Aunt Effie's Ark, page 13
sovereign a valuable gold coin “I knew a pirate whose false teeth were made out of sovereigns. He had such a warm smile!” —Aunt Effie.
spanker a fore-and-aft sail set on the mizzen-mast “Another name for Mr Jones’s strap.” —Isaac.
spar a strong pole to which the rigging is fastened
starboard right side of ship looking ahead
steelies ball bearings used to smash other people’s marbles “I always play with steelies!” —Lizzie.
strainer-post main post to which fence wires are strained “Strainers make it easier to climb fences.” —Casey.
stripping squeezing the last drops of milk out of a cow
strop a strap of leather or rope used for lifting something
studding-sail an extra sail set up in light winds
sweeps the wire ropes which tow a trawler’s net
swig pull on a rope “Also taking a pull at a bottle of Old Puckeroo.” —Jessie.
swound a fainting-fit, a swoon “Other people faint, Daisy falls into a swound.” —Jazz.
ten bob old money for one dollar
thimble a metal loop that fits inside an eye or loop in a rope
tiller the lever by which the rudder is turned to steer the ship
topgallant the sail above the topsail
totara a very straight-grained New Zealand timber
transom part of the stern
tree tomatoes the proper name for tamarillos
trestle-tree (tressel) a support on the lower mast to hold the topmast
tsk! a disapproving noise “Daisy’s favourite noise.” — Jared.
Vast Untrodden Ureweras an enormous patch of bush south of Auckland and north of the South Pole
vers to play or beat somebody at a game (from versus) “We versed the Matamata kids at footy and beat them!” —Lizzie.
visor the hinged part of a helmet that drops down to protect your face
watch, the watch on deck those of the crew on duty while the rest sleep
watersail a sail set below the mainsail “It nearly drags in the water.” —Marie.
wattles flaps of skin hanging from a turkey’s head
wear ship to bring a ship about by turning its head away from the wind
weather helm a ship’s tendency to come up into the wind
Whaka (Whakarewarewa) an active thermal area of Rotorua “Where the mud winks at you and says, ‘Glop! Glop!’” —Jessie.
wildebeeste a large African antelope also known as a gnu “Aunt Effie calls us wildebeestes.” —Casey.
wireless radio
witchetty grub an Australian grub like a huhu “Yummy!” —Jane.
The Lying Old Author
I am a lying old author. Not a word I say is true.
I was born on a raupo island in 1831, and grew up in a hut my father built in the branches of a cabbage tree in the middle of the Great Waharoa Swamp. We had to swim to school each morning, so our sandwiches were always wet at lunchtime. We swam home after school, and Dad hung us to dry in front of the fire. In winter, our uniforms were still wet when we put them on next morning, so Dad told us off, made our lunches, threw us in the swamp, and we swam off to school again.
If we were too slow, the enormous eels ate us, so we became very fast swimmers. My sisters and I won every race at the Waharoa Primary School Swimming Sports. The other kids whined, “It’s not fair.”
“Tough luck!” we told them.
We wondered what Waharoa would look like, covered with water. So we damned up the Waikato River, flooded New Zealand, and built a boat. This book is about what happened.
When he found what we’d done, Dad wouldn’t let us go to the pictures for the next three Saturdays. But we didn’t care. Would you like to have to swim home in the dark through a swamp filled with enormous eels?
I am a lying old author. Everything I say is true. So there!
Also by Jack Lasenby
Charlie the Cheeky Kea 1976
Rewi the Red Deer 1976
The Lake 1987
The Mangrove Summer 1989
Uncle Trev 1991
Uncle Trev and the Great South Island Plan 1991
Uncle Trev and the Treaty of Waitangi 1992
The Conjuror 1992
Harry Wakatipu 1993
Dead Man’s Head 1994
The Waterfall 1995
The Battle of Pook Island 1996
Because We Were the Travellers 1997
Uncle Trev’s Teeth 1997
Taur 1998
The Shaman and the Droll 1999
The Lies of Harry Wakatipu 2000
Kalik 2001
Aunt Effie 2002
Harry Wakatipu Comes the Mong 2003
Copyright
I am grateful for the assistance of Creative N.Z. –
the Arts Council of New Zealand. Their grant in 2002
helped me complete work on this book.
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior permission of Longacre Press and the author.
Jack Lasenby asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
© Jack Lasenby
ISBN 9781775531210
First published by Longacre Press, 2003
9 Dowling Street, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Book and cover design by Christine Buess
Cover illustration and book illustrations by David Elliot
Printed by McPherson’s Printing Group
Jack Lasenby, Aunt Effie's Ark
