New Britain herald., 1923-07-17
|BADU WOMAN RULED
 ISLE OF CONTENT
Is Near Australia and Is Noted
 for Its Prosperity

| Washington. D. C.. July 17.-"Th
 tiny island of Badu, which has re .I gently come into prominence becaus' 1t has been reported that the lon'
 white woman who for nine years hai
 been, teacher, preacher, governor, DO
 lice magistrate. and prohibition off
 cer has made her domain model oi
 usefulness. cleanliness and temper
 ance, lies just beyond the tip of Cape | York peninsula, which sticks out like
 a sore thumb farther north than any
 other portion of the Australian con 1 tinent,"t says bulletin of the Ma
 tional Geographic society from it's
 Washington, D. C., headquarters.
 'Badu, more commonly known as
 Mulgrave Island, has for some time
 been noted for the prosperity of its native inhabitants. They have adopt ed the English folk dances, and when l they have finished their pearl fishing for the day they gambol on the green as Englishmen did in Shakespeare's l day. And its women in their hours of ease make a, lace which is fine in texture and beautiful in pattern. NcSar Nuu NcW SuH1ed.
 "The island itself belongs to that group known as the Torres Straits Island, directly north of Queensland, volcanic fragments whose reefs and shoals stud the 90 miles of sea stretching from Cape, York to New Guinea. Both the Strait and the islands took their name from the dar- ing old Portuguese seaman, Torres who first threaded his way through the dangerous labyrinth in 1906.
 Tn recent years valuable pearls have been found along the western and northern coasts of Australia, as we'll as mother of-pearl shells, and the Torres Strait has come in for its share of the fame. The shells are found in water from four to six fa- thoms deep. and usually are brought to the surface by Malay and Papuan divers, though modern dredging methods have been put into operation at certain places.
 Many of the islands are mere patches of sand and coral. the tops of the Australian Cordillera which have been weathered down, while others are up to 50 square miles in area. Only the larger ones are inhabited, the smaller being used for garden spots or pearling or fishing stations Connoisseurs have estimated that some of the pearls found in the vicin- ity of these islands are among the clearest of the gems we have and consequently are very valuable.
 "Yankee Ned" Q Real Live "Jim |
 O'Shea"
 "As the result of wise legislation of | the industry by the Australian gov ernment, the natives have become | highly industrious. and are among the most thriving of Pacific island races. Both the men and women have ex- cellent physiques, and regular, we'll formed features. York, Darnley, Mur- ray, Mabuag and Badu are among the most important of the islands, each being noted for some particular feature. ''r'. ''
 ''Mabuag has a famous native fes- .ival each year; York treasures the stories of the Spanish galleons which hundreds of years ago were wrecked on its coral-strewn shores, and the fabulous tales of 'Yankee Ned,' an American sailor who escaped from made fortune in pearls md married eighty native women and eft the traces of his blood in the veins of hundreds of the present inhabi- ants; Darnley is noted for its fish .raps; and Murray for its breeding beds of the coral insect, which prove ] lure to scientists from all over the world"