LOOKER, Harold George

1882 - 1919  (37 years)

• Name	LOOKER, Harold George  [1]
  Born	28 Mar 1882
  	"Beauregard", Holebrook Place, Hobart, Tasmania
  Gender	Male
  Died	23 Jul 1919	Hedgeley Ave, Malvern, Victoria, Australia
  Person ID	I11554	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023

  
  

  Father	LOOKER, George Arthur JP,   b. 12 Oct 1850,   d. 25 Sep 1906, Murrumbeena, Melbourne, Victoria  (Age 55 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	DICKSON, Fanny Rosina,   b. 21 Oct 1854, Richmond, Tasmania, Australia ,   d. 10 Dec 1940, East Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia  (Age 86 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	8 Jun 1878	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  	All Saints, Davey St
  Family ID	F5292	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Durban, August 1903. Circular Letter to the "Yambee" Circle and Dear Friends. "Our Voyage to Sth. Africa" After leaving the Port Melbourne Railway Pier at 4 pm. on Wednesday the 8th July we steamed out of Port Phillip Bay by the south channel bound for Durban, Sth. Africa via Albany. My brother [Arthur] and I were travelling in the steerage, there were about 140 other passengers from Melbourne and Sydney and about 60 more got on at Albany. We had our first meal going down the Bay, it was a dreadful experience the tea was the worst I have ever tasted, it would he difficult to make worse. We were placed at a table with rather a rough lot and felt simply disgusted at the coarse way the food was eaten. After we got through the Heads the wind came up pretty strong and a good many passengers were ill that night. We had a four-berth cabin together with two nice young fellows, one was going to the Sheba Mines a few miles inland from Delagoa Bay. The other was a printer by trade, he is now in Harrismith getting £4/10/- per week. The following day was very rough and stormy, the four of us were very sea-sick, we could not get a spitoon as they were all in use but we managed to get a bucket placed in the centre of the cabin, and we all spued into this in turns. People were being sick all round, we could hear groans and retching from the cabins around us. The portholes had to be closed up tightly so there was very little ventilation and the air was getting dread fully stuffy. The misery of that and the following day was awful. Several of the stewards were sick also. The third day out we were feeling a little hungry as we had taken scarcely anything since leaving Port Phillip so we managed to get a little dinner but still felt very miserable. When one is recovering from sea-sickness the slightest thing will put you off food. I had a plate of soup brought to me, it looked horrible stuff, but I felt I had to eat to live. The steward spilt half the contents of the plate on the table which had an oil cloth on and a sort of ledge on the side. The soup ran from one side of the table to the other with the roll of the boat, but eat I had to but was beastly sick after it. On the following day the sea was calmer and things in general were settling down a bit better, we were all getting our sealegs and began to understand the ways of the boat. My brother and I managed to get at a better table where we got on fairly well and, as we began to know one another better, we were able to work points a bit. The steward who waited at our table was working his passage to Durban, he was a peculiar chap but looked after us well, once he gave us some extra cakes to plant. The first Sunday out we had a dreadful storm off the West Aust coast. I have never seen the sea in such a wild state. The old "Aberdeen" rocked from side to side most cruelly and the waves were washing over the decks every now and then. Some of the casing was broken off the rutlder, a few boards on the railing broken 'and one of the stairs to the hurricane deck broke down. There seemed to be no where to get shelter except in the cabins and they were too stuffy to remain in. For awhile I stood at the end of the galley-way but even that was not sheltered enough, a big wave came bumping over the deck and nearly washed me off my feet. The rain was coming down in torrents, the wind was whistling through the rigging and the waves were pounding at the sides of the vessel. The waves were many feet high sometimes we would be in a hollow between two mountains of water, then on the top of the wave again and down the other side with the propeller out of water and the engines going like thunder. Such a wild and furious scene as this; one can scarcely imagine, - what a contrast it is to some of the days we had crossing the Indian Ocean when the sea was calm and clear with the sun shining brightly and the vessel steadily ploughing its way to its destination. No one could scarcely believe it to be the same boat, the same people, much less the same sea. The old "Aberdeen", with all her faults is a good sea boat and she weathered the gale well. We reached Albany about 3 am on Tuesday (which made us about a day late) it is a prettY little town and looked particularly nice as day was breaking and the moon was shining over the water. As the sun rose a cloud which seemed to be hanging over the Town gradually lifted. It looked a little like Hobart, it was a beautiful morning and the air was crisp and fresh. After breakfast a launch came alongside and took us to the shore for 2/- return. Albany is rather an old fashioned looking place, there are several very fine old houses about and a very old church covered with ivy. These old places give the Town an antique appearance which makes it attractive. It is only a holiday resort and a port, there is nothing else to keep the town up, the soil all round is poor and sandy, scarcely any agriculture is carried out and consequently things are very dear. Apples are never less than 6d. per lb. and not much at that. There are some pretty shrubs and wild flowers on the hills within a few minutes of the Town. We bought a tin of biscuits which cost 11d. per lb., we stocked ourselves with other things including a billy and tea. We left Albany about 4 pm. the same afternoon and steamed out to the ocean again. We had bad weather from Melbourne to Albany but the rest of the voyage was very fair, we only got one storm of consequence. We had a good deal of amusement at the last part of the trip. One Sunday we had a sort of Salvation Army meeting. During the week some of the men got up a concert which was held at the saloon end of the ship, one of the men presided and nearly all the passengers of both classes were there, some of the songs were rather funny. Later in the week another concert was proposed, it was subsequently agreed that it should be in aid of distressed Widows and Orphans of Sailors, it was a great success. The last Sunday divine service was held on deck and was conducted by a missionary who was going out to the Zambesi district, it was grand to hear so many voices joining in the hymns. The reading table was draped with the Union Jack. There were a few very religious people on board and some atheists also, on Sunday evening there was a little meeting on deck and a few hymns were sung etc. The atheist faction thought they were being out done so they started up opposition songs as loud as they could, such a hub-bub followed, several of the women abused each other and one man wanted to fight, however the disturbance soon ended. We also had some sports which lasted about two days, included in the events was an obstacle race which was the most interesting. Among the obstacles to be passed through were two long canvas bags about 20-ft. x 3-ft. in one of these someone put some flour and as the competitors crawled through they got covered with it. We passed two vessels, one was a missionary ship bound for "South Sea Islands" and called the "Southern Cross"; the other was a sugar boat, the "Ione" from Mauritius. They both passed very close and cheers were exchanged. We sighted the lighthouse of Durban about 2 am on Saturday morning the 1st August, 1903. We stood off from the land until daylight and then came slowly up the outer anchorage and cast the anchor about 2 miles from shore. Everybody was very excited, it was funny to see some turning out dressed up in their bests, they were scarcely recognisable. After the Health Officer had granted prolique a tug came out with three or four lighters and after considerable delay we were landed in baskets onto the launch, the basket I was in came down with rather a bump on the launch deck. The sea was a bit rough. We reached the wharf just before one o'clock and were jolly glad to get on shore again, it was a very dusty day and rather warm. A friend of Arthur's was on the wharf to meet us and we rode up to town in two rickshas. We were surprised to find what a large town Durban was and to see so many large ships at the wharves. It was a peculiar sight to us as we stepped from the wharves to see so many Kaffirs shouting and running. The ricksha boys were drawn up in a line, much the same as the cabs are in Melbourne, and as we got close to them they danced about and yelled in order to attract our custom. They looked more like devils than anything else, they nearly all have horns tied on their heads and they dress up in the most gorgeous colors they can get. Jim Fish was a ricksha puller of great fame a few years ago, he was the fastest boy in Durban and was always sought after; he did not last long but he was known far and wide on account of his speed. The natives look upon him as an ideal runner and very often as they cater for fares they say, "This your boy boss, strong boy Jim Fish". There is a splendid electric tram service in Durban with 1 1/2 d. sections and they travel faster than the Melbourne cable trams. Durban has only started to go ahead within the last ten years and during that time has made wonderful progress, the town is, practically speaking, built on a flat sand bank which has been gradually improved year by year. The enclosed photo gives a good view of Durban from the Berea. The Berea is a hill which runs round the bay, it is on this hill where most of the houses are, but it is getting rather crowded and land is very dear. The sketch below will give a rough idea of the harbour. (Hand sketch of Durban harbour) All down at the foot of the Berea is flat. Nearly every house here has a little hut at the back for Kaffirs who help in the house, some of them make very good servants, they get from 15/- to £2 per month and food. The climate of Durban is fair though the air is not nearly so bracing as Melbourne and people naturally get into lazy ways. Nearly all the rain comes in the summer from October to March, which is the most trying time of the year, as the air is so sultry and one has no energy. During the winter the weather is lovely J bright warm days, but not too hot. Speaking generally the people here do not look very healthy, most of the women-kind are pale, but perhaps this may be accounted for by most of them not being used to the climate. From the little I have seen of the country and all I can hear I do not think it is half the country Australia is but still there is the gold here and that makes a big difference. There are hundreds of Australians over here, some are in very good positions. I think there will be a big opening out in Australia soon and then a lot of her scattered children will return to their native land, with new energy and new ideas and broader minds together with a little money. Michaelmas Day was a holiday here so I went down to spend the day at Amanzimtoti together with a few friends. Amanzimtoti is a seaside holiday resort about 17 miles from Durban down, the South Coast. The country we passed through was rather poor and sandy. There are some fairly large sugar plantations along the line in the flat marshy country. On reaching our destination we secured a boat and rowed up the river, we could only get up about two miles as the river was low. The scenery is nothing special but we managed to get a few good photos. We visited a native Kraal and got another photo there. Last Sunday I took a walk along the top of the Berea, it is a lovely place up on the top and the view is splendid. The soil is good and the trees are large, this is where the wealthy people live. I have written this long letter to you all as I could not give you a fair idea of the country and our doings in a number of small and disconnected letters. Now I must close with thanks for all the good wishes we have had from you all. Yours sincerely, (Signed) Harold Looker

  
  

• Sources

  [S308] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;;), Ancestry Family Tree.