June 1942 School Magazine

June, 1942

June, 1942

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

The tranquil stars from a sky serene Gaze down upon troubled world; They shall be wakened from a dream If nations into war are hurled. The stars are wakened from their trance, For words of peace could not prevail; The Gods of W at with frenzied dance Have whirled the nations in the gale. The stars above with transfixed stare See the Empire near o'erwhelmed by might; But British sons do not despair , And tyrants will be crushed by right. The stars of Heaven through the battle haze See now all nations rise in arms; Now gone is all the 'murder craze, God's world is joyous, free and calm. THE STORM. The earth was veiled in heavy shroud, Occasioned by dense moving cloud, The air w as still, no sound was heard, Not even the chirp of some lone bird. Now high above yet drawing nigh, --99-- Violent thunder rocked the sky. Then gusts of wind without avail, Tried to break the deadly pale Of Cloud; then drops of heavy rain, And soon the watery deluge came. Mighty nature's fury bent, A blessing from the Heavens sent. The parched and bare lands all around, Rejoiced in gurgling water's sound; And then, as if some spell were cast, The rain had ceased, the storm had passed. The air was fresh, the birds did sing, And soon the verdure's green would spring; The earth before, so brown with drought, Will change her features soon no doubt.

BRISBANE AND THE BROWN-OUT. The progress of the war must be discussed countless times every day in Brisbane alone. The majority of suburban houses have air raid shelters, and in the city areas they have sprung up as solid br!ck structures. But the war in the Pacific has brought something else to Brisbane-the "brown-out"-and the city has been converted from being at night almost as bright as by day, in some areas, to being a dark and quite a frighten- ing town . The lights of our brightest part, Queen Street, are quite gone, and mere silhouettes of people glide up and down the pavement. Few shops have lighted display windows, and so the little groups of "window-shoppers' ' have almost faded from existence. Instead, groups of allied fighting men gather in the dark. Here in the city the lighting is sadly missed, but it is quite a novelty to wander in suburban darkness. Of course, many householders would rather stay snug in the brightness of their own homes, and many objections are heard from the children whose mothers want messages run to the local shops. The "brown-out" allows the moon, long outwitted by the modern science of electricity, to shine to her advantage, and who does not enjoy a walk on a moonlit night? Humour may be derived from the dull "brown-out", for what could be more amusing and ludicrous than a bewildered person apologising formally for bruising the shins of a tele- graph post? or the converse of this, when one kicks one's toes on a person waiting on a corner? Of course, it is a worry and a trouble, when a national "black-out' ' is announced, to black out windows, and cover every chink of light, but we must consider the good it does. The dimming of the lights leaves the city in absolute darkness from the air, and dulls the targets for the bombs. It is of national importance that we obey governmental orders exactly in spirit as well as in letter, for it is said, "One light may cost one thausand lives". The "brown-out" paves the way for this comple te darkness, and not one of us shall ever consider. "How dark it is!" if we once realize how beneficial to us is the "brown-out" in Brisbane.

-MARGARET PENNEFATHER, IV.D.

-MARGARET DECKER. Ill.A.

Lesley Richmond, III.A.

GLORIA LEVY, IV.A.

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