Wednesday, September 6, 2017

DESPERATELY SEEKING EFFIE

On  the trail of  an  adventurous family  in  North Australia 

On a recent Little Darwin expedition  to  North Queensland , the hunt was on to   find  the   last  resting place of New Zealand  born writer and poet ,  Effie  Pike, the subject of  the above  1937  newspaper article. She was  the mother of Glenville Pike, who became a  prolific  writer, historian , author , publisher and  artist , well known in the Northern Territory and Queensland .
 
  By Peter  Simon
 
The Cairns Post newspaper article said  Effie Pike , Glenville , aged  11,  and her sister  Dorothy  Francis  (actually her cousin ) ,  had come to town after being in "the wilds" of  Cape York  for nearly two  years .

Under the  nom de plume, June Eversleigh,  she contributed to London newspapers , had  completed two novels , one accepted by a  Hollywood  film company as  a  scenario . 

In the past four years she had been living in North Queensland collecting information  for novels . The trio had been living in a miner's  hut, the nearest neighbour   five miles away , from  where their provisions were brought in by  packhorse. Effie  had not "seen " a shop  for two years .

Near their hut was a pool  in which they swam , creeks said to be infested by crocodiles , but none had been seen . Effie also wrote songs, the latest , Let Me Whisper a  Love Story to You , which would be played   at the weekend on   Cairns  radio station, 4CA.  

Four years previously , members of the Cairns Art Society  had  been impressed by the artwork of young  Glenville,  despite  having  not received any  tuition . His mother intended   to  get  art  lessons for him . In  several weeks the three  would leave  for Sydney   and   Effie intended  to  go  to America  the next year .  
 
I first met  Effie, her "sister"   and   Glenville in  Darwin in the l950s  when they used  to come to the Northern Territory  News  , where I worked as a reporter. The editor , Jim Bowditch , urged me  to buy from Glenville  the latest copy of his  North Australian Monthly, which he owned and edited , and hand painted Christmas  cards he made , because the Pikes lived like "church mice" .  There was a  time when  they offered to sell their rural property to me at the 22-mile , south of  Darwin .  My wife looked at the primitive  tin structure  in which they lived , with a packed earth floor in one part, a wood burning stove , and flashed a  very  meaningful  glance , NO!


On the recent  trip to Cairns  I  went to Mareeba , where  Glenville, who  had died in 2011, aged 86, had lived with  his  second wife ,  noted  the street named after him , and   toured the cemetery  in  the  search  for    further   information   about Glenville  and   Effie ,  Dorothy.

At  the large  Cairns cemetery , not certain that  it was  the  last resting place of  Effie , I tramped  all over the site,  finding  many interesting gravestones in the process .  A council worker  on  a ride on mower was chased  and eventually   directed me to another man , far away, on  a  tractor , saying  he  would  be able to help . 


As  I drew  near  the tractor it was  driven  away...more footslogging and  later  it was found parked  next to a low building  with , of all things ,  a   large  vegetable  garden  . Sure  enough , the   tractor  driver  inside was  the key to  the  hunt  for  Effie .

He pulled out a   folder, ran his finger down a  page and directed  me to a numbered grave , a short distance  away, where  I  photographed  the  plaque below .