 he had a heated battle with water-side workers who refused to load iron for Japan (Japan then running amok through China). Somehow, I thought that after the war, during the 50s sometime, he was obliged to buy iron (or steel) back from Japan due to a shortage of it here at home. But I cannot find support for this second part of my recollection. Help me if you can, but I will keep looking, too.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09513648613788716017noreply@blogger.com