Ian Hutton, The Lord Howe Island Signal
The Museum has had a number of donations recently.
In October 2021 Hans Reuckert donated 8 boxes of papers, magazines, brochures, reports, books and science journals to the museum. There are some wonderful items in this addition. There are several magazines from the 1930’s to 1960’s with stories written about journalist’s visits to Lord Howe Island, giving wonderful first-hand glimpses into the idyllic way of life when the Island was more isolated than today.
And an interesting Tourism fact sheet 1971 by the Lord Howe Island Tourist Centre lists a number of services available and their prices:
- Return air fare via the Sandringham flying boat $91.20
- A guided walk up Mt Gower $2.00
- Accommodation at Pinetrees twin share $12 with private facilities; or $9 bungalow style share facilities with communal showers and toilets.
- Bicycle hire 40 cents per day
- Sample Island life Thursday and Sunday nights , dine and dance to live music at “Trade winds Nightclub” Dinner 6.30pm from $2.50 a la carte; dancing carries on through to the early hours of the morning.
- No telephones on the Island but telegrams radio transmitted to the mainland Monday to Friday 10 am, 2pm and 4 pm; Saturdays 10 am.
The most recently donated item, in January 2022, is an original 1795 lithograph of Admiral, Lord Howe – from whom, of course, the island gets its name.
Regular visitors, known to many island residents, Leonie and James Furber live in Sydney, and many of their friends knows of their annual pilgrimage to the Island each January. One of these friends, Ursula Potter, had in the family, an engraving of Lord Howe, and offered this to James and Leonie to bring over as a donation to the Museum.
The grandfather of Ursula was Captain Karl Hermann Winfred Raven (1880-1954) who joined the Imperial German Navy as a cadet aged 10, and rose to the rank of Captain. He spent some weeks during WWI as a Naval Attaché in the German War Headquarters in Berlin. After the war Raven joined the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping line where he became Director of passenger trade.
Captain Raven collected many naval items, most of which are now in the Bundes Military Archives in Freiburg, Germany. His estate included two engravings of famous English naval men, one of Sir Walter Raleigh, and this one of Admiral Howe, which was engraved in 1795 by Joseph Friedrich Bolt (1769-1836), a stippling engraver from Berlin whose work is in several galleries and museums around the world.
The Museum will include this engraving as part of the redesigned gallery exhibition taking place this year.
This article appeared in The Lord Howe Island Signal, 29 January 2022.
