Norm of the Jungle Born on a paddle wheeler in the early nineteen hundreds and one of six children, Norm was to grow up to be a local legend around his home town of Menindee in the Outback of N.S.W. Norm's Dad was a paddle wheeler captain and fisherman, Norm’s Mum was a paddle wheeler's mate and fisherwoman. With a pedigree like this it was logical and expected that Norm would take a keen interest in both paddle wheeling and fishing, which in fact he did. Norm also became a cracking swimmer (not a bad move when you look at the boat) and a bit of an athlete to boot. Norm had a good childhood, however he was restless. He yearned for bigger and better things. He knew he was destined for more than paddle wheeling and fishing. Norm was in his teens, as far as anyone knows, when the circus came to town. Norm was agog, so many weird and wonderful performers and sights. Bearded ladies, a cow with two tails, the little midget dressed as a baby with the cigar in his mouth. Norm made up his mind, then and there, it was the circus for him. So he ran away. Norm spent some years with the circus, honing his skills and trying to forget all about paddle wheeling and fishing. He discovered that he had excellent balance (probably a result of shipboard life) and he was powerful strong (probably from catching the big Murray River Cod), so he developed an act involving the trapeze and tight rope as well as a few extras like bending steel bars with his teeth. These activities really suited Norm's special talents and he became a bit of a star. One day while touring (as you do in the circus), Norm was noticed by a big city talent scout who told Norm of a role eminently suited to his special abilities. Norm was to be the star in a big movie to be made in Brisbane. Norm thought at first it might be one of those dodgy loin cloth / gladiator movies, but no, it was to be a great Tarzan movie with a budget running into hundreds of pounds and a cast of dozens. The world would be Norm's oyster (or yabbie if you prefer). He would be “Tarzan” Edwards of the jungle. Norm trained for two years for the part, honing, refining and testing his special talents until he knew there was none better in the whole of Australia (and there probably wasn’t). Time passed (as it does) and Norm heard nothing from the big city producer. He became despondent, tired of the circus and began to long for the paddle wheeler’s life and to hook a fish again. In short Norm threw in the loin cloth. Norm returned home where he may have married Jane had a boy called Boy and a pet koala called Cheetah. Who knows. One thing is for sure though, every swimming day Norm would be out entertaining the kids with his tight rope walking and steel bar bending all the time dressed in his Tarzan kit. Menindee is a very fortunate town to have had someone as special as Norm to call one of it's own. I went to school with a Menindee local and I must say he demonstrated the same skill and killer instincts as Norm so it must be something in the water. However, now that I think about it the teachers used to call him Boy ... curious that!

Mr. and Mrs. Edwards paddle wheeler and Norm's ancestral home, “Daisy”

Norm “Tarzan” Edwards in training? Grrrrr! Apologies to the Edwards family if I have one or two of the finer details of Norms life wrong. The story is basically true, I have however surmised what Norm was thinking from

information supplied by the Menindee Tourist Information Centre and the sign down by the lake.