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--- 193412 [2014/09/12 11:57] – [This all Sounds Like Kowmung to me] emmanuelle_c
+++ 193412 [2014/09/12 13:22] (current) – [Social Notes.] emmanuelle_c
@@ Line 208: / Line 208: @@
 ===== Exploration of Tuglow Caves =====
-A letter from Oliver Glanfield to Myles Dunphy
+A letter from Oliver Glanfield to Myles Dunphy\\
 rd. August, 1934.
 Dear Myles,
-I have been trying to drop in and recount our experiences on our second
-visit to Tuglaw Caves on August 4, 5 and 6 inst., but having been unsuccessful in seeing you I am writing a brief outline of the trip.
-The party - Cedric Old and Keith Hardiman, both of the legal fraternity; and Win. Barnes, a doctor; and myself - left Sydney on Friday night in Old's car and stayed the night at his cottage at Wentworth Falls. This time we carried a
-thermometer as a matter of interest. At Wentworth Falls a strong westerly blow
-arose and sent the temperature down to 400F. Spent a good night indoors and moved off next morning in good sunshine to Jenolan. Along the main road, from about
-Hartley to Jenolan, snow had fallen the previous night and still remained in protected
-patches. Somehow we could not get warm.
-Passed through Jenolan and up the Oberon Hill, finding the whole country covered with a few inches of snow. Air temperature 350F generally, but once dropped to 330F. Good road but a bit slippery to Ginkin Turnoff (main Ginkin Road, not the short cut, which is in a terrible condition. Poor road to Ginkin, sky becoming
-ominously overcast, and a bad road to Tuglaw which necessitated detours, and once the
-removal of undergrowth by axe to provide a safe passage around a road bog of unknown depth.
-Arrived at Dennis' Farm shivering and literally blue in the nose and accompanied by a biting westerly wind. What a bleak, exposed position this farm occupiesi After unpacking the gear and covering the car with a tarpaulin we set off for Tuglow Hut, not having eaten since breakfast, and it now being around 4 p.m. As we descended we escaped the full force of the wind and by sunset arrived at the Tuglaw River, after meeting Mr. Bill Dennis en route.
-The river was greatly swollen and crossing proved difficult. Old tried to wade at the usual ford but the current was too strong and the cold water made his
-skin very sore. As the light was failing rapidly we decided to push a pole across the narrowest part where two limestone boulders formed a deep, rushing channel. A
-second lighter pole was also manoeuvred into position, and then I crawled across on
-all fours and fixed a rope to the opposite side. On this somewhat insecure bridge we crossed with our gear, and entered the hut at twilight, finding one of Dennis' hands camped there.
-Old, failing in a brave attempt to wade the river, ran up and down the bank
-trying to warm himself, clad in shirt, pullover, coat, overcoat and muffler, but
-without his trousers, and presented a strange sight in the fading light of the cold evening. After spending some time and considerable physical effort in warming himself he was unfortunate enough to step forward onto a seemingly solid-looking
-grass tussock by the side of the stream, and found himself dropped vertically into
-the chilly stream again. These incidents produced a deal of hilarity but the various comments cannot be recorded.
-SUNDAY, AUGUST 5th., 1934. The day broke clear and sunny, but fresh to cold. Party
-set out over Tuglau Mountain to the Caves. Much to my discredit, I admit an error in guiding and we found ourselves in the next gully upstream along the Kawmung from the Caves, but after a scouting trip on my part, we climbed out and arrived at the
-Caves about mid-day. We had brought along a winch made of one inch galvanized iron
-piping with handles, and rigged up this S.E. of the bigger entrance, having previously
-marked Z)112 200 feet of rope in 20 feet sections.	Decided to lunch before the descent. During 1-unzh we drew lots for "first down," I draw the short stick, so. having had a good lunch, I got into tho chair we made on the end of the rope, and realizing it VAS too late to back out now I gave three blasts on the whistle to be lowered. As you know, my experience in unexplored and partly explored caves is extensive, but I must admit a strange feeling came over me as I looked down that hole below, not knowing its depth or what it contained beyond the limit of the beam of my torch, and being lowered on an untested le rope, steadying myself against the almost vertical side
+I have been trying to drop in and recount our experiences on our second visit to Tuglow Caves on August 4, 5 and 6 inst., but having been unsuccessful in seeing you I am writing a brief outline of the trip.
-of the crevasse. This feeling intensified when I reached a larger cavern, the sides of which were beyond reach, However, I signalled for further lowering and, swinging freely in space, descended 40 feet or so to a ledge. Altering my direction somewhat I continued steadily downward p gaining confidence, sometimes with rocks against which I steadied myself, sometimes freely swinging, until I came to a ledge about 30 feet
-up from what appeared to be a "bottom". Looking upward to see haw many times the rope was deflected from the straight line, but not being able to see to the opening above, I decided to descend no farther, as such a descent would necessitate passing the rope over particularly rough rocks, which might cause jamming. Dropped a stone onto the floor below, which sounded hollow, and the stone, after bouncing, fell farther and echoed for from 1 to 2 seconds. I was now 120 feet down from the surface. Signalled two blasts (up) and slowly ascended, finding some difficulty in negotiating ledges over which the rope passed, to avoid having my fingers cut off. Arriving at the top the boys lassoed me and pulled me to the side of the hole and released me from the chair.
+The party - Cedric Old and Keith Hardiman, both of the legal fraternity; and Win. Barnes, a doctor; and myself - left Sydney on Friday night in Old's car and stayed the night at his cottage at Wentworth Falls. This time we carried a thermometer as a matter of interest. At Wentworth Falls a strong westerly blow arose and sent the temperature down to 40°F [4.4°C]. Spent a good night indoors and moved off next morning in good sunshine to Jenolan. Along the main road, from about Hartley to Jenolan, snow had fallen the previous night and still remained in protected patches. Somehow we could not get warm.
-I had pulled a second rope dawn with me as a safety precaution and in coming_ up had moved it from the end of the crevasse into which I had been, to the other end, as a guide to the next man down. This was Hardiman. We lowered him to about 100 feet when he blew one blast - stop. His next signal was !down', but although we paid out rope it simply laid slack. So we took up the slack and tried to raise him but without success. The rope was jammed somewhere out of sight and Hardiman was swinging in black space, with us unable to move him. By careful shouting, we told him to bounce on the rope, which he did and fortunately freed himself, but not until some anxious moments had passed.	We hauled him to the top - minus the seat of his
-trousers and back pocket and contents, torn off against a rock somewhere in the ascent.
+Passed through Jenolan and up the Oberon Hill, finding the whole country covered with a few inches of snow. Air temperature 35°F [1.7°C] generally, but once dropped to 33°F [0.5°C]. Good road but a bit slippery to Gingkin Turnoff (main Gingkin Road, not the short cut, which is in a terrible condition). Poor road to Gingkin, sky becoming ominously overcast, and a bad road to Tuglow which necessitated detours, and once the removal of undergrowth by axe to provide a safe passage around a road bog of unknown depth.
-I would mention the matter of sound in the Caves. Each man had a fairly loud whistle of the vibrator or '''Boy Scout" type. This could be heard to about 80 feet down, after which it was necessary to place a man at the mouth of the hole to repeat the signals to the winch-man, only 40 feet away. I intend, in future, using whistles of the "Thunderer type like we use in the Surf Clubs.
-Next man down was Barnes. Profiting from the knowledge gained of the first two descents he successfully gained a solid (?) bottom at 110 feet. He left the rope; we hauled it up and sent dawn Old to join him, Hardiman and I pulled up the second rope (a mistaken move) and lowered ourselves into the smaller hole or entrance which we explored last Easter. However, we did not get far before the signal to haul up was heard (both entrances lead to a common cavern) 'and we had to hurry to allay fears of the boys being trapped. Old came up first, and then we realized that, as the second rope had been removed, we did not know where Barnes was.
+Arrived at Dennis' Farm shivering and literally blue in the nose and accompanied by a biting westerly wind. What a bleak, exposed position this farm occupies! After unpacking the gear and covering the car with a tarpaulin we set off for Tuglow Hut, not having eaten since breakfast, and it now being around 4 p.m. As we descended we escaped the full force of the wind and by sunset arrived at the Tuglow River, after meeting Mr. Bill Dennis en route.
-After some deliberation I was lowered on the main rope, carrying the second rope, and after some manoeuvring, I saw the reflection of Barnest torch showing in a hole some 60 feet below me. Through this hole, guided by the faint light, I dropped the end of the second rope, which Barnes succeeded in reaching, although out of my sight. I tied the other end to my chair and was hauled up. Barnes then pulled the main rope and chair down to himself and was raised to the surface.
-Dusk was approaching rapidly, so we dismantled the winch and wound up the - ropes. Made a short trip to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Kowmung River, which was running strongly - there were no placid pools between the rapids.
+The river was greatly swollen and crossing proved difficult. [Cedric] Old tried to wade at the usual ford but the current was too strong and the cold water made his skin very sore. As the light was failing rapidly we decided to push a pole across the narrowest part where two limestone boulders formed a deep, rushing channel. A second lighter pole was also manoeuvred into position, and then I crawled across on all fours and fixed a rope to the opposite side. On this somewhat insecure bridge we crossed with our gear, and entered the hut at twilight, finding one of Dennis' hands camped there.
+Old, failing in a brave attempt to wade the river, ran up and down the bank trying to warm himself, clad in shirt, pullover, coat, overcoat and muffler, but without his trousers, and presented a strange sight in the fading light of the cold evening. After spending some time and considerable physical effort in warming himself he was unfortunate enough to step forward onto a seemingly solid-looking grass tussock by the side of the stream, and found himself dropped vertically into the chilly stream again. These incidents produced a deal of hilarity but the various comments cannot be recorded.
+__SUNDAY, AUGUST 5th., 1934.__ The day broke clear and sunny, but fresh to cold. Party set out over Tuglow Mountain to the Caves. Much to my discredit, I admit an error in guiding and we found ourselves in the next gully upstream along the Kowmung from the Caves, but after a scouting trip on my part, we climbed out and arrived at the Caves about mid-day. We had brought along a winch made of one inch galvanized iron piping with handles, and rigged up this S.E. of the bigger entrance, having previously marked our 200 feet of rope in 20 feet sections. Decided to lunch before the descent. During lunch we drew lots for "first down," I drew the short stick, so having had a good lunch, I got into the chair we made on the end of the rope, and realizing it was too late to back out now I gave three blasts on the whistle to be lowered. As you know, my experience in unexplored and partly explored caves is extensive, but I must admit a strange feeling came over me as I looked down that hole below, not knowing its depth or what it contained beyond the limit of the beam of my torch, and being lowered on an untested l 3/4" rope, steadying myself against the almost vertical side of the crevasse. This feeling intensified when I reached a larger cavern, the sides of which were beyond reach. However, I signalled for further lowering and, swinging freely in space, descended 40 feet or so to a ledge. Altering my direction somewhat I continued steadily downward, gaining confidence, sometimes with rocks against which I steadied myself, sometimes freely swinging, until I came to a ledge about 30 feet up from what appeared to be a "bottom". Looking upward to see how many times the rope was deflected from the straight line, but not being able to see to the opening above, I decided to descend no farther, as such a descent would necessitate passing the rope over particularly rough rocks, which might cause jamming. Dropped a stone onto the floor below, which sounded hollow, and the stone, after bouncing, fell farther and echoed for from 1 to 2 seconds. I was now 120 feet down from the surface. Signalled two blasts (up) and slowly ascended, finding some difficulty in negotiating ledges over which the rope passed, to avoid having my fingers cut off. Arriving at the top the boys lassoed me and pulled me to the side of the hole and released me from the chair.
+I had pulled a second rope down with me as a safety precaution and in coming up had moved it from the end of the crevasse into which I had been, to the other end, as a guide to the next man down. This was Hardiman. We lowered him to about 100 feet when he blew one blast - stop. His next signal was 'down', but although we paid out rope it simply laid slack. So we took up the slack and tried to raise him but without success. The rope was jammed somewhere out of sight and Hardiman was swinging in black space, with us unable to move him. By careful shouting, we told him to bounce on the rope, which he did and fortunately freed himself, but not until some anxious moments had passed. We hauled him to the top - minus the seat of his trousers and back pocket and contents, torn off against a rock somewhere in the ascent.
+I would mention the matter of sound in the Caves. Each man had a fairly loud whistle of the vibrator or "Boy Scout" type. This could be heard to about 80 feet down, after which it was necessary to place a man at the mouth of the hole to repeat the signals to the winch-man, only 40 feet away. I intend, in future, using whistles of the "Thunderer" type like we use in the Surf Clubs.
+Next man down was Barnes. Profiting from the knowledge gained of the first two descents he successfully gained a solid (?) bottom at 110 feet. He left the rope; we hauled it up and sent down Old to join him, Hardiman and I pulled up the second rope (a mistaken move) and lowered ourselves into the smaller hole or entrance which we explored last Easter. However, we did not get far before the signal to haul up was heard (both entrances lead to a common cavern) and we had to hurry to allay fears of the boys being trapped. Old came up first, and then we realized that, as the second rope had been removed, we did not know where Barnes was.
+After some deliberation I was lowered on the main rope, carrying the second rope, and after some manoeuvring, I saw the reflection of Barnes' torch showing in a hole some 60 feet below me. Through this hole, guided by the faint light, I dropped the end of the second rope, which Barnes succeeded in reaching, although out of my sight. I tied the other end to my chair and was hauled up. Barnes then pulled the main rope and chair down to himself and was raised to the surface.
+Dusk was approaching rapidly, so we dismantled the winch and wound up the ropes. Made a short trip to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Kowmung River, which was running strongly - there were no placid pools between the rapids.
+Started back to the hut, ascending straight up the side of Tuglow Mountain, gaining the summit in darkness, with just the faintest glow of light in the Western sky, above Dennis' farm. Kept along the side of the mountain straight for this last glow, and just as it entirely disappeared we found ourselves at the head of the gully leading to the hut. During the descent we were forced to use our torches. Arriving on the Tuglow River flats we set a course by judgment and fortunately walked straight to the hut, which we could not perceive until within 20 yards of it. A good meal and then to bed.
+__MONDAY, AUGUST, 6th., 1934.__ Day broke beautifully; sun shining and cold wind but not unpleasant. Arose late and breakfasted in the sun under the lee of the hut. The weather being delightful we dallied somewhat and set off for home about mid-day. Mr. Bill Dennis took some of the gear on his horses for us. Having re-crossed the river on our pole bridge we dismantled it and replaced the poles in the fence from which we borrowed them.
+From Tuglow to the main Oberon - Jenolan Road we encountered conditions worse than met with on the outward journey; the road bogs seemed to be more numerous and dangerous, but we successfully crossed or by-passed them and proceeded on to Jenolan for a mid-afternoon meal. From here to Sydney we overcame the difficulty of being cold, by actually getting inside our sleeping-bags and sitting in the car - excluding the driver, of course - although the cold was not so severe as on the outward journey. Stopping at Katoomba we bought packets of chips and fish, and proceeded, thus having our evening meal without delay, by changing drivers. To Sydney without event, then a good, hot bath and bed.
-Started back to the hut, ascending straight up the side of Tuglaw Mountain, gaining the summit in darkness, with just the faintest glow of light in the Western sky, above Dennis' farm. Kept along the side of the mountain straight for this last glow, and just as it entirely disappeared we found ourselves at the head of the gully leading to the hut. During the descent we were forced to use our torches. Arriving on the Tuglaw River flats we set a course by judgment and fortunately walked straight to the hut, which we could not perceive until within 20 yards of it. A good meal and then to bed.
+We are convinced that the best way to enter Tuglow Caves is straight down the  larger hole on a winch-controlled rope, and also that these Caves present possibilities in the way of good formations and extensive, although possibly steep, tunnels.
-MONDAY, AUGUST, 6th., 1934. Day broke beautifully; sun shining and cold wind but not unpleasant. Arose late and breakfasted in the sun under the lee of the hut. The waether being delightful we dallied somewhat and set off for home about mid-day. Mr. Bill Dennis took some of the gear on his horses for us. Having re-crossed the river on our pole bridge we dismantled it and replaced the poles in the fence from which we borrowed them.
-From Tuglaw to the main Oberon - Jenolan Road we encountered conditions worse than met with an the outward journey; the road bogs seemed to be more numerous and dangerous, but we successfully crossed or by-passed them and proceeded on to Jenolan for a mid-afternoon meal. From here to Sydney we overcame the difficulty of being cold, by actually getting inside our sleeping-bags and sitting in the car - excluding the driver, of course - although the cold was not so severe as on the outward journey. Stopping at Katoomba we bought packets of chips and fish, and proceeded, thus having our evening meal without delay, by changing drivers. To Sydney without event, then a good, hot bath and bed.
-We are convinced that the best way to -enter Tuglaw Caves is straight dawn the
-larger hole on a winch-controlled rope, and also that these Caves present possibilite-, ies in the way of good formations and extensive, although possibly steep, tunnels.
 I suggest that any would-be adventurers should be dissuaded from attempting exploration underground, unless they have had considerable experience in unattended caves and possess the ability to throughly organize and provide for any eventuality. In my opinion these caves are definitely dangerous, even to experienced men.
-.000
 ===== "On the Wallaby" =====
@@ Line 292: / Line 283: @@
 I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Club Members the Compliments of this Season allied to good walking and camping during their holidays.
-FOR THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE
+FOR THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE\\
 Rene D. Browne, Hon. Social Secretary.