R-J, this should be of interest to you since your beloved made instruments for hydrographers in Darwin.

THE WAYWARD HYDROGRAPHER
(Mic Travers)

Well come listen all my merry friends, I’ll tell to you this yarn
It is of a young apprentice who was living up in Darwin
Water was his trade and his indentures had been signed
That was his undoing as sure as you’re a friend of mine

Da da li li etc

Well despite his youthful countenance and credit where it’s due
Our youth had had experience and he’d seen a few things too
He’d travelled round about the place, a few trips beneath his belt
But he’d never been down south in spring when snow begins to melt

Refrain

He set off one morn from Darwin and the weather it was fine
It was mid-to-late September and most morns are then you’ll find
He travelled south by east, stopping briefly here and there
But he never stopped for good till he breathed cool mountain air

Refrain

Well at this point in my story, it is fair I tell to you
The few things he had with him that he thought would see him through
He had a guage, a rod, a rain guage, a book of useful facts
An inner tube, a swag and a few things in a pack

Refrain

Well he’d been camped up there a few weeks, taking guagings of the stream
Looking for some correlation, some new insight he might glean
When he saw it in his readings and confirmed it with his eyes
That within the space of hours, the mountain stream began to rise

Refrain

Well at first he thought nought of it, still he made some little note
For it may have proved of interest to some academic bloke
But as the stream became a torrent, interest gave way to alarm
And he scampered over rocks, still with his rod under his arm

Refrain

Now without the hint of panic, our old mate knew what to do
He reached straight for his old inner tube and into it he blew
And blew with all his might, barely stopping for a spell
He had thing damn near inflated ‘fore into the stream he fell

Refrain

And so quick were his reflexes, he had time before he went
To grab his book of useful facts and to take one last measurement
He rode the old tube like a pro, steering with his guage and rod
Thumbing the index of his book for flashing floods and acts of god

Refrain

Mic spent some time in Darwin with his young family before heading to Brisbane - a fine performer and song writer.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.