A monthly bulletin devoted to matters of interest to The Sydney Bushwalkers, 5 Hamilton Street, Sydney

No.123
MARCH, 1945
Price 6d.

Editor: Clare Kinsella
Assist: Grace Jolly
Bus. Man: John Johnson
Production: Yvonne Rolfe
Assist: Alice Wyborn
Sales & Subs: Betty Dickenson.

It seems to me I'd like to go
Where bells don't ring nor whistles blow,
Nor clocks don't strike and gongs don't sound
And I'd have stillness all around.

Not real stillness, but just the trees'
Low whisperings, or the hum of bees.
Or brooks faint babbling over stones
In strangely softly tangled tones.

Or maybe a cricket or katydid,
Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid
Or just some sweet sound as these
To fill a tired heart with ease,

If it weren't for sight and sound and smell
I'd like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest
I like the wild woods lots the best.

Sometimes it seems to me I must
Just quit the city's din and dust,
And get out where the sky is blue -
And, say, how does this seem to you?
Author unknown.

By David R. Stead.

Our last instalment described, amongst many other things the fact that our snakes proceed from place to place by means of their scales. Since then I have been to Melbourne and a member of the Metropolitan Tramway Board said to me “They’d never get away with that in Melbourne”. While flying over the Southern city on the way home, I said to a man sitting alongside me, “Beautifully laid out, isn't it?” “Ought to be”, he growled, “been dead long enough” But to return to our reptiles - I want to include a few notes about our dangerous snakes. They are the Brown, the Black, the Tiger, the Copperhead and last but not least the Death Adder.

In these five, the two front teeth of the upper jaw are longer than the others and are grooved, with the exception of the Death Adder, in which they are perforated. These poison fangs are fed from venom sacs in the head through connecting ducts.

Although there are a large number of other venomous snakes in New South Wales, they are probably no more dangerous than bees or wasps, the amount of venom secreted being insufficient to kill a man.

Image above. (a) shows diagrammatically the skull of a Carpet snake and (b) that of a typical venomous snake such as the Brown or the Black snake. The prominent fangs in (b) are clearly shown.

The Brown snake may grow to a length of six feet and is fairly thick in the body - uniform light to dark brown colour above and a dirty white below, although the very young ones usually have black bands. They are hatched from eggs which number up to about twenty - fairly common on the Coast, but widely distributed.

The Black snake is the commonest snake in South Eastern Australia and occasionally grows to a length of seven feet, although specimens four feet to six feet are most usual. This reptile is so well known to bushwalkers as to require no description Some of them are quite thick, though they vary a great deal. When the skin is new or in good condition, the back is a lovely glossy black, with the underside from cream to dark red. They are fond of water and are often found swimming rivers and are seldom far from soaks, swamps or river banks. When angry, they raise their head and flatten the neck into a hood like that of the Cobra, which is a distant relative of some of our snakes. It is viviparous and produces as many as twenty young at a birth. It is not nearly as dangerous to man as is generally believed and the chances of a bite proving fatal are quite small. It feeds on frogs, lizards and smaller snakes, The Tiger snake is by far the most aggressive of our local snakes and should be treated with respect when encountered in the bush. It usually frequents drier places than the Black snake and is found near logs, rocks and stumps over most of the State. It grows to five or six feet in length and is light to dark brown in colour with numerous darker bands along its entire length. Its poison fangs are slightly longer than those of our other poisonous snakes. It is viviparous and produces as many as fifty young in a litter. Like the black snake it can erect its hood when aroused, at which times it gives the impression that it really means business.

The Copperhead or Superb snake is not nearly so well known to bushwalkers around Sydney, although not uncommon in Southern parts and in the Monaro district. It grows to about five feet in length, varies a good deal in colour from almost black to slaty grey, sometimes even being a very dark red. In young specimens the head is quite coppery, but usually darkens a good deal in the adult.

The Death Adder is short and stumpy tailed and is a clumsy and repulsive looking reptile. Although it seldom grows to more than two feet in length it is our most dangerous and deadly snake. Its colour may vary according to the ground on which it lives, being from gray to brown with darker bands. The bands are neither as numerous nor as prominent as on the Tiger snake. The tail is pointed and ends in a spine which, as mentioned previously, is not a weapon of defence and has no sting. The snake frequents sandy places and relies on its protective colouring to render it invisible to its enemies. Because of this, one is liable to step on a Death Adder without seeing it. Of the venomous but harmless species, the best known is the Grey Whip snake, which grows to a length of three feet or a little more, is exceedingly slender in build, being in shape, not unlike a whip. Its colour is grey to olive green, with a yellow spot near the eye. It will bite, but the effect is no worse than a couple of bee strings. It is likely to be found in any of our local walking country.

The two others which may be easily recognised are the Black and White Ringed snake, which has alternate bands along its body and the pretty little Rednaped snake, which has a dark body, black head and neck and a scarlet spot or collar on the mane of the neck.

The Sea Snakes are all poisonous, but are not indigenous though the Yellow bellied sea snake is sometimes washed up on our' coastal beaches. They grow to a little over three feet in length. All the Sea Snakes are, of course, good swimmers, and propel themselves through the water mainly by means of a paddle shaped The body is quite different from the land snakes in shape and has a comparatively deep keel on the underside, like the keel of a boat, The most interesting feature of this reptile is perhaps the marvellous colouring. The upper half of the body is a dark brown to black and the underside is bright yellow. As it swims at the surface of the ocean, (it breathes air, like all other snakes), the dark upper body is virtually invisible from above and so protection is afforded from sea birds, who would enjoy nothing better than a snack of snake. Viewed from below the yellow underside harmonises with the colour of the sky above the sea and many unsuspecting small fish swim close to the sea snake and provide it with its staple food. Cheerio till next time.