Saturday, March 26, 2016

TAMIE FRASER'S GUIDE TO TOWNSVILLE'S SPOTTY TOURIST ATTRACTIONS INCLUDES WARNING FOR SENSITIVE MAIDEN AUNTS


Townsville once had a  fine pedestrian mall in Flinders Street  complete with a   water feature  on  which  were two  different sculptured  figures   of  a  naked,   tubby  musician ,  Benjamin ,  shown   here  tootling   on  a  curved horn .

Despite  his  nakedness,  the  figures   gave  the   city  an  air of  being a  tropical Athens ( one in the eye for snooty Adelaide )   ,  classical  refinement , a  respect for the  finer things of  life, grand old  buildings  from the  early days when  the city was regarded as the Wall Street of the North  adding  to  the image.

Then , in a moment of  tropical madness, it was decided to "revitalize "   the mall , open  it  up  to  cars   to   boost  trade  . The water feature was turned off , demolished  , the  cars that  ate  Paris and beyond  allowed in.   But things  did not work out  the way expected . Shops closed  , McDonalds  caught  fire  . Complaints were made about  the  lack of   parking , some even wanted the  broad   footpaths  cut   back  to  make  more  parking  spaces. Supermarkets  , with  big,  free   parking areas,  drained business away from  the Flinders Street  CBD, as they have in just about every other city in Australia .

But what happened to  those  unique  musicians  who  stood out on the water feature , likened in a great stretch of imagination  to  Rome's famous  Trevi Fountain  into which coinage is  thrown  with  gay abandon  ? Today, when  visiting  maiden  aunts come to Townsville they  narrowly escape being run down by cars  in   Flinders  Street and  are then  confronted and shocked  by   what  seem  to   be   naked   men   lurking    in   the  undergrowth .

My  sainted  aunt !!! What kind of  depraved   place  is  this ? As Tamie Fraser pointed out  in  a  previous  post  about the spotty attractions of Townsville, you just about have  to be  as low as a snake's duodenum   to read  the  low , hard to decipher,   information sign   on  one  interesting  spot along the Flinders Street  Heritage Trail.


In the case of the now almost  hidden, overgrown  resting place  of  Benjamin and his horn , you   have to   get  down on  you  knees , near  a  ubiquitous parking ticket  dispensing machine ,  to  learn that  it  is  a 1981  bronze cast   made  by Townsville sculptor ,  Brian  Engris  , whose   commissioned  works  include  Heavenly Soldier Still Fighting  at the  Australian Defence Forces Academy , Duntroon .  
Compare the dank, grotto  like setting of Benjamin today with  this  sunny spot on the water feature , his horn  clearly visible , looking like a  bronzed Aussie, sporting white bird droppings on body and  musical instrument . Avert  your  eyes as  you  approach , below,  another  Engris sculpture  of  Benjamin   blowing  life into the  CBD  with a conch shell . The setting is  like  a scene from Moses  in   the   Bulrushes which   could  be regarded as  fitting for  someone with the  Biblical  name  of  Benjamin ,  his   two  depictions  close to the holy   temple   known  as   the   Cowboys  Club . 
One of  the dubious attractions   of Flinders Street today  is The Bulletin Square  which  boasts a  giant TV screen catering for  idiot box  addicts .  It is sponsored  by  the  Murdoch  owned  Townsville  Bulletin newspaper .