Letters of Jack Lusby Burns, 1941-1945 - Part 4

3.
bowl at least four balls off the
wicket. Golly I was stiff next
day. Things are extremely
dry up in this part of the
globe. Everybody is praying
for rain: Our truck makes
three trips each day for water.
It has to go five miles.
Last paynight the boys
over at the Canteen conducted
a Turtle Race. They ran it
like a horse race "Books,"
Stewards etc. I lost 10/-. A
limit of 2/- being placed on each
bet on each race, there being 5
races in all.
Life is very busy at
the moment. It being the
end of the month and everyone
especially the Kongs (chinks)
squealing for their money.
Hope you received the Power
 

4.
of Attorneys (three) which
I forwarded to you. Also
the £20 I forwarded you per
the C'wealth bank. Should
help you buy the mater her
ring. So far have received
three issues of bulletins &
sporting globes. Any other
magazines you care to send
along would be most enjoyable
Cheerio my dears - Glad to
hear that your activities are
going with a bang Mater
Did you put it across them
dad at the Annual meeting.
Received letters Nos 7 & 8 on
Sunday last.
Hugs & kisses
Your Loving Son
Jack.
Regards to Dick, I believe
Geoff is now a pilot Office at Laverton.
 

VX 39159
Lieut J.L. Burns
No.1. INDEP Coy
A.I.F. abroad
8 Sept. 41
My dear Mother & father.
The bearer
Cpl J.B. Murphy has been good.
enough to deliver these bookends to
you. He is the corporal who had
such misfortune to lose his left
hand through an explosion.
However. I'd
be obliged mother if, you could take
both he & his fiancee to the Wattle.
Cpl Murphy is in my Section but
now the war has no terrors for
him. He can tell you all about
the doings
Hugs & kisses to you
both.
Your Loving Son
Jack.
 

VX39159.
Lieut. J.L. Burns
NO.1. INDEP. Coy
A.I.F. Abroad.
15^th Sept 41.
Dear Mother & Father.
Learnt tonight that
the mail is closing early tomorrow
morning. The weekend has been grand.
Went about sixty miles South on
Sunday and came back today.
Saturday night
we conducted our first Boxing bouts
for the Company. There were nine
boxing bouts in all my platoon was
well represented in all of them as
well as in the spectators. Speaking of
these there were plenty of Kongs (chinese)
and Coons (natives) on the "outer"
They derived great enjoyment from it. The
coons can't understand how white men
fight and are yet still good friends
afterwards
After the actual fighting
we went to the Club from which
position of vantage the ladies (all
that were on the island) were watching.
[*Thanks for the snaps of Margaret's wedding.
I'll bet that the old boy was peeved at missing
the football.*]
 

2.
As the Club has a billiard room and
a piano, the boys were not slow in
having a 'go' at the latter. I may
add that the Canteen was closed
down for the night. Later on when
the troops had departed someones dug
up a piano-accordion and we
started to "dance" . We knocked off about
2 AM and at 8 I was on my
way South to a plantation where we
get our meat ration.
The cattle here are
indigeneous and known as Zebu. They
are like the water working bullocks of
India and are also used here as
"workers" although for this task
they ^sometimes use water buffalo. It is really
marvellous, the coons can talk to
them like a man and they do exactly as
they say but immediately it sees a
whiteman the buffaloes go dashed near
berserk.
Some of the plantations have
peacocks which look slightly out of
place dodging round the coconut palms.
 

3.
Still everything add to the colour of
this place. On the way down we
called at two places one to get some
pigs (two) & the other to get some goats. (four)
(This latter fact is kept quiet and the
boys are thinking they are getting
mutton) - anyhow I cannot tell the
difference). At the plantation where we
stayed we added two beasts to our
quota. We started at 5 AM this
morning and finished by 10 AM.
In addition to our own killing,
we knocked two others over for
the owner. Now dad I am a
first class skinner and shoot as
we killed all our beasts (except three
goats by shooting them.)
Twas very funny as
one of goats escape from it's enclosure
and we had to chase it. It was a
rare show everyone after a goat
before it was brought down by a
"six-gun". We left about 11.30 & had
dinner at another plantation on the
way home. As we have a "cooler"
 

4.
here we are rather lucky as regards
our ice, cooling etc.
"Joey" came down with
me & he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
He "scraped" the pigs. I hope you
have received my "power of attorneys'"
ere this. I have sent three. Heard
the good news in your last letter that
a hamper was on the way. As
regards the amount raised for my
section mother, you could pay the
money into the credit of my paybook
through the District Finance Officer,
Victoria Barracks Melbourne. I could
then draw it out this end for use
as required by us. If you could
possibly arrange it we would not
say "NO" to a portable gramophone
as radio reception here during the
day is "lousy" for my portable.

(The batteries dad by the way are
- Portable radio batteries light duty 45
volts. - I want 1.A, & 2B Batteries,
However, I'll leave the gramophone to you
if you do send same please register
[*or get "Glens" or "Allens" to post same. Heard the ^result of the match
Melb. V. Carlton Uncle Bert would be disappointed. Cheerio, my
dears and God bless you both. Hugs & Kisses.
Received my parcels yet Your Loving Son Jack.
 

VX 39159.
Lieut. J.L. Burns
NO.1. INDEP. Coy.
A.I.F. Abroad.
21.9.41
My dear Darlings.
Sunday and a day
of peace and rest. Tis marvellous
climate up here. Hot during the
morning and now that the rainy
season is here a cool change is
generally experienced about lunch
time which is very welcome.
Have been doing
a lot of digging during the past few
days and consequently have raised
quite a number of blisters. Still its
a grand life you can sleep like a
top once you get used to sleeping
under a mosquito net. At first they were made
things very hot etc. but now it is a
matter of routine. They are a great
help especially early morning when
the flies are very bad.
At present I am
back with "B" platoon on a week's
duty which means that you go into
 

2.
solitaire for a week. However it keeps
you out of mischief and helps you to
save a bit of money.
Whilst on duty there
is not much news to write about so
the boys make up yarns ^some of which t are
worthy of any short story writer. Some
certainly let their imagination run
riat riot. The last mail received no
letters from home but the mail previous
I received three I am now looking
forward to the next mail. Heard from
Geoff Vincent, Gloria Collie and Jim
Brown the last mail. Gloria mentioned
about ringing you up.
Two incidents of note
happened yesterday. One - we were playing
"kick to kick" in football, Australian
Rules & Rugby so Rafferty's Rules prevailed
when the ball went near a 44 gal
drum filled with water (for fire purposes)
and the top ^of the water covered with a film of oil as a
preventitive against mosquitoes. Immediately
a melee commenced for the possession of
the ball when someone upset the drum
 

3.
'Twas a very quick way of breaking up the
scrum
Two - a N.C.O. & officer were walking
down the drome when a snake wound
itself. down around the latte formers leg. Golly,
he jumped (not that I blame him) The
meat I brought back the last weekend
has all gone bad blast it. but we
managed to exchange it for fish so
we are not so badly off.
As there are a predominance
of Rugby players here we have rigged
up a rugby field and have inter-section
matches at which there is more brute
force than brains. Still we all have a
good time. The villa in which I am
now residing is built of native material
call "sak sak" which is extremely
comforting & cool. The stuff is amazingly
versatile as it is impervious to water
and yet keep the place cool as it is really
after the rain that the place atmosphere becomes
sticky and muggy as the rains raise
the humidity.
Dad this morning when I
[*P.S. There is a Mr Malcolm Jones who is down at
Melbourne on his holidays who may see you
He is very partial to whiskey dad. I gave him our
address.*]