Cebu, Philippines

Cebu is a long narrow island stretching 225 kilometers from north to south, surrounded by 167 neighbouring, smaller islands, which include Mactan, Bantayan, Malapascua, Olango and the Camotes Islands.  In 1898, the island was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War. In 1901, Cebu was governed by the United States for a brief period, however it became a charter province on February 24, 1937 and was governed independently by Filipino politicians. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to Cebu in his novel Ultramarine; "Whew, Christ it's hot..Reminds me of Cebu in the Philippines. Last voyage we tied up nose-on to the maternity hospital. They say they dump the miscarriages into the ditch. None of the crowd would go in bathing, anyway." (Pgs 70-71); " 'Manila, eh, reminds me of Cebu. That's the place for you, Hilliot, the town of ukeleles. We had a feller flogged his going ashore suit for one. Why he never even learnt to tune the damn thing' " and " 'We went to Cebu on the Plato. We tied up to buoys just alongside the maternity hospital. The mozzies was awful-' " (Pg. 177).

Lowry never visited Cebu on his 1927 voyage to the Far East. Cebu was not a port of call for Blue Funnel Line ships. Richard Eberhart refers to Cebu in his long poem 'A Bravery of Heart' which was an influence on Lowry.

Cebu has a long history of guitar making due to its traditional industry. Most of the guitar manufacturers are family-owned enterprises passed on from one generation to another.The centre of the guitar-making industry in Cebu is in Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan Island. In addition, other string musical instruments made in Lapu-Lapu City include ukuleles, banjos, and mandolins.

The guitar-making industry in Lapu-Lapu City started when the Spanish friars assigned in Cebu needed to repair the guitars they were using. Instead of waiting for the guitars to arrive from Mexico, they commissioned the townspeople of Opon village in Mactan Island to make new guitars and repair the existing guitars they had; thus began the guitar industry in Cebu. Read more

Macassar, Indonesia

Sometimes spelled Macassar, Mangkasar. Provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. Located on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.

There is no record of Lowry visiting city on his voyage to the Far East in 1927. Lowry refers to the city in his short story 'Tramps'; "Now when I was in Macassar.." (Pg. 4). Lowry also refers to the city in a letter to John Davenport dated 27th October which contains many references to Richard Eberhart's poems 'Caravan of Silence' and A Bravery of Earth though Eberhart does mention the city; "a Persian too - he longed for the friendly lights against the night in his home-town Macassar or Basia." (Collected Letters Vol 1 Pg. 74). Lowry may have been influenced by Conrad's reference to the city in his short story 'Freya of the Seven Isles'; "the prettiest, and perhaps the cleanest-looking, of all the towns in the Islands." Lowry also makes reference to a "Maccaser" in his novel Ultramarine; "In Persia it was, Macasser the Sultan came aboard with all his harem under bloody umbrellas." (P.70). There was a Sultanate of Macassar which maybe what Lowry is making reference to in his novel. Again there maybe a connection to Conrad as Sultans occur in many of his short stories.

Southern Cross

Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the asterism in a letter to John Davenport dated 27th October 1930; "The crew sleep the deep sea sleep while the ship somnambulates under the Southern Cross" (Collected Letters Volume 1 Pg. 74);  the image of the asterism emerges in the La Mordida; Sigbjorn and Primrose rise in the morning; "thye still couldn't find the Southern Cross" (Pg. 86); "still crashing into the seas at 4 a.m.: the Southern Cross appeared tilted in the sky, as if an invisible priest were holding it to ward off evil:" (Pg. 124);  "see ship is still crashing into the seas, see the Southern Cross — the other had (UBC 13:23, 207} been merely The False Cross — the Southern Cross appeared tilted in the sky as if an invisible priest were holding it to ward off evil." (Pg. 155); "Sigbjorn hunts for the Southern Cross - he has an idea if he can find it he will go back and get Primrose out of bed and this will make her happy." (Pg. 171); "He puts on his bathing trunks goes up to try and find the Southern Cross." (Pg. 205); and "it should be pointed out that Primrose is disappointed that she never saw the Southern Cross." (Pg. 319). The asterism also appears in the poem 'The Ship'; "Crucified, beneath the wild Southern Cross.(Collected Poetry Pg. 212). The asterism occurs in Dark as the Grave wherein my friend is laid; "And soon we'll see the Southern Cross (Pg. 20); but his thoughts now passed tenderly to Primrose, so disappointed because she had not yet seen the Southern Cross." (Pg. 261).


Sherrill Grace has identified the cross as a major symbol in Lowry's work ( The Voyage That Never Ends Pg. 72. The Southern Cross is a heavenly manifestation of that symbol. Grace notes in Collected Letters Volume 1 that "Lowry's listing of constellations and stars is characteristic of Eberhart's A Bravery of Earth, but Lowry has deliberately exaggerated the effect". ((Pg. 76) - though it must be noted that Eberhart only specifically refers to the South Cross constellation in his poem;

The south-west wet monsoon blows
Off the coast of Africa
All day: and the nights are still.
Night birds, like whippoorwills,
Or owls, flutter about the deck
In the uncertain light before dawn,
And the coming sun slowly tinges
The slate-coloured sky. And they grope
From the limbs of the Southern Cross
To perch on the gloomy ship......

Sabang, Indonesia

Sabang is a city consisting of an island (Weh Island) and several smaller islands off the northern tiup of Sumatra. The islands form a regency within Aceh Special Region, Indonesia.

Lowry refers to the city in his short story 'Goya The Obscure' and in a letter to John Davenport dated 27th October 1930; "The third - (Richard Ghormley Ebehart!), unamazed in meditation looked up from Persia - more likely sailing down the coast by Iloilo, Zamboanga, Sabang, anywhere, Eberhart Icarus at this time". (Collected Letters Vol 1 Pg. 73-74).

The letter is influenced by Lowry's reading of Richard Eberhart's poem A Bravery of Earth published in 1930. Eberhart's poem reflected his experiences at Cambridge University and his time as a ship's hand in the Far East which would have had obvious appeal to Lowry.

There is no documentary evidence to suggest that Lowry visited the city as part of his 1927 voyage to the Far East. It would appear that Lowry's mention of the peninsular is also part of a youthful obsession with the "exotic East" which, manifested itself in the composing of the song 'I've Said Goodbye to Shanghai' with his Cambridge musical partner Ronald Hill. Lowry may have also known that the port was often visited by Blue Funnel Line ships.

Zamboanga

Lowry mentions Zamboanga, a long, semicircular peninsula located in northwestern Mindanao, Philippines, in his short stories 'Tramps' and 'Goya The Obscure' and later in Ultramarine; "……his tattooed arms (where had they been tattooed, ….Zamboanga?)" (Pg. 26).

There is no documentary evidence to suggest that Lowry visited the peninsular as part of his 1927 voyage to the Far East. It would appear that Lowry's mention of the peninsular is perhaps part of a youthful obsession with the "exotic East" which, manifested itself in the composing of the song 'I've Said Goodbye to Shanghai' with his Cambridge musical partner Ronald Hill. The peninsular features in Joseph Conrad's novel Lord Jim and is possible source as he read the book in his youth. The reference to the peninsular may also have been influenced by Lowry's reading of Richard Eberhart's poem A Bravery of Earth published in 1930. Eberhart's poem reflected his experiences at Cambridge University and his time as a ship's hand in the Far East which would have had obvious appeal to Lowry. Lowry wrote a letter to John Davenport dated 27th October 1930; "The third - (Richard Ghormley Ebehart!), unamazed in meditation looked up from Persia - more likely sailing down the coast by Iloilo, Zamboanga, Sabang, anywhere, Eberhart Icarus at this time". (Collected Letters Vol 1 Pg. 73-74).


Here is an interesting travel movie 'Zamboanga' made in 1936



"Zamboanga" was directed by Marvin Gardner in his native Philippines in 1936. His screen name was Eduardo De Castro. Thought lost forever, it was found in 2003? by Philippine filmmaker Nick de Ocampo at the US Library of Congress. (The copy came from Finland, hence the subtitles.) It stars Fernando Poe, Sr., the father of Fernando Poe, Jr., Philippine actor and presidential candidate. It is the oldest Filipino feature film known to exist. It was produced by Americans Tait and Harris and intended for American audiences. I have read that it was the first Filipino film entered in the Oscar Awards, but I'm still researching that. I had never even hoped to see any of my grandfather's work, as we thought it was all destroyed during WWII. The original film is now back in the Philippines. Nick included "Zamboanga" in his book, SineGabay: A Film Study Guide. He was kind enough to send some copies of the movie to my family. Read more