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Contributions to Management Science

Hasan Dincer
Serhat Yüksel Editors

Strategic
Priorities in
Competitive
Environments
Multidimensional Approaches
for Business Success
Contributions to Management Science
The series Contributions to Management Science contains research publications in
all fields of business and management science. These publications are primarily
monographs and multiple author works containing new research results, and also
feature selected conference-based publications are also considered. The focus of the
series lies in presenting the development of latest theoretical and empirical research
across different viewpoints.
This book series is indexed in Scopus.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/1505


Hasan Dincer • Serhat Yüksel
Editors

Strategic Priorities
in Competitive Environments
Multidimensional Approaches
for Business Success
Editors
Hasan Dincer Serhat Yüksel
Istanbul Medipol University Istanbul Medipol University
Kadiköy, Istanbul, Turkey Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey

ISSN 1431-1941 ISSN 2197-716X (electronic)


Contributions to Management Science
ISBN 978-3-030-45022-9 ISBN 978-3-030-45023-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45023-6

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the
material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents

BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance


of Wind Energy Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Hasan Dinçer, Serhat Yüksel, Gözde Gülseven Ubay, and Hüsne Karakuş
Do FED’s and CBRT’s Policies Affect Turkish Banks’ External
Borrowings, Financial Impacts and Investment Performances? . . . . . . . 17
Bulent Yaman, Nildag Basak Ceylan, and Ayhan Kapusuzoglu
The Impact of Research and Development Expenditures
on the Value Relevance of Accounting Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Melik Ertuğrul
Factors Influencing the Consumers’ Expenditure on Wine According
to their Own Expectations in a Tourism Perspective:
A Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Marco Remondino and Enrico Ivaldi
Benchmarking Competitive Market Environment Using Market-Based
Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
İpek Gürsel Tapkı
Examination of Effects of Competitiveness on Businesses
and Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Zafer Adiguzel
The Spirit of Business Life: Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Ercan Karakeçe and Murat Çemberci
Transaction Cost Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Kudret Celtekligil

v
vi Contents

Strategies for the Robust Banking System and the Determinants


of the Commercial and Participation Banks Performance in Turkey
Evidence from a Panel Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Zafer Adalı and Mustafa Uysal
Classification Performance Comparison of Artificial Neural Networks
and Support Vector Machines Methods: An Empirical Study
on Predicting Stock Market Index Movement Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Şenol Emir
Increase in Expected Returns on the Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Selin Sarılı
Increasing Customer Satisfaction in Strategic Communication Studies:
Excellence Awards in the Transportation Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Ihsan Eken and Başak Gezmen
Significance of Non-Monetary Forms of Capital: Importance
of Social Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Arif Orçun Söylemez
The Role of R&D Investments on Labor Force: The Case of Selected
Developed Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Halim Baş and İsmail Canöz
A CAMELS Analysis of Selected Banks in Turkey After the Crisis
in 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Mustafa Eser Kurum and Eray Öztürk
The Effects of Trade Wars Between US and China on the Financial
Performances of the Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Selman Duran and İrfan Ersin
Brand Coolness in a Competitive Environment: An Empirical Study
on Starbucks Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Ayşen Akyüz and Fatih Pınarbaşı
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors
Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy
Companies

Hasan Dinçer, Serhat Yüksel, Gözde Gülseven Ubay, and Hüsne Karakuş

Abstract This study aims to identify the significant factors which improve the
performance of wind energy companies. For this purpose, a detailed literature review
is conducted, and eight different performance evaluation criteria are identified based
on four dimensions of balanced scorecard (BSC) approach. In the evaluation process
of these factors, fuzzy DEMATEL approach is taken into consideration. The results
indicate that internal process and learning and growth are the most important
dimensions of BSC regarding the wind energy investment projects. Moreover, it is
also concluded that the most important criteria are technological background and
research and development. Hence, it is recommended that wind energy companies
should mainly pay attention to technological development in order to be successful
in such a complex investment which requires high engineering knowledge. In this
context, the equipment and information technology software should be effective in
these countries. Owing to this issue, the risk of having deficiencies can be mini-
mized. Additionally, high technology can be obtained with a lower cost by making
extensive research and development activities.

1 Introduction

Energy is a very important element for all countries in the world. Countries and
international organizations compete with each other to dominate energy from past to
present (Khare et al. 2016). With its increasing importance especially with the
industrial revolution, energy has become an irreplaceable phenomenon in the daily
life of both people and companies. With the technology advancing all over the
world, people’s needs for electrical energy are progressing in direct proportion.
Today, producing sufficient amount of cheap and clean energy in parallel with

H. Dinçer (*) · S. Yüksel · G. G. Ubay · H. Karakuş


The School of Business, İstanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].
tr; [email protected]

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 1


H. Dincer, S. Yüksel (eds.), Strategic Priorities in Competitive Environments,
Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45023-6_1
2 H. Dinçer et al.

rapidly growing population for countries is one of the basic problems of both
economic and social life (Eti et al. 2020). The main reasons for this problem can
be the exhaustible energy resources, fluctuations in prices, foreign dependency of the
countries while providing energy and environmental effects (Dinçer et al. 2019).
With the environmental awareness, which has become popular especially since
the 1970s, measures to prevent pollution of the atmosphere have been taken by many
countries, but countries have been reduced to a certain level of carbon emission with
legal obligations such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement (Pischke et al.
2019). For this reason, it is of great importance to use the generated energy with high
efficiency, to evaluate the potential of alternative and renewable energy sources as
well as the existing energy sources day by day (Kumar et al. 2017; Zhou et al. 2019).
Although most of the global energy is derived from fossil fuels today, renewable
energy sources also play a critical role in reducing dependence on fossil fuels such as
coal, oil and natural gas, and thus reducing carbon emissions (Zhang et al. 2020).
With the environmental consciousness, which has become popular especially
since 1970s, measures to prevent pollution of the atmosphere have been taken by
many countries, and countries have also been reduced to a certain level of carbon
emission by legal obligations (Wang et al. 2019). For this reason, it is quite
significant to use the generated energy with high efficiency, to evaluate the potential
of alternative and renewable energy sources as well as the existing energy sources.
Although most of the global energy is derived from fossil fuels today, renewable
energy sources also play a critical role in reducing dependence on fossil fuels such as
coal, oil and natural gas, and thus reducing carbon emissions.
Many types of renewable energy sources have been recently discovered by
countries in recent years. Wind energy, which is one of the most preferred methods
of countries that are sensitive to the environment and want to localize their energy
resources. This energy depends on many other factors such as local and geographical
differences as well as pressure differences, temporal and local change due to the
inhomogeneous warming of the earth, rotation of the earth, surface friction (Dinçer
and Yüksel 2019). Although wind energy has taken place in the lives of people in the
form of mills throughout the history, electricity production from wind energy has
remained behind other renewable energy sources since it was unpredictable for many
years (Hossain 2020). However, wind energy has been accepted as one of the most
efficient renewable energy sources, with the decline in investment costs over the
years and the fact that the wind has become much more predictable and measurable
with technological developments.
One of the main dynamics of economic growth and development is the realization
of energy investment projects, which affect the financial and financial situation of
countries, both directly and indirectly, with successful planning. At this point,
investments in renewable energy sources, especially wind energy, are of great
importance. Wind energy, which is defined as an alternative energy source, has
gained importance as the primary energy source for many countries. For this reason,
many investments are made in this field both on state and private sectors and many
project-based studies have been successfully implemented. The fact that the gov-
ernments have made incentives to produce and use wind energy has also accelerated
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy. . . 3

this transition period (Zhu and Liao 2019). Wind energy investments to countries
make an important contribution to the nationalization of the energy of that country,
while introducing the countries with a cleaner energy type. Foreign dependency in
any sector is an issue that is a burden on countries and needs to be solved. The
equipment and parts used when producing wind energy are easily available from
every country. For this reason, although wind energy is costly during the installation
phase, since the countries will be able to produce their own energy after the
installation, there is a significant decrease in the foreign dependencies of these
countries in the energy sector (Cole and Banks 2017).
Although one of the key players playing a role in this process is the government
of the country, the share of companies operating in the energy sector is also quite
large. The private sector and its actors are in every area of our lives by developing
and producing equipment, project and investment, assembling the equipment it
produces, building the facility, operating the plant and producing energy, supplying
and selling this energy. With the exponentially increasing technological develop-
ments, the energy sector has become a constantly growing dynamic sector due to the
demand of more and more energy every day. This situation has a vital importance for
the private sector, which is the main producer and consumer of energy. Because
energy in production, distribution, trade, consumption and financing stages all over
the world, it is in a decisive position at every point in the value chain. The positive
development experienced in the renewable energy costs we have mentioned before
has been mainly led by the private sector.
However, all areas where the private sector is active must be covered in order for
the energy transformation to be implemented with all its elements. The significance
of this is that as the traditional one-way energy system from the manufacturer to the
consumer experiences revolutionary transformations, the private sector’s roles
increase and grow with differentiation and growth (Maulidia et al. 2019). In order
to keep up with this transformation, the private sector needs to be prepared today to
take on these new roles and responsibilities. Although the role of state and state
support in renewable energy production is great, this support is sometimes not
sufficient and leads companies to turn to other sources that generate more profit
(Zhang et al. 2016). Therefore, the main action is the performance of companies
investing in renewable energy. It is possible to create an energy transformation
success story in the world with the correct definition of this performance, a correct
orientation and a patient study. In addition to the direct economic contribution of this
energy transformation, which will be carried out under the leadership of the private
sector, to the actors involved in the process, employment growth, technology
development and knowledge that will support the economy of the countries applying
renewable energy is also an important plus.
Therefore, the role and importance of companies in this field is very important in
wind energy investments, which have accelerated by the efforts of countries to
produce their own energy in recent years. Sustainability, which is one of the main
pillars of the energy transformation, is a concept that has taken place in the business
world for many years (Al-Hamamre et al. 2017). When we look at it from a global
perspective, private sector companies that do or want to do business worldwide
4 H. Dinçer et al.

publish sustainability reports in addition to financial reports. These reports bring the
goals and progress of the companies regarding sustainability to the attention of their
stakeholders. For this reason, examining the sustainability performances of these
companies at certain intervals and giving guidance according to these reviews makes
a great contribution to the rapid development of the wind energy sector in the field of
energy and enables investments in this area to become more efficient (Heiskanen
et al. 2018). At this point, determining the factors affecting the performance of
companies investing in wind energy in many ways is of great importance.
For this reason, in this study, it is aimed to determine the factors affecting the
performance of wind energy companies in many ways to fill this shortcoming in the
literature. In this context, a large literature review was carried out first. As a result, an
analysis with BSC was made under the finance, customer, internal process and
learning and growth categories to examine the multiple factors affecting the perfor-
mance of wind energy companies. In this analysis, the financial part emphasizes the
point that companies want to be reached by their stakeholders, while the customer
part emphasizes the point that companies want to be reached by their customers.
Additionally, the internal process section states the business process that companies
develop to satisfy their customers and stakeholders. On the other side, the learning
and growing section covers the changes and improvements that companies must
make to achieve their goals (Nørreklit et al. 2018). In order to make this analysis,
fuzzy DEMATEL approach is taken into the account.
While determining the performances of the companies in the past, all relevant
data were tried to be made financial. While fields are represented correctly, fields
without financial data are left out (Akkermans and Van Oorschot 2018). The biggest
advantage of using BSC in this study is that companies look at determining the
performance not only financially but also from a multi-dimensional perspective. In
other words, owing to considering this approach, it can be possible to use both
financial and nonfinancial issues. It is believed that this situation is the most
significant contribution of this study while comparing with the others. Another
important point is that fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making approaches are rarely
considered in the studies. Hence, by making analysis with fuzzy DEMATEL, it is
thought that this study can have methodological advantage.

2 Literature Review

There are many factors that companies take into consideration in their efforts to
increase their performance. One of these factors is related to finance. This factor has
been addressed by many researchers in the literature. Aras et al. (2018) analyzed a
model regarding the performance management of Turkish banks. On the other hand,
Turkish deposit banks operating in the 2012–2014 period were included in the scope
of the review. The said study was examined with the TOPSIS method. As a result, it
was emphasized that while increasing the performance of banks, it should give
importance to financial reports, management practices, economy and social changes.
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy. . . 5

Sunderaraman et al. (2019) also examined the issue of changes in consumer behavior
that affect financial capacity. For this purpose, Australia and the United States are
included in the review. This study was tested by multiple regression method. As a
result, it has been determined that individuals who have behavioral disorders in
financial terms have a negative effect on company performance. On the other hand, it
was also identified that these individuals reduced financial capacity and this situation
reflected negatively on the performance of the company.
There are different studies on the financial factor in the literature. Hili et al. (2016)
examined the issue that the risks that arise financially affect the company perfor-
mance in their study. USA, Europe and developing countries are included in the
scope of the study. Especially the problems arising in capital investment funds are
examined. As a result, it has been determined that the problems arising in capital
investment funds will have a negative impact on company performance. Wang et al.
(2016) investigated a study in which suggestions for problems arising in information
management systems were determined. This study has been tested with fuzzy logic
method. As a result, it has been determined that companies should carry out policies
to reduce the problems that arise in the information management process in order to
increase their performance and profitability. It has been studied on other issues that
companies must consider in order to increase their financial performance. Song et al.
(2017) examined the impact of environmental management on financial perfor-
mance. The Chinese companies for the years between 2007 and 2011 have been
included in the evaluation. As a result, it was determined that companies should give
importance to environmental management in order to increase their performance. On
the other hand, it was emphasized that environmental management has a positive
effect on the profitability of the company.
Customers are another factor that companies consider in order to improve their
performance. Companies need to pay attention to customer satisfaction in order to
increase their performance. In this context, the needs and expectations of the
customer should be taken into consideration first. This issue has been handled by
many researchers in the literature. Sarvari et al. (2016) examined the ways to reach
customer segmentation by taking demographic and monetary issues into consider-
ation. Pizza companies operating in Turkey in the work in question was taken into
the examination scope. As a result, it has been determined that in order to increase
the performance of the company, it is necessary to consider the needs and expecta-
tions of the producer and consumer. There are other studies that emphasize customer
needs to increase company performance. Kim and Park (2019) examined how the
services offered by companies affect customer behavior. In this study, firms’ per-
formances were evaluated on the basis of the Markov chain model. Consequently, it
was determined that products should be created according to customer expectations
in order to increase the performance of companies.
The services offered by companies affect the customer behavior towards the
company. Therefore, companies need to pay attention to the services they offer to
their customers in order to increase their performance. This issue has been handled
by many researchers in the literature. Bharadwaja et al. (2018) examined the
relationship between customer behavior and service-oriented organizational
6 H. Dinçer et al.

behavior. A detailed literature review was carried out regarding the study in ques-
tion. As a result, it has been determined that the behaviors of service-oriented
organizations change according to the gender of the customer. On the other hand,
it was emphasized that the customers want to receive service according to the gender
of the employees. Therefore, it is stated that companies should give importance to
customer relations in order to increase their performance. Hosseini et al. (2017)
examined the relationship between the health company’s power to distribute prod-
ucts to a particular region and customer demands. Health companies are included in
the scope of the examination. The study was tested using the Analytical Hierarchy
method (AHP). It was emphasized that health companies should attach importance
to the distribution network in order to increase their performance. On the other hand,
the stronger the distribution network, the more customer demands are determined. It
is involved in studies where it is determined how to achieve customer expectations.
Sisodia et al. (2020) examined the importance of comments made on the website for
businesses. Travel information and 800 customer reviews of the travel advisor site
are included in the review. The study was examined with unigram, bigram and
trigram methods. Hence, it has been determined that the way to increase the
performance of the companies is to meet the expectations of the customer. On the
other hand, it was emphasized that companies should give importance to websites in
order to understand customer expectations.
Another factor that should be considered in order to increase the performance of
the company is intra-company communication. In the literature, this issue has been
addressed by many researchers. Hassell and Cotton (2017) investigated the effect of
video-mediated communication on team performance. This study was examined by
one-way analysis of variance (anova). As a result, it has been determined that
internal communication affects the performance of the company. On the other
hand, video-mediated communication has been found to have a negative impact
on the employee’s performance. Therefore, it has been determined that the way to
increase internal performance is not through video communication. Yap et al. (2017)
also examined the effect of modifying the designs of projects on project performance
and effective communication. In the study, Malaysia Construction Projects were
included in the scope of the study. The study was examined with qualitative research
methods. Consequently, it was determined that when the changes were made in the
project, both time and cost were lost. On the other hand, it has been determined that
the way of learning new design processes depends on the communication between
the employees in the project. Therefore, it was emphasized that companies should
reduce the problems arising from the changes in the project with internal
communication.
Other studies have been conducted to examine the impact of internal communi-
cation on performance. Villa et al. (2017) studied the effect of effective communi-
cation systems on the performance of humanitarian organizations. Somalia was
included in the scope of the study. The study was examined by survey and structural
equation model (SEM). As a result, it has been determined that humanitarian
organizations can continue their existence and efforts to increase their performance
through strong communication. On the other hand, it was emphasized that human-
itarian aid provided would be more when internal communication was good. De
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy. . . 7

Waal and Goedegebuure (2017) examined the effect of management practices on


company performance. The study was examined by linear regression analysis
method. As a result, it has been identified that there is a positive relationship between
strong management practices and increasing their corporate performance. Addition-
ally, it was emphasized that internal communication is important in strengthening
management practices.
Another factor that the company should consider in order to increase its perfor-
mance is the technological infrastructure. In the literature, this issue has been
addressed by many researchers. In this context, Khoshnevis and Teirlinck (2018)
examined how R&D resources are based on firms and how they affect company
performance. In the study, Belgium was included in the scope of the examination.
This study was tested with data envelopment analysis. As a result, it was emphasized
that the effect of R&D activities on increasing the performance of the company is
important. On the other hand, it is determined that firms use different research
budgets differently according to their size. In this framework, it was emphasized
that the performances of companies vary depending on their R&D activities. Other
studies have been conducted to determine the impact of research and technology on
company performance. Varmazyar et al. (2016) examined the effect of research and
technology on company performance and proposed a model. The research and
technology organization (RTO) in Iran was included in the study. The study was
tested with BSC, multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM), DEMATEL,
TOPSIS and MOORA methods. Thus, it has been determined that there are many
financial and non-financial variables that affect the performance of the companies. It
was defined that one of these variables is the work done by research and technology
organization companies. On the other hand, it was emphasized that the performance
of the company, which forms the research and technological infrastructure, is also
increasing and therefore companies should improve themselves in the field of
research and technology. It is very difficult for companies with weak technological
infrastructure to improve their performance. Zhang et al. (2019) examined the
economic and environmental impacts of geothermal energy. In the study, China
was included in the scope of the study. As a result, it has been concluded that the
environmental performance of geothermal energy is quite high and it cannot be made
because it is economically and technologically insufficient. In this context, it was
emphasized that the government should provide incentives and train personnel who
can produce technology.
In addition, companies need to consider personnel selection in order to improve
their performance. This issue has been handled in the literature for different pur-
poses. Lee and Tseng (2018) investigated the criteria to be used when selecting staff.
This study was tested by multi-criteria decision making (MCDM), VIKOR Analysis
and Entropy method. As a result, it has been determined that companies need to
make personnel selection very well in order to show their performance in the best
way. On the other hand, it was emphasized that the experts should evaluate the
criteria they care about when choosing personnel. Makhamara et al. (2016) exam-
ined the effect of criteria used in recruitment evaluations in the health sector on
employee performance. In the study, the health sector in Kenya was included in the
scope of the analysis. This study has been tested with the survey method. As a result,
8 H. Dinçer et al.

it has been determined that the criteria sought in recruitment evaluations in each
sector are different and that the employees perform according to the criteria consid-
ered when hiring. In this context, it was stated that the company should evaluate the
criteria of the personnel it has chosen to perform at its best.
As a result of the literature review, it has been frequently encountered that many
researchers deal with finance, customer, internal communication, technological
infrastructure and personnel quality. In some of the related studies, countries were
examined, but in others, companies were evaluated. Issues such as internal commu-
nication, management practices and company performance, and the status of R&D
activities within the company are emphasized. In these studies, methods such as
survey method, TOPSIS, multiple regression, one-way variance analysis, data
envelopment analysis, multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM),
DEMATEL method, MOORA, VIKOR were used. Therefore, there is a need for a
study in which different methodology is considered. In this study, BSC-based factors
are taken into account to reach the conclusion. Therefore, it is believed that this study
has a positive influence on the improvement of the literature.

3 An Analysis on Wind Energy Companies

This part of the study is related to the performance evaluation on wind energy
companies. Within this context, BSC-based criteria are identified in the first manner.
Secondly, necessary information will be provided regarding fuzzy DEMATEL
approach. Thirdly, the significance levels of these criteria are identified by using
this methodology.

3.1 Determining the BSC-Based Criteria of Performance


Measurement

As a result of literature review, eight performance measurement criteria are identi-


fied. In this framework, the dimensions of BSC approach are taken into the account.
This approach is used to measure the performance of companies. The BSC method
has four different dimensions. The most important advantage of this method com-
pared to others is that both financial and non-financial factors are taken into account.
In other words, in addition to the financial figures of companies, other factors such as
customer, internal processes and training and development are also taken into
account (Dinçer et al. 2017). In this way, it will be possible to measure the
performance of companies more accurately. Table 1 gives information about these
criteria.
Table 1 indicates that there are eight different criteria for the performance
assessment of wind energy companies regarding four dimensions of BSC approach.
With respect to the dimension of finance, cost and return on investment are taken
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy. . . 9

Table 1 Performance measurement criteria


Dimensions Criteria Literature background
Finance Cost (C1) Aras et al. (2018); Hili et al. (2016)
Return on investment Song et al. (2017); Sunderaraman et al. (2019)
(C2)
Customer Customer expectation Wang et al. (2016); Sarvari et al. (2016); Dinçer et al.
(C3) (2020)
Problem solving (C4) Kim and Park (2019); Bharadwaja et al. (2018)
Internal Effective communica- Hosseini et al. (2017); Sisodia et al. (2020)
process tion (C5)
Technological back- Hassell and Cotton (2017); Villa et al. (2017);
ground (C6) Kalkavan and Ersin (2019)
Learning and Research and Develop- Yap et al. (2017); de Waal and Goedegebuure (2017)
growth ment (C7)
Qualified personnel (C8) Zhang et al. (2019); Khoshnevis and Teirlinck (2018)

into consideration. The main reason is that these two factors have an important
impact on the profitability of wind energy companies. In addition to them, regarding
customer dimension, understanding the expectations is very significant. Similarly,
immediately solving the problems of the customers also plays a key role for this
situation. On the other side, communications should be effective and wind energy
companies should have necessary technological background to improve their per-
formance. In the final dimension, these companies should make investment on
research and development and qualified personnel should be employed.

3.2 Defining the Importance Levels of these Criteria

These selected criteria are weighted in the final part of the analysis. In this context,
fuzzy DEMATEL is considered. This approach is a popular type of multi-criteria
decision-making models. It is mainly used to find more significant factors. Because
of this issue, it can be said that this approach is very helpful to reach decision under
the complex environment. The main reason of selecting DEMATEL is that impact
relationship analysis can be conducted by using this model. For this purpose,
evaluations from three decision makers are provided. These people have at least
15-year experience in wind energy companies. The decision makers make evalua-
tions by considering five different scales that are none (N), low (L), medium (M),
high (H) and very high (VH). After that, these scales are converted into fuzzy
numbers (Lin 2013). Hence, triangular fuzzy numbers of each three decision makers
for direct relation matrix are obtained. In the next stage, initial direct relation matrix
is created by considering the averages of three direct relation matrix. The details of
initial direct relation matrix are illustrated on Table 2.
Next, the values in the initial direct relation matrix are normalized. In this process,
all values are divided to the maximum value of the rows. The details of the
normalized direct relation matrix are summarized in Table 3.
10

Table 2 Initial direct relation matrix


Criteria C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8
C1 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.33 0.58 0.83 0.08 0.17 0.42 0.17 0.42 0.67 0.00 0.08 0.33 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.17 0.42 0.00 0.25 0.50
C2 0.33 0.58 0.83 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.17 0.42 0.67 0.00 0.08 0.33 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.25 0.50
C3 0.17 0.42 0.67 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.25 0.50
C4 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.17 0.25 0.50 0.17 0.33 0.58 0.00 0.25 0.50
C5 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.67 0.17 0.25 0.50 0.00 0.25 0.50
C6 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.58 0.83 1.00
C7 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.58 0.83 1.00 0.67 0.92 1.00 0.33 0.50 0.75 0.75 1.00 1.00 0.42 0.67 0.83 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.33 0.58 0.83
C8 0.17 0.33 0.58 0.08 0.17 0.42 0.00 0.17 0.42 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.25 0.50 0.67 0.17 0.33 0.58 0.17 0.25 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.00
H. Dinçer et al.
Table 3 Normalized direct relation matrix
Criteria C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8
C1 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.09 0.12 0.01 0.02 0.06 0.02 0.06 0.10 0.00 0.01 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.02 0.06 0.00 0.04 0.07
C2 0.05 0.09 0.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.02 0.06 0.10 0.00 0.01 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.04 0.07
C3 0.02 0.06 0.10 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.04 0.07
C4 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.00 0.04 0.07 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.02 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.05 0.09 0.00 0.04 0.07
C5 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.04 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.07 0.10 0.02 0.04 0.07 0.00 0.04 0.07
C6 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.09 0.12 0.15
C7 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.09 0.12 0.15 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.05 0.07 0.11 0.11 0.15 0.15 0.06 0.10 0.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.09 0.12
C8 0.02 0.05 0.09 0.01 0.02 0.06 0.00 0.02 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.04 0.07 0.10 0.02 0.05 0.09 0.02 0.04 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy. . .
11
12 H. Dinçer et al.

Table 4 Weights of Dimensions and Criteria


Weights of Weights of
Dimensions dimensions Criteria criteria
Finance 0.2201 Cost (C1) 0.1124
Return on investment (C2) 0.1077
Customer 0.2092 Customer expectation (C3) 0.1042
Problem solving (C4) 0.1050
Internal process 0.2977 Effective communication (C5) 0.1086
Technological background 0.1892
(C6)
Learning and 0.2730 Research and Development 0.1730
growth (C7)
Qualified personnel (C8) 0.1000

After creating normalized direct relation matrix, the values are divided into three
which are xl, xm and xu. In the next aspect, defuzzification process is occurred. As a
result, the weights of the dimensions and criteria are identified. The details are given
on Table 4.
Table 4 indicates that internal process and learning and growth are the most
important dimensions of BSC with respect to the wind energy investment projects.
Additionally, it is also identified that technological background is the most important
criterion. Moreover, research and development has also second highest weight. On
the other side, customer expectations and qualified personnel have lower signifi-
cance in comparison with others.

4 Conclusion

Wind energy investments are very important for a country. The most important
advantage of these investments is that they do not pollute the environment during the
energy production process. In this way, it is possible to prevent many health
problems. In addition, wind energy investments will reduce the countries’ external
dependence on energy. As a result of this situation, decreases may occur in the
current account deficit problem of the countries. Besides these issues, these invest-
ments will contribute to the economic development of the country. In addition, it will
be possible to contribute to reducing the unemployment rate with the new job
opportunities to be created. As can be understood from these issues, it is important
to develop strategies to increase wind energy investments effectively.
It is very obvious that the performance of the wind energy companies in a country
should be high because of both social and economic issues. In this study, it is also
aimed to evaluate the items to improve the performance of these companies. For this
purpose, BSC-based eight different performance measurement criteria are defined by
conducting a detailed literature review regarding wind energy companies. On the
BSC-Based Evaluation for the Factors Affecting the Performance of Wind Energy. . . 13

other side, fuzzy DEMATEL methodology is taken into account to find which
criteria are more significant. The results show that technological background and
research and development are the most important items in this framework. However,
customer expectations and qualified personnel have lower importance by comparing
with other factors.
It is understood that wind energy companies should mainly pay attention to
technological development. Wind energy project is a complex investment which
requires high engineering knowledge. Hence, these companies should have neces-
sary technological background to be successful in this process. In this framework,
attention should be paid to having modern technology in the equipment used.
Otherwise, the equipment will constantly produce problems, which will increase
the company’s costs. In addition to the aforementioned issue, the fact that these
companies have effective information technology software will also contribute to
minimizing the disruptions to be experienced. On the other hand, as a result of the
extensive research and development activities, it will be possible to have high
technology with low cost.
The main limitation of this study is the fact that the analysis is only performed for
wind energy companies. In the future studies, a comparative analysis can be
conducted with making analysis on both wind and solar energy. In addition to this
issue, different country groups can also be evaluated regarding the success of energy
investment projects. Owing to this kind of analysis, it can be possible to see which
countries have problems in this framework. Hence, necessary recommendations can
be provided for the improvement of these projects. Another important point is that
different methodologies can be taken into account to increase the originality of the
studies.

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Do FED’s and CBRT’s Policies Affect
Turkish Banks’ External Borrowings,
Financial Impacts and Investment
Performances?

Bulent Yaman, Nildag Basak Ceylan, and Ayhan Kapusuzoglu

Abstract The aim of this study is to demonstrate whether FED’s and CBRT’s
monetary polies affected Turkish banks’ external borrowings, financial impacts
and investment performances. At the end of 2008, FED had to reduce its monetary
policy interest rates to near zero as a response to house market collapse. To support
its policy, FED started to purchase papers, which resulted in record level of balance
sheet and had some spillover effects on emerging markets who enjoyed cheap and
abundant liquidity during that period. During the same period, CBRT introduced
ROM facility by which banks were able to use foreign exchange to meet their
Turkish lira reserve requirements. The Event Study results indicate that FED’s
policy had significant effects on Turkish banks’ external borrowings. Moreover,
both regression model and VAR system also indicate that FED’s and CBRT’s
monetary policies may affect banks’ external borrowing levels.

1 Introduction

As a response to house market collapse, FED had to reduce its monetary policy
interest rates to near zero levels at the end of 2008. FED started to purchase direct
obligations and MBSs because the impact of the collapse could not be mitigated
solely by conventional policies. However, as the initial stimulus plan was not

The views expressed in the study are those of the authors and do not represent the official views of
the Central Bank of the Republic Turkey. Moreover, this study is based on Bulent Yaman’s Ph.
D. Dissertation in Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Graduate School of Social Sciences,
Ankara, Turkey.

B. Yaman
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey
e-mail: [email protected]
N. B. Ceylan (*) · A. Kapusuzoglu
Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 17


H. Dincer, S. Yüksel (eds.), Strategic Priorities in Competitive Environments,
Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45023-6_2
18 B. Yaman et al.

12,000 60

10,000 50

8,000 40

6,000 Total 30

4,000 Turkey (RHA) 20

2,000 10

0 0

2015
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Fig. 1 US portfolio investments (billion US dollar). Source: CPIS

enough to heal the economy, FED included the long-term Treasury securities in its
purchase program. As a result of these large-scale asset purchases, the balance sheet
of the FED reached to 4.5 trillion US dollar from 0.9 trillion US dollar. Expansion of
FED’s balance sheet by purchasing securities in large scales at the secondary market
during the low-level interest rates is called unconventional monetary policies.
Although FED bought several types of securities at the secondary market, the
large scale asset program’s main drivers were the purchases of US Treasury Secu-
rities and Mortgage-Backed Security.
The FED’s unconventional monetary policy had some spillover effects on global
asset markets, (Belke and Dubova 2018a, b and Belke and Fahrholz 2018).
According to IMF (International Monetary Fund 2013a, b), unconventional mone-
tary policies positively affected emerging countries at their early stages through
higher global growth. Higher equity prices, lower costs of capital and borrowing
rates were observed in emerging market countries during this period. According to
the Institute of International Finance, emerging market economies attracted about
1.7 trillion US dollar portfolio inflows between May 2009-November 2015. It can be
said that some portion of the liquidity resulted from FED’s large scale asset pur-
chases (roughly 3.5 trillion US dollar) went to emerging countries. Especially
countries with current account deficits accessed this liquidity to finance their external
deficits. As a result, external borrowings of the private sectors of these fund
receiving countries increased to record high levels. Moreover, according to IMF’s
Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS), US outflows exceeded 10 trillion
US dollar and Turkey received about 50 billion US dollar (Fig. 1).
Moreover, at the same time, banks increased their external borrowings thanks to
the favorable global liquidity conditions (Fig. 2).
All in all, whether the FED’s unconventional monetary policy and CBRT’s ROM
facility affect Turkish banks’ external borrowing levels or not is measured in this
study. The monetary policy actions (mainly announcements) of developed countries
affect other countries mainly through portfolio, liquidity and mainly signaling
Do FED’s and CBRT’s Policies Affect Turkish Banks’ External Borrowings,. . . 19

250

200

150

100

50
Banks' Total External Debt
Private Sector Total External Debt
0

2012
2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019
Fig. 2 Turkish Banks’ external borrowings (billion US dollar). Source: CBRT

channels by using. In this respect, one of the contributions of this study is to measure
the effects of FED’s balance sheet changes on the Turkish banks’ external borrowing
level instead of the portfolio inflows in the form of equity and bonds. Moreover, the
related literature measures the effects of the policies by looking only equity return or
the yield of the bonds.

1.1 FED’s Unconventional Monetary Policy

Near zero level policy rates with constraints on moving them significantly below
zero, as using conventional monetary tools were not accommodative, FED started to
employ unconventional monetary policies by injecting US dollar liquidity to the
market through asset purchases of;
• 175 billion US dollar in direct obligations of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the
Federal Home Loan Banks and 1.25 trillion US dollar in MBS guaranteed by
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae between December 2008 and
August 2010.
• 300 billion US dollar of long-term Treasury papers and an additional $600 billion
of longer-term Treasury securities. Moreover, FED started to buy long-term
Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month, following the completion
of the maturity extension program in December 2012.
• 40 billion US dollar of additional MBS per month to further increase policy
accommodation starting in September 2012.
In addition to the large-scale asset purchase program, FED launched Maturity
Extension Program to extend the average maturity of its Treasury security holdings
to reduce the longer-term interest rates and to support its unconventional monetary
policy.
20 B. Yaman et al.

1.2 CBRT’s Reserve Option Mechanism

Banks in Turkey started to be able to use foreign exchange for their Turkish lira
reserve requirements with certain ratios at the end of 2011. The facility was later
called Reserve Option Mechanism (ROM). The reserve option ratio (ROR) and the
reserve option coefficient (ROC) are two main parameters that are used to calculate
how much foreign exchange can be settled against Turkish lira reserve requirements.
Let’s suppose that Bank A has to hold 1.000 Turkish lira reserve requirements for its
Turkish lira liabilities upon the upcoming reserve requirement period; ROR is 80%,
ROC is 10,000 (which means banks can hold 10,000 Turkish lira equivalent of
foreign exchange) per unit of Turkish lira reserve requirement) and finally foreign
exchange rate of USDTRY is 40,000. In this case, Bank A may hold up to 200 US
dollar (Turkish lira requirements RORROC/USDTRY Rates ¼ 1.0000.801,00/
40000) for its 1.000 Turkish lira reserve requirements in foreign exchange. In this
case, Bank A is able to fulfil its reserve requirement by using 200 US dollar plus
200 Turkish lira (as 80% of 1.000 Turkish lira partially matched FX in accordance
with ROM) instead of using 1.000 Turkish lira. If the interest rates and the liquidity
conditions are similar for foreign exchange (mainly US dollar) and Turkish lira, the
ROM facility is not expected to change banks’ balance sheet items. As historically,
the cost of Turkish lira funding is higher than that US dollar especially during the
FED’s unconventional monetary policy period. As the difference between the costs
of funding encourage banks to utilize ROM facility near the maximum levels, banks’
balance sheets substantially affected. As ROM is used as a kind of swap transaction
by which banks are able to receive Turkish lira liquidity from CBRT by placing
foreign exchange in CBRT, banks reduced their cross-currency swap position.
One of the other balance sheet items which may had been affected by the ROM
facility was the external borrowing levels of Turkish banks. As presented in Fig. 3,
there is a sharp increase in external borrowing level at the end of 2011.

90
Banks' External Borrowings
80
FX Holdings for Reserve Requirements
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Fig. 3 Turkish Bank’s external borrowings and ROM usage (billion US dollar). Source: BRSA
Do FED’s and CBRT’s Policies Affect Turkish Banks’ External Borrowings,. . . 21

2 Literature Review

Shortly after FED started to employ unconventional monetary policy in 2008 by


large scale asset purchases along with near zero policy interest rates, related literature
started to emerge. Using large scale asset purchase programs along with near zero
policy rates was not a common strategy and later called as “unconventional mone-
tary policy”. Namely one of the first comprehensive studies is done by Neely (2010).
According to Neely (2010), FED’s large-scale asset purchases have significant
impacts on foreign exchange and bond markets of selected countries. The currencies
depreciate against US dollar and bond yields decrease significantly. According to
Chen et al. (2011), FED’s monetary policy shocks affect capital inflows and asset
prices in emerging countries and the effects are stronger during unconventional
monetary policy phase. Hausman and Wongswan (2011) indicates that although
global equity indexes are significantly affected by the target surprises; FX rates and
long-term interest rates are more exposed to the path surprises. On the other hand,
Morgan (2011) indicates that although Emerging Asian Countries received portfolio
inflows and some of their currencies appreciated during the first and second phases
of FED’s unconventional monetary era, FED’s asset purchases have no significant
effect on financial markets of Emerging Asia.
According to Hayo et al. (2012), FED’s monetary policy actions and communi-
cations significantly affect equity returns in emerging countries. Glick and Leduc
(2012) indicate that due to FED’s large-scale asset purchase announcements, US
dollar depreciates, the long term interest rates and commodity prices decrease
according to the phases of FED’s asset purchase programs. The results of the
event study of Aït-Sahalia et al. (2012) indicate that FED’s unconventional monetary
policy announcements are accompanied by reductions in interbank credit and liquid-
ity risk premia domestically and had positive international impacts on Japan and the
Euro Area. Glick and Leduc (2013) indicate that US dollar generally depreciates
against other currencies due to FED policy surprises. IMF ( 2013a, b) also indicates
that asset prices, corporate leverage and foreign exchange rate exposure increased
rapidly in many emerging countries as a result of unconventional monetary policies.
However, the effects differ among phases of these programs. According to Bruno
and Shin (2013), international capital flows into the banking sector is decreased by a
contractionary shock coming from FED.
According to Moore et al. (2013), FED’s asset purchases have significant effects
on the portfolio inflows into emerging countries mainly via bond markets. By using
several empirical studies, Lim et al. (2014) result that FED’s quantitative easing
policy positively affect loan, portfolio and direct investment inflows into emerging
countries. According to Chen et al. (2014), FED’s unconventional monetary policy
shocks significantly affect capital inflows and asset prices in emerging countries
compared to conventional policies. Bauer and Neely (2014) indicate that as a result
of FED monetary policy surprises, a significant decline in bond yields in most of the
other countries is measured. Ahmed and Zlate (2014) indicate that main drivers of
22 B. Yaman et al.

the capital inflows to emerging countries are the growth rate differentials, interest
rate differences and global risk aversion during FED’s unconventional monetary
policy.
According to Rogers et al. (2014), FED’s asset purchases result US dollar to
depreciate and long-term Treasury yields of other countries to decrease. Gilchrist
et al. (2014)‘s event study results indicate FED’s unconventional monetary policy
announcements lower sovereign yields of other advanced countries. According to
Korniyenko and Loukoianova (2015), although FED’s unconventional monetary
policy is mixed effects on emerging countries, it has significant and positive effects
on the growth rate of broad money and liquidity in advanced economies. Bhattarai
et al. (2015) and Tillmann (2016), FED’s unconventional monetary policy actions
and announcements significantly affect FX rates, Treasury bond yields and equity
prices in emerging countries. The VECM results of Chen et al. (2015) indicate that
FED’s unconventional policies resulted in reduction in corporate and term spreads.
Bowman et al. (2015)‘s event study results indicate that there are significant effects
of FED’s monetary policy announcements on emerging countries assets. Fratzscher
et al. (2016a, b) indicate that first and second phases of FED’s unconventional
monetary policy announcements cause a portfolio rebalancing in the US and emerg-
ing countries, respectively. Lim and Mohapatra (2016) indicates that a lower bound
quantitative easing of FED affects gross inflows about 5% above trend for the
average developing economy. Lo Duca et al. (2016) indicates that FED’s uncon-
ventional monetary policy asset purchases play an important role in increasing bond
issuance in the non-financial corporate bond segment in both emerging and
advanced countries. According to Barroso et al. (2016), FED’s unconventional
monetary policy has significant and positive effects on Brazilian economy particu-
larly through FX rates, equity prices and economic activity in Brazil.

3 Data Sources, Definitions and Model Free Results

The empirical methods used in this study are based on monthly data set for the period
of December 2005 to December 2016. The data set covers both FED’s unconven-
tional monetary policy and CBRT’s ROM facility periods. For the ROM data,
be-weekly data is available at the CBRT’s web site. In addition, the FED’s balance
sheet data can be reached by weekly from FED’s web site. The foreign exchange
rates of USDTRY are collected from CBRT’s web site on a daily. VIX, EMBI and
Credit Default Swaps (CDS) can be reached as tick data via Bloomberg LP. For the
credit ratings of Turkey, the big three credit agencies’ information can be reached
their web sites on a daily basis. As the dependent variable, we prefer to use Turkish
banks’ external borrowings derived from balance sheets obtained from Banking
Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey (BRSA)‘s and CBRT’s web sites.
Although most of the data can be obtained daily, the dependent variable is available
Do FED’s and CBRT’s Policies Affect Turkish Banks’ External Borrowings,. . . 23

Table 1 Summary statistics of all variables


Name Source Average STD Median Min Max
External borrowing CBRT 50 23 50 18 85
FED’s balance sheet FED 2.668 1.352 2.779 823 4.500
ROM CBRT 15 17 0 0 44
USDTRY CBRT 18,512 0,5639 16,650 11,639 35,249
VIX CBOE 20.0 8.8 17.2 10.4 59.9
Spread CBRT and FED 9.5% 2.8% 9.7% 4.6% 16.2%
CDS Bloomberg LP 218 67 203 118 487
EMBI JP Morgan 275 82 253 169 639
Credit rating S&P, Fitch, Moody’S    0,00 1,00

only in monthly bases. Model free summary statistics of all variables are presented at
Table 1.

4 Empirical Analysis

In this part, it is tried to demonstrate whether FED’s unconventional monetary policy


and CBRT’s ROM facility affect external borrowing of Turkish banks. There are
several types of analyses to measure the impact of FED’s unconventional monetary
policy on selected assets of emerging countries. Among them, event study can be
considered as the most widely used one. However, as ROM facility has only one
event (the day when ROM facility was launched by CBRT), it is not suitable for the
event study. Therefore, FED’s monetary policy can be studied only by event study.
The second approach is a linear regression model OLS. As OLS requires some
specific rules for the residuals and the selected variables, some of the variables that
are used in the event study are excluded in the OLS. Finally, VAR systems have been
started to be preferred for this topic recently. Therefore, a VAR system is set to
measure FED’s and CBRT’s policy effects on external borrowings of Turkish banks.

4.1 Event Study

Compared with other econometric studies, “Event Study” has the advantages of
being clear and simple. Moreover, event studies are intensely used to evaluate the
effects of FED’s QE2 on various markets (Hamilton (2011). Hausman and
Wongswan (2011), Morgan (2011), Aït-Sahalia et al. (2012) Glick and Leduc
(2012 and 2013), Moore et al. (2013), Gilchrist et al. (2014), Rogers et al. (2014),
Bauer and Neely (2014), Chen et al. (2014) and Barroso et al. (2016) use event study
method when investigating the effects of asset purchases of FED on capital flows,
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We had a fairly good run to the Equator, and then met with very
strong south-east trades and squally weather. Our ship spread an
immense area of canvas. Being a new ship, with sails, ropes, spars,
etc., all new, and a thorough seaman in charge, we sped along gaily
with every stitch of canvas spread. We soon ran through the trades,
then had variable winds for a few days, and sighted the Island of
Tristan d’Acunha on the forty-second day out. There were great
discussions and betting as to what the ship would do when she got
the westerly winds, and started on her long run of six thousand
miles.
There is no place in the world that tries the ability, courage, and
nerve of a seaman like running the Easting down. Captain Scobie
was an old veteran in the trade, and he paced up and down the poop
like a wild beast in a cage, while the winds were baffling about. No
one dare go near him, he was so irritable, his eyes were never off
the western horizon; he was just hungering for the westerlies, to see
what his new ship would do. The light, fitful easterly airs only irritated
him. The great sails were flapping themselves against the masts,
and then bulging out to every movement of the ship. Men and boys
were aloft all the time examining every hook and block, to see if they
were well fast and ready for instant use. Spare gaskets were sent up
into the tops, and everything got ready for the coming breeze.
At midnight of the forty-seventh day the easterly wind died away,
and a long rolling swell came up from the westward, and very soon
afterwards a long, low bank of clouds began to rise in the west.
The old captain rubbed his hands with glee when he saw it, and
turning to the chief officer he said, “I’ll go below now, let me know if
you get any change,” but before he lay down, he noted the
barometer was falling fast, so, calling the steward, he told him to see
that everything in his pantry and in the passenger’s cabins was well
secured.
Two or three gentlemen passengers were still sitting up in the
cabin as the captain passed through to his room. One of them said,
“where are we now, Captain Scobie?”
With a dry smile he replied, “Just turning the corner of Melbourne
Road, gentlemen. It’s a grand road, six thousand miles long very
straight, but very uneven at present. Wants a sight of levelling down
as some of you will find before another forty-eight hours are past.
Good-night all.”
Towards four a.m., the bank of cloud astern had risen until it was
nearly overhead. Then a slight puff of cold air came from the
westward. The chief officer on the alert cried out “Stand by the
watch.” Ere a few seconds had passed every man was at his post
ready for the next order. “Square the after yards,” shouted the mate.
With a roar, a rattle and a shout round went the yards as the big ship
payed off with her head to the eastward. “Square away the foreyard,”
gleefully called out the mate again. Although up to the present there
was hardly a breath of air a big swell was rising from the westward, a
sure forerunner of a storm. For over an hour the ship lay rolling
gunwales under, until we expected every moment to see the masts
roll over the side. It was a fearful time for all on board, but at last a
low, murmuring sound was heard coming up astern of us, “stand by,
everybody!” called out the mate. The order was no sooner given than
with a roar the west wind struck us, the ship staggered for a moment,
and every rope and sail fairly cracked again with the pressure; then,
with a leap and a plunge, the noble vessel bounded forward on her
long run to the eastward, she had entered Melbourne Road in
earnest.
The captain came on deck with a broad smile on his face, even his
cross eye seemed to twinkle merrily, he was happy now. The breeze
freshened rapidly and the sea rose to a fearful height.
The following day it was blowing with the force of a hurricane; the
royals were made fast and all the upper fore and aft sails taken in
and secured. Everything about the deck was doubly lashed, the
booby hatch aft was secured with wire lashing, and all the
passengers fastened below. By noon the next day the ship had run
three hundred and eighty-two miles in twenty-four hours. The whole
surface of the ocean was one mass of white foam, like carded wool,
and when a sea broke the spray would fly as high as the topsail yard.
It was a grand, yet an awful sight, when the great ship was in the
trough of the sea, the mountainous waves seemed on a level with
the topsail yard, and it looked utterly impossible for the ship to climb
over them; but nobly she rose to her duty, though the decks were
constantly swept by the quartering seas, as the ship yawed in spite
of her helm.
For ten days did the westerly gales continue, and everybody on
board was sore with tumbling about. To cheer us, the captain
reported on that day that the ship had made 3,480 miles, an average
speed of 14½ knots per hour, a splendid piece of work. And still the
gale howled and shrieked, and still the noble ship sped onward
through the wild angry seas, which every moment threatened to
engulf her. The heart of every seaman on board throbbed with joy
and pride at the splendid behaviour of the ship, as she rode over the
mountainous sea, and shook herself free from the inrushing waters.
Not a rope had parted, not a sail had split so far. But alas, there was
sorrow and trouble in store for us, and that soon. At midnight on the
eleventh day, the gale suddenly moderated, and before daylight it
had died away, leaving a fearful sea running after her, and at times
tremendous seas would break on board. The heavily rigged ship
rolled from side to side, having no wind to steady her. No rigging that
was ever made could stand such a strain long, and the following
night the foremast, with yards and sails went over the side. The
chain-plates drew out of the ship’s side with the enormous strain on
them; the lower mast carried away about one foot below the main
deck; and in its fall the immense fore-yard cut the bulwarks down to
the deck on each side. We all thought she was gone, but soon we
heard the captain’s voice roaring above the noise of the sea:
“Stand clear of the deck!”
Every man sprang to shelter, not a moment too soon either, as a
tremendous sea broke on board. The ship broached to, it smashed
the boats and washed away everything moveable from the decks.
The noble ship shuddered and paused like a frightened thing, then,
crippled as she was, again shook herself free, but she was in a sad
plight.
“All hands clear away the wreck!”
With axes, knives and chisels the rigging was cut to let the broken
mast and yards drift clear of the ship. The steerage passengers were
battened down in the steerage, and their cries were heartrending.
After the wreckage was got clear, the captain ordered the main
topmast backstays to be cut away on the lee roll, as there was a
danger of the whole mast falling aft on the deck, but before the men
could carry out his orders the mast was carried away and came
down with a crash on the port side.
The upper masts went clear over the side, but the topsail yards
came down on to the deck end on, crashed through the deck,
through the steerage amongst the passengers and struck a bale of
blankets in the lower hold. The upper part then broke off, leaving
about twenty feet of the iron yard standing above the deck, ripping
away the main deck each time the ship rolled, the water meanwhile
pouring in tons through the torn decks into the steerage amongst the
already terrified passengers.
“Get that yard out of that as quick as possible!” roared the captain,
who was as cool as a cucumber.
A tackle was made fast to the stump of the mainmast, and hooked
on to the yard and the fall stretched right aft, and all hands, male
passengers too, laid hold of it, and waited for a steady moment. The
chief officer called out “Stand by! Haul!” and with a wild frantic pull
the broken yard was hauled out of the deck and lowered over the
side.
The deck for about thirty feet had been ripped up, and the seas
had poured down the gap. The carpenter reported five feet of water
in the hold. After some difficulty the donkey pump was started, and
all hands were set to work cutting away the wreckage and spars, and
nailing boards and sails over the broken deck. What a time we spent,
all day and all night we toiled without ceasing. The captain and mate
were here, there and everywhere, helping this one, relieving that
one, watching the horizon for a sail, watching the water in the well,
cheering this one and that one, giving their orders as coolly as
though they were in the dock at home, always the same, no trace of
anxiety on their faces it was impossible to judge the real state of their
feelings.
The water rose in the holds in spite of the pumps, and our plight
was very serious. The cabin was packed full of passengers, the
children, poor mites, crying from sheer terror, the women praying,
many of them beyond tears, the men shouting to be let out; but
beyond a dozen of them who had been seamen in their younger
days, and who had been helping, it was felt that the rest were best
out of the way.
All day and all night the work went on. When daylight came again
our case seemed worse than ever, the real state of the damage
became more apparent. Old bronzed sailors, who had spent their
whole lives at sea battling with the ocean in all her moods, turned
fairly white when they looked around, and heard the despairing cry of
the women and children huddled together aft. Strong men, and we
had some strong men amongst the crew, flung themselves down on
the deck, utterly exhausted, rolling about as the ship laboured in the
heavy seas, even the ship herself seemed to give up struggling. One
of the spars in falling had struck my right foot breaking three of my
toes, but there was no time to see to them or to bind them up. Only
the captain and mate seemed unchanged. They never flinched,
never seemed tired—true British seamen, staunch to the back-bone.
For five days and nights we battled for our lives, and on the sixth
day after the disaster the wind and sea began to abate, and the
pumps got the water under. The captain then ordered all hands eight
hours complete rest, and they needed it. Every man forrard rolled
into his berth just as he stood—oilskins and sea-boots too.
The wind and sea were still moderating, and by the following day
the sea was fairly smooth, and the wind had died away to a light
easterly air, and promised to be a fine clear day. Just after daylight
the mate’s voice rang out loud and clear “all hands on deck.” The
fourth mate was ordered to take several male passengers with him,
and lash some planks across the broken bulwark, to prevent anyone
from falling over the side. The carpenter also took several
passengers and set about patching the broken decks temporarily.
The captain and the other officers then set all the sailors to work
clearing up the wreck of the rigging, and securing the remaining
spars. Three of the boats had been stove in by the falling spars, and
a young man amongst the passengers, who was a joiner, was set to
work to repair them.
As the foremast was carried away just below the main deck the
first job was to get a jury mast up. We had several large spare spars
on deck, and five lighter spars on the forward house. As there was
twenty feet of the old foremast left in the hold, it was decided to use
this as a step for the jurymast. A spar was cut about eighteen feet
long, and dropped inside the stump of the old iron mast, to rest the
heel of the jurymast on. Two large spars were with difficulty raised up
for shears, and well secured.
The third mate and four of the apprentices were then told off to
keep watch at night, and all hands sent below to rest after a hard
day’s work. The following day, as soon as the first streaks of daylight
appeared, “All hands on deck!” was heard reverberating from one
end of the ship to the other. The men turned out fairly lively, and
were soon hard at work. There was need to make good use of the
fine weather, and to get a jury mast up before the breeze and sea
sprang up again. One of the spare spars was then fitted up for a
jurymast. After some real hard dangerous work, which brought out
the true grit of the British seamen, this large spar was hove up on
end and secured. The crossjack yard was hove forward, and used on
the jurymast for a foreyard. A sail was bent and set and the ship with
difficulty put on her course again. The steerage was repaired
temporarily, and the passengers put below once more. Many of them
were half dead with fright, but the fine weather lasted for ten days,
and by that time we had all things well secured about the deck.
Twenty-one days after losing our masts we sighted King’s Island,
where a few days before, unknown to us, the ship “British Admiral”
was wrecked and ninety-seven lives lost, so that bad as our case
was, there were others far worse. Three days after sighting King’s
Island we spoke the sailing vessel “Windsor Castle.” Her captain
asked if we wanted assistance. Our captain told him he would like to
be reported, as he feared she would be unmanageable when she got
near the coast. The captain of the “Windsor Castle” then very
generously sailed back to Cape Otway, and reported us disabled.
The Government at Melbourne at once despatched the tug
“Warhawk” to look for us. Just as her coal was about used up she
came near us and told the captain she had not coal enough to take
us in tow, but would go into port to coal, and come out again for us.
That night, however, after the tug had left us, the Government
despatch boat, which had been sent out to look for us along the
coast; sighted us and at once took us in tow. What joy filled the
hearts of all on board when we found ourselves in tow and nearing
Melbourne. All our suffering was forgotten in the joy of our safety.
On arrival in dock we heard that the “Rooperal,” “Chrisonomy,”
“Dallam Tower,” “Loch Ard,” and “Cambridgeshire” had all arrived
crippled like ourselves, but the “British Admiral” as already
mentioned, had been lost on King’s Island, and ninety-seven lives
with her.
The passengers, you may be sure, lost no time in getting ashore.
The bulk of the crew was paid off as the ship would most likely be
five or six months there, as the new masts and rigging had to be sent
out from England. I was not among those paid off, but of that, and
what came of it shall be told in the next chapter.
CHAPTER XVIII

Lost in the Bush

During the five months we lay at Williamstown Wharf, replacing the


disabled masts and rigging, I spent what I consider the happiest time
of my life. The rigging work was placed in the hands of the well-
known firm of Messrs. Johnson Bros., of Melbourne, and well they
carried out their contract. I was employed with them all the time, and
learnt to be a thorough practical seaman, especially in the handling
and splicing of wire, which, in after years, stood me in good service.
The working hours for the riggers were from eight in the morning to
five in the evening, but the four apprentices and I worked from six in
the morning until six in the evening, as we cleaned and washed the
decks both before and after the riggers had been working. The
master rigger paid me five shillings every Saturday out of his own
pocket for working with them; so that I always had a little pocket
money to go on with. I went ashore every evening and had a right
good time. It was here that I found what a good thing it was to belong
to the Order of Good Templars. I attached myself to a lodge near the
dock, and at once found myself in a circle of friends, who vied with
each other in making me welcome in their homes, and at the various
lodges. Needless to say that the young sisters in the lodges played
sad havoc with my, at that time, susceptible heart, and I was more or
less madly in love during my stay there, and scarcely a night passed
without a social gathering at one or other of the lodges in Melbourne.
But my happy time was drawing to a close, and the “John Kerr”
was again ready for sea, but I had made up my mind she should sail
without me, the fascination of the gold fields had laid its hold on me,
and I only waited for a favourable opportunity to set out and try my
fortune in this direction, having made up my mind to leave her before
she left the wharf.
The opportunity offered itself the night before we were to haul out
into the bay. A coasting barque, hailing from Newcastle, New South
Wales, was lying at the other side of the wharf. It was bound for
Newcastle. I had arranged with one of her crew, whom I had become
acquainted with, to stow away in her the night before she sailed. I
also knew that the officers and the watchman of the “John Kerr” were
carefully watching the two apprentices and myself to prevent us
deserting, but the old saying, “where there’s a will there’s a way,”
was borne out in my case, although I had to use every caution to
circumvent them. However, I did manage it. The barque “Woodville”
was to sail from the jetty at midnight. About an hour before she cast
off, I saw our watchman standing beside the gangway, so, without
more ado, I slipped over the side and down a rope, and landed on
one of the crossbeams under the jetty. I crawled along the piles until
I got to the other side of the jetty and just abreast of the bows of the
“Woodville.” Seizing the bow-head lines, I climbed on board and
slipped into the forecastle. The sailors welcomed me with a laugh,
and shewed me where to hide, but there was no need for me to do
this, as I had barely got on board before the order was given to loose
the topsails, and when these were set, the lines were cast off, and
the vessel at once got under weigh.
By daylight we had cleared the heads and were running before a
strong breeze for Bass Straits. I then went on deck and reported
myself to Captain Conely, who did not shew any surprise at my
appearance, even if he felt it, but just said:
“All right, just go along to the mate, and no doubt he will find you
some work to do.”
I immediately did this, and he at once sent me amongst the crew,
and they at once made me one of themselves. I was delighted with
the social spirit and friendly feeling that existed between the captain,
officers, and the men in this colonial vessel. What a difference
between her and the other vessels I had sailed in. For instance, the
seamen on the “John Kerr” were paid two pounds ten per month, and
got the Board of Trade scale of provisions, their pound and pint, or,
as was once said to me by an old Welsh skipper, when I and the rest
of the crew were half dead with thirst, and there was plenty on board,
“they get their whack, and they’ll get no more.” But the sailors on the
“Woodville” were paid seven pounds per month. They did not sign for
any scale of provisions, but for full and plenty; they got soft bread,
fresh soup and stores every day, and no restriction as to water. No
wonder they were contented and cheerful.
We had a fair passage to Newcastle, and there I landed with my
few belongings and a heart full of hope at the prospect before me,
and the sense of freedom from restraint that had always been a
passion with me. I was anxious to see the country, so, after making a
few enquiries, I decided to go on the “Wallaby” (or tramp), and on the
following morning, having got together five pounds of ship’s bread,
and a billy, or can, to hold two quarts of water, I rolled up my few
things in a swag, slung it over my shoulder, and started for my first
tramp through the bush, intending to make for Lake McQuarrie.
It was a lovely morning when I started, the sky overhead was
bright and clear, my heart was light, and I had no fear for the future,
being full of the confidence of ignorance and already used to
hardships.
Having been advised to follow the freshest bullock track, I entered
the bush at Minmi, a small village about twelve miles from
Newcastle. For several hours I tramped on, but not a human creature
did I meet, but at present I was too interested to notice this, stopping
frequently to look at the great pine trees that were growing in the Ti
tree scrub, while here and there the common fern grew luxuriantly,
reminding me of the parks one sees surrounding some of the large
estates in the old country. So far the track had been of fine white
dust that got into my eyes and throat, but I was so delighted with the
bush that I pressed on, new beauties unfolding themselves before
my eyes at every step; the beautiful tall gum trees and the numerous
and wonderful plants and ferns that I met with, the birds, too, many
of them singing gaily in the trees.
My feet began to feel tired and, thinking a rest would do me no
harm, I sat down and made a meal, and had a good drink of the
water I had with me. Now Lake McQuarrie lay due south from Minmi.
I had noticed that the sun was on my left side when I started, and
having been warned against wandering into the bush away from the
track, I had kept the sun on my left side until midday, when I could
not say which way it was moving, so I lay down under some tall gum
trees, and, looking up through the branches for about half-an-hour I
noted the sun’s altitude was decreasing, this shewing me that it was
now past noon.
After a good rest I started again on my journey, keeping the sun
now on my right side. As night drew near my steps lagged a little and
I began to feel a bit nervous, which was a new experience for me,
and I feared that I had lost my way. So engrossed was I in this
thought that I failed to notice that night had suddenly closed down
upon me, without any warning, as it does in these tropics, so I picked
out a place where there were a lot of dry leaves and sat down
completely tired out, feeling it was useless to try and go any further
on my journey until daylight, when I should again have the sun to
guide me. I began to wish I had not started alone on my trip.
However, I soon fell asleep and slept soundly throughout the night—
the sleep of the tired.
How long I slept I cannot say, but I was awakened by the sound of
coarse loud laughter close beside me. The night was pitch dark, I
could not see ten feet in front of me. Springing to my feet, I drew my
sheath knife from my belt, and gripping it tightly in my right hand
stood on the defensive. I thought I was surrounded by a lot of native
blacks, who had come upon me, and were laughing at the easy
capture they would make of me. Although I could not see anything
moving I determined to sell my life dearly. My legs were shaking
under me, if I could have seen anything it would not have felt so bad,
but the intense darkness appalled me. Again the coarse laughter
resounded through the bush, just as though there were a lot of men
near. After a few minutes my nerve returned, and I gave a loud coo-
ee. Immediately there was a loud laugh just above my head, and it
slowly dawned upon me that the cause of my fright had been some
laughing jackasses in the trees, the relief was great, but it was some
time before I felt like sleeping again.
I was just quietly dosing off when I heard the most pitiful wailing of
a child. Up I sprang again, and halloed again and again, but got no
answer. I dared not leave the tree for fear of losing my bearings.
Time after time the pitiful crying went on. Oh, how I prayed for
daylight, surely no child was astray in this awful place, or was it
being tortured or what. I felt quite unstrung, every cry and moan went
to my heart, and to feel so helpless, to stand there whilst that pitiful
cry went out into the darkness and loneliness, and not to be able to
help; it was with difficulty I restrained myself from rushing to where I
thought the cry came from. At last it got fainter and fainter, then
ceased altogether, as though it had either given out or wandered
farther away. Then sinking down once more at the foot of the tree I
fell asleep from sheer weariness of mind and body.
When I awoke, the sun was high in the heavens, so that for a little
while I could not tell which was the south point. I lay on my back, and
again looking up through the tall trees, noted that the sun was still
increasing his altitude, so I at once faced south and proceeded on
my way, looking on every side for signs of the baby I had heard
crying. I was greatly refreshed by my night’s rest but very uneasy in
my mind when I looked into the billy, and found there was very little
water in it, and I was almost choking with thirst.
After tramping on for another two hours, I came across the dead
body of a man lying in the grass. The undergrowth being so thick, I
put my foot on the body before I noticed it. This gave me a bit of a
shock for a moment, but not being troubled with nerves I soon got
over it. The body was that of a man about thirty years of age, with
fair hair and moustache, and was nearly nude. The tongue was
protruding and quite blue, and on the breast and forearm there were
tattoo marks. There he lay stretched upon the ground, with sightless
eyes gazing up to the pitiless sky. A blue flannel shirt was lying near
the body, this I picked up and tied to the tree just over the body, so
that it could be found later on.
Continuing my tramp, what I had just seen not being in any way
likely to raise my spirits or give me much encouragement, I came
across a patch of Ti tree scrub that was too thick for me to make my
way through, so I kept away to the right for a few miles, until the
country was clearer. The sun was almost overhead, and I was
suffering agony from thirst; eagerly I looked into the billy to see if by
chance I had left a mouthful of water, but no, I had drunk the last
drop some hours ago; how my throat ached with the thirst, then I
began to think of the dead man, who no doubt had lost his way in the
bush and died of thirst, surely that would not be my fate. I must not
think of these things, but press on, and look for water.
Suddenly I came across a tiny creek, almost out of sight, with a
beautiful clear stream of running water. Oh, how my heart leaped
with joy as I hurried towards it. Flinging myself on my knees I filled
the billy, and fairly poured it down my parched throat. Then again
filling it I plunged my head, face and neck into the sweet cool water,
and taking off my shoes and socks let the water wander over my hot
and tired and badly blistered feet. Oh, the relief to mind and body
that that stream brought, then dropping on my knees I thanked God
for leading me to it. There I sat loth to leave—several snakes and
lizards were crawling about near the water, but their presence did not
mar its sweetness. Then, feeling rested and refreshed, I had another
good drink and filling up the billy I set off again on my journey, and
after tramping through the dense bush and wondering still about the
pitiful cries I had heard, suddenly, without a moment’s warning, the
precious billy of water was snatched out of my hand. Swinging
quickly round, a horrible sight met my eyes. There standing before
me was a tall naked man. His eyes were all bloodshot, his whole
body scratched and bleeding, his hair matted and covered with furze
and grass. He had my billy of water to his mouth and was pouring it
down his throat. At his feet lay a small native bear with its stomach
cut open. The man’s face was a terrible sight, all covered with the
blood he had been sucking from the bear. I could see at a glance
that the poor fellow was stark mad, and, being a big powerful man, I
felt that if he chose to attack me, I should stand a very poor chance.
All these thoughts passed through my mind quicker than I can relate
them. However, I drew my knife, which was still in my belt, but my
precautions were needless for before I could decide on any action,
he had drunk all my water, and dropped down in a senseless heap
on the ground. I sprang forward and grasped the billy, and, not
knowing what to do under the circumstances, went back to the creek
as quickly as possible and refilled the billy with water, drinking as
much as I could besides. I then retraced my steps towards the lake
district. I had lost two good hours over that poor lost creature, and
was not sure how soon I might be in the same condition.
Towards sunset the track seemed to have disappeared. I had lost
sight of all bullock-dray ruts, and I began to think that I, too, was lost,
but hope urged me on. I kept on working south by the sun, and I
knew Lake McQuarrie was due south. If I could only hold out I was
bound to get there sooner or later.
At sunset I ate my last biscuit and lay down at the foot of a large
blue gum tree. Worn out with my tramp I was soon in a sound sleep,
from which I did not wake until broad daylight. Still feeling tired and
hungry my first thought was when I should again get something to
eat. Suddenly the welcome tinkling of bells fell on my ears. I knew
that all cattle, when grazing in the colonies, have a small bell
attached to them, so that they can be heard in the bush, even when
they cannot be seen. My spirits rose like magic, and I sprang to my
feet. Just at that moment, I heard the sound of some heavy body
crushing its way through the bush, and the next minute two large
kangaroos went leaping past, and in a couple of minutes afterwards
a young man on horseback dashed up. On seeing me he pulled up
his horse at once, his face full of astonishment.
“Jehoshaphat!” he cried, “where the devil did you spring from?”
I told him how I had been sleeping there all night and had tramped
from Newcastle.
“Alone?” he asked. “Well, all I can say is you are very lucky to find
your way here. You might have been lost in the bush. As it is, there
are several men missing. The police have sent in a notice from
Maitland saying that several sailors have disappeared between
Newcastle and Wallsend coal mines, where they were making for.”
I told him about the dead sailor I had seen, also about the one who
had stolen my can of water.
“By jove!” he exclaimed, “we must save that chap if it is possible,”
and placing his hands to his mouth in the shape of a funnel he
called, “coo-ee! coo-ee!” with a voice of such penetrating power, that
I am sure he could be heard for miles around. The note was clear as
a bell and as resonant. Then, for a moment or two, he stood in a
listening attitude, and from a long distance away could be heard the
answering cry “coo-ee! coo-ee!” twice repeated. My new found friend
again gave the same call three times, which was answered by a
single call.
“That’s all right,” he said, “they’ll be here in a minute or two.”
In about five minutes we heard the sound of horses galloping, and
in another few minutes two horsemen dashed up to us.
“What’s up, Frank?” said they, almost before they had pulled up
their horses. Then, catching sight of me, “oh, found one of the lost
ones—eh, that’s good.”
Matters were explained to them, and they at once mounted again.
“Jerusalem, Frank, we must try and find that poor chap, and save
him if it is possible.”
I gave them the direction I had come, as near as I could. The one
named Frank then pointed to a cluster of grey gum trees in the
distance, and told me to make my way there, and just to the right of
them I should find a bullock track; then to follow this track for about
two miles and I would come across a solitary house in the bush. I
was to call there and say, Frank sent me, and to tell Harry, who was
at the house, that they had gone to look after a poor fellow who was
lost in the bush. They then put spurs to their horses and galloped off
and were quickly out of sight.
I made my way with a light heart and tired feet to the gum trees.
Found the bullock track, and following this for quite three miles I
came across the blockhouse just by the side of the track. At the door,
but with his back towards me, stood a splendid specimen of
manhood. He must have been quite six feet in height, a mass of
bone and muscle, with not an ounce of spare flesh on him, and as
straight as a reed. As I approached the house, I trod on some dry
twigs, making a noise. The young man heard it, and, without turning
his head sprang into the house and out again in an instant with a gun
in his hands. Looking round he saw me, and I found that he was
about twenty years of age, with an open kindly face that could be
trusted at first sight.
“Sold again,” he remarked. “Hello, young man, where do you come
from?”
“Newcastle,” I replied.
“Are you by yourself?” he asked.
I told him I was, and also about the dead man and the other that
his mates had gone to try and rescue.
“Poor chap,” he said, “but Frank will find him if any man can. There
have been a lot of men lost in the bush this last season, owing to the
drought drying up all the creeks. And when they are without water
their tramping soon ends in madness or death. But come along
inside and have something to eat, for you must be nearly starving.
Do you like kangaroo steak?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “I have never tasted it.”
“Well, sit down, and I’ll soon fix you a nice one up that will make
you smack your lips.”
There were two large hind-quarters of kangaroo hanging up in the
outhouse in a large perforated zinc safe that was standing on four
legs, and each leg stood in a dish of water to prevent the swarms of
ants from getting into the safe. While he was frying the steak I looked
round the house. It was a square block-house, divided into two
apartments, one being used as a bedroom, in it were two camp
beds, and two hammocks slung from the overhead beams. There
were two wooden boxes and a few small stools, no chairs or
lounges, no luxury here, spartan simplicity was the order of the day.
The other room in which I was sitting contained a miscellaneous
assortment of articles dear to the heart of a sportsman—guns,
revolvers, axes, picks, and two or three spades, some fishing tackle,
saddles and bridles, several pairs of spurs, and a quantity of
kangaroo, opossum, squirrel, and native bear skins.
“There you are mate,” said Harry, as he placed about a three
pound steak and about two pounds of damper, and a huge billy of
tea before me. “Wire away, and make a good square meal.”
I started to thank him, but whether it was from being without food
for twenty-four hours and the excitement I had passed through on my
tramp through the bush, and my meeting that unfortunate mad fellow,
or some other cause I know not, but while he was speaking I
collapsed in a dead faint. When I came to I was lying on the ground
and he was bathing my head and face with water. I soon felt better
again, and was able to eat a good breakfast of the steak and
damper, washed down with the tea, and by this time I felt like a new
man. After breakfast I thanked him heartily and was about to
continue my journey, but Harry would not hear of it:
“Oh, no you don’t,” he said. “You must stay where you are for a
few days, and rest yourself, and we will take you on to the lake
afterwards, and I have no doubt we can find you employment.”
You may guess how glad I was to hear this, and I renewed my
thanks.
“We don’t often get visitors from the Old Country this way,” he
said, “so we make the most of those who do come.”
I asked him why when first he heard me approaching he sprang for
his gun, before looking to see who it was?
“Oh,” he laughed, “I thought it was a kangaroo, and if I had waited
to see him, before getting the gun, he would have been out of range
before I got a shot at him. My mates were after kangaroos this
morning.”
The day passed quickly in pleasant chat, and just about sundown
the three horsemen returned from their search for the lost man. They
had found his body beside the creek where I had filled my billy in the
morning. The poor fellow had apparently found the water and in his
delirium had thrown himself down beside it, and must then have
been bitten by a snake, for when they found him his body was much
swollen and going bluish. The three friends had at once dug a hole
just below the surface, and buried the body, and had then cut a large
cross on one of the gum trees to mark the spot, then, continuing their
search for the body of the other poor fellow, had buried it in the same
way.
Poor fellows! Theirs was a sad end. Only a few days ago they
were on board their ship, no doubt full of health and strength, but a
restless roving spirit had led them like myself to desert their vessel,
and now they were sleeping their last long sleep in the lone
Australian bush, and I had only narrowly escaped a like fate.
I stayed with my new friends for two weeks, and it was a happy
restful time. They were employed splitting rails and fence posts, and
making trunnels for shipbuilders, and they had more orders than they
could execute. They only worked four days a week. I was very
surprised at this, and said so.
“My friend,” said Frank, “in this country we work to live, as you will
soon find, not live to work, and we find that four days hard work per
week will supply us with all we need. Then we have two days to
improve ourselves in learning, hunting, fishing, trading, visiting, etc.,
and on Sunday we lie back and rest, and if we have a visitor like you,
we talk about other lands, and the Homeland, which none of us have
seen yet, but hope to, as we are all natives of New South Wales.”
During my stay with them, I learnt much that was useful to me
afterwards, such as cutting rails and felling large trees. At other times
I would help in splicing ropes and making traces for the bullock
teams that took the rails and trunnels to the Lake McQuarrie for
shipment to Sidney and Newcastle.
At the end of my pleasant stay, Frank took me over to the house of
Mr. Williams, at Belmont, on the banks of the lake, who was in want
of a man to look after a sailing yacht and several rowing boats, to
teach his children swimming, and to make himself generally useful.
He at once engaged me, and I felt that the place would suit me very
well until I had become thoroughly acquainted with that part of the
country.
CHAPTER XIX

Life at Belmont—Sharks and Flying Foxes

Belmont was a well known and prettily situated pleasure resort in


those days on one of the beautiful bays in Lake McQuarrie. The
homestead of Mr. Williams stood on the top of a hill overlooking the
lake and the surrounding country, and was about sixteen miles from
Newcastle through the bush in which I was lost, as stated in the
preceding chapter. On the hillside there were splendid fruit orchards
teeming with all manner of fruits. Here in rich abundance grew
oranges, apples, pears, bananas, figs, apricots, grapes, quinces and
water melons galore, besides many others, while beyond the
orchards there was again the bush with its magnificent red, blue and
grey gum trees, some of them towering to the height of two hundred
and fifty feet with a girth above the ground of thirty feet—monarchs
of the bush, whilst around their feet grew the sweet-scented
honeysuckle, sarsaparilla, bush oak, stringy bark, ti tree and various
others almost too numerous to mention. The bay formed between
the headlands of Belmont and Southlands, where there is a large
steam saw mill, had a lovely white sandy beach, and the bay itself
was alive with fish, while the shores were thronged with wild duck,
curlews, quail, black swans and penguins. On the lake were several
rowing boats and a sailing yacht, the house was large with extensive
grounds and was a constant rendezvous for large parties of ladies
and gentlemen from Sydney and other places who came for both
pleasure and sport. My work lay chiefly in looking after the boats,
teaching Mr. Williams’ children to swim and also any visitors wishing
to learn, and making myself generally useful.
One day while out in the lake with three young lady visitors whom I
was giving swimming lessons to, and who had for the first time that
morning ventured some thirty yards from the shore, I saw the dorsal
fin of a large shark not more than fifty feet outside of us. For the
moment I was almost paralysed with fear for my charges, then to my
relief I realized that as yet they knew nothing of the danger that
threatened them, so I sang out:
“Now ladies, this way, a race, a race for the shore; away, away,
see who will win it.”
The young ladies at once took up the challenge and struck out for
the beach. I followed them, urging them on with words of
encouragement, although my heart was in my mouth until we all
stood safely on the shore. I looked out across the waters, but the
shark, through God’s great mercy had not followed us, and was
nowhere to be seen, one of us, to say the least of it, had just
escaped a horrible death.
As the young ladies knew nothing about the narrow escape we
had just had, I thought it better not to tell them, as they would have
been terribly upset, and, as I afterwards learnt, this was the first time
a shark had been seen in this part of the lake, but I kept a sharper
look out when I had occasion to be in the water either for pleasure or
duty.
About a week afterwards a fisherman on the other side of the lake
caught a large shark which had one eye torn out and the other
seemed to be injured. This, no doubt, was the shark that I saw, and
owing to its defective sight we all escaped.
Our providential escape, however, was brought forcibly back to my
mind some three months later by a dreadful tragedy that happened
in a fisherman’s family named Boyd living in a cottage at the
entrance of the lake, their cottage standing about thirty feet from the
water’s edge.
On the day it happened, just about sunset, Mr. Boyd and his wife
were sitting at their cottage door facing the lake and watching their
two youngest children playing on the sands; presently their eldest
daughter Nellie, a girl about eighteen years of age came out of the
cottage in a loose wrapper and went down to the water for a bathe. A
large Newfoundland dog followed her, and swam about with her. The
girl had swum about seventy or eighty feet from the shore when her
father whistled to the dog, who immediately started to swim back to

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