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The Sydney Bushwalker

A Monthly Bulletin devoted to matters of interest to The Sydney Bushwalkers, 5 Hamilton Street, Sydney

No.127 July, 1945 Price 6d.

EditorRay Kirkby
Assistant EditorDorothy Brigden
ProductionYvonne Rolfe
Sales & SubscriptionsJen Harvey

Contents

Page
Reminiscingby “Kareelah” 2
Fires in Kiola State Forestby Dot Butler 4
What is a Primitive Area?by Marie B. Byles 5
Bruce Simpson to “Dunk”The Services 6
Some Grains of Salt 8
The Y.H.A. on the MarchLen Croker 9
Let there be Light“Ubi”11

Propaganda Corner

There are camp spots, good and plenty
Everywhere,
And the genus S.B.W.
Will be there.

By the sea and by the river,
We will doze,
In our tents all nicely abdulled
We'll repose.

We will burn up all the rubbish -
(“Hikers” wont!)
How can beauty rule the bushland
If we don't?

When we're packing up ere leaving
Look about!
Is the place all clean and tidy?
Camp fire out?
Really out??

D.M.B.

Reminiscing

by “Kareelah”

In these days of war and separation how good it is to look back on the carefree days of my early walking experiences! To recall the bustle at Central on Saturdays, the anticipation during the train journey and the rush to be first on the track.

My first club walk was a Easter trip through Megalong and Carlon's to the Cox. It was my second trip to the mountains, I being a newcomer from another State. My first trip had been to Jenolan Caves. I can still picture Green Gully knee high with luscious, green grass - and nettles, the creek glistening in the early morning sun, Carlon's tucked away in the folds on the hills and the walk along Breakfast Creek as it wended its way to the Cox. We came near the foot of Mt. Heartbreaker and explored up and down the river.

Another Easter I had my first view of Kanagra Walls and the Kowmung. How many club mates recall the ride from Katoomba that Easter Thursday night - the bright moonlight, the wallabies hopping across the road, rumbling through the Grand Arch at two in teh morning and the arrival at the saw-mill and making camp in the frosty stillness? My first glimpse of Kanangra was at sunset on a cold, clear evening. Purple shadows and swirls of white mist forming in the valley impressed me in the same way as Wagnerian music. The same majesty and unreality was there.

How different were the many Summer weekends spent camped down at Emu Plains, Era or by the Grose River end the lazy Winter days spent basking in the sun at Morella, Euroka or the famous “Willy's Pool”. How I remember the discussions - the way we would alter the world if only we had a chance, music, books, art, cooking and sewing, birth, marriage and death all got mixed up together somehow.

It was Paddy Pallin who said that the best part of a holiday is planning it beforehand and reminiscing after. I know now that he is right. The fun we had planning our Tasmanian trip and the talking about it when it was part of the past were, I think, the best part of it. It took us about six months to get everything worked out and it was worth it. We had twelve days on the island and not one minute was wasted; everything went like clockwork and the cost was only about £11 per head. This was the occasion when we saw our first snow. What a thrill when our service car travelling from the Ouse to Derwent Bridge ran into a lovely snowstorm! The other passengers must have thought that we were mad as we Ohed and Ahed and wondered out aloud what it would feel like. Eventually our driver got out, gathered a huge armful and heaved it all over us. We felt it sure enough - down our backs and in our hair.

The next holiday saw another party on its way from Braidwood to the coast via Araluon and the Deua River. The very name “Araluen” describes this valley. Quiet and peaceful, it looks as if it has been asleep for years. It is hard to imagine it in the gold rush days when coaches and bushrangers held sway. I don't remember anything so tranquil as the view that held our gaze that warm Spring noon as we came around the bend of the road and saw the valley at our feet.

Later there were trips down the Clyde River and Durras Waters through the beautiful State Forests of the Murramarang Range. Here we wandered for miles under stately spotted gums, occasionally catching glimpses of the coastline through the trees. I like to recall lovely Kioloa Beach in the late afternoon, deserted but for the seagulls, and Pebbly Beach where there is no sand, only millions of coloured pebbles that shine like opals when washed by the tide.

My first glimpse of the Blue Gum is another gem in my memories. A clear moonlight night in June - King's Birthday - was the occasion. The descent from Govett's Leap and the walk through the valley was a journey into the unknown. The cliffs all around and the ghostly moonlight reminded me of stories by Rider Haggard. I've enjoyed many camps at Blue Gum since this one but it I remember the best.

One could continue indefinitely recalling trips. Those to Clear Hill, Solitary, the Kowmung and Cedar Road, canoeing in Burragorang Valley, wandering along the Nattai and the Shoalhaven, exploring Bungonia Creek and the glens around Bundanoon, camping on the merry, little Broughton Mill Stream at Berry, not to mention Kangaroo Valley, Yeola and Brogher's Creek. What scratches we used to get up O'Hare's Creek and along Heathcote Creek, the Woronora, the Bargo and the Upper Nepean. The orchards around Kurrajong, the lovely trees at Canberra, picking apples at Batlow and oranges at Gosford - these are a few of the things I like to recall.

The fun and sing-songs around camp-fires and the open discussions, starry skies and frosty mornings, hearty meals and the ever cheerful company are all part of the fellowship of Bushwalkers. How many “old members” recall the 21st birthday party at Euroka complete with fireworks, cream puffs and a ten pound birthday cake with icing and candles? Or the other at St. Helena when everyone got lost on the way home - except Ray Bean? Or the engagement party at Myara and the honeymoon at the Blue Pool when the bride and groom arrived with no food and china plates and cups?

Reunions never fail to revive memories. There come to mind the famous Lie Detector, beautiful Asyseener, Queen of the Myuna Men,“beaut” dampers, Roley's custard.

These are the things I like to think back upon and which I look forward to in the days to come. These are the things that make life worthwhile. Don't you agree?

Federation Dance

The Federation Dance at Winns on June 29th, was an outstanding success and (“wot is more important”, as the mercenary organisers might say) realised over £30 for the Federation's bank balance.

The dancing was interspersed with sketches, and all went merry as a marriage bell. In accordance with the expressed wish of the Federation there was a complete absence of liquor but, fortunately, hitting below the belt in the sketches was not prohibited. Otherwise the orchestra would probably have had to be restrained from playing hymns.

=====Fires In The Kiola State Forest!

Dot Butler

Fires in KioleaSt*tte Forest! Horror! 2nd lit by Bushwalkers! Worse and VJorse! We weve to be Tuests of the Forestry 1.)eet., and l'jerie ee seonsor of the trip went throuj-h pr1oi cal snaceris of ateerehensima se insvith a forward gazing eye the charred and bl cilened ruins of what had once been a beautiful spotted gum forest2 virgin and unknown to fire until our visitation. Our select party of five and to h lvee,(not counting Rona who is still in square pants and can hardly be t7,6.-,:a with any number cteest of the deoimal point), all of the feminine Persuasion, travelled feome 2:- 0 miles south per train and service car and Forestry lorry and were finally unstecked at Pebbly Beach on a clearing formerly the Bite of a sewmill. From a background of mountains the forest, untamed and beautiful, swept down to the curved sea shore, and the small clearing with its few derelict huts of rough sewn timber slept quietly within the ridges' safe encircling arms. The driver of the Forestry lorry pointed out a tank of water he had placed under a tree for our use and departed with our hearty thanks for the Department's many kindnesses, We Selected a c7mp site close enough to the trees for shade and firewood, and also close, to a nice patch of bracken for bedding. It was some distance from the tank, but that just couldn't be helped. Liter oall a Bushwalker always expects to have to travel for his water, As there a-Tneared to be foraging cattle in the neighbourhood it was deemed advisable to store our perishable goods in one of the moot intact of the huts. So that Problem was easily solved. But hold, reader, we now come to the most imortant point of the story - Whore was the fire to be made? Mariets anti-bushfire Propaganda had fallen on such fertile ground that we couldn't agree an a spot that would be sufficiently safe to suit yvryr,ne. Definitely it couldn't be made near the tents because of the nroxielity of the dry bracken, and it couldn't go up near the trees because the ground was covered with dry forest litter that had never suffered the fate of most of the country we know so well which is burnt bare to the ;round every summer, ruining it as a catchment area and opening the gates Tide to soil erosion. Eventually we decided on a clear area of bare earth well removed from everything combustible, and Julie and Francis, the two little 4r1s, were appointed chief fire “putter-outeren, a job thy und rtook oiith such zeal that you had to be pretty smart getting all your meal -er–2ared if you didn't want the tire extinguished loforu had finiEh2d your ceking. After every m al the same ritual was nerfermid. First thi ezibers were beaten flat and generally mixed up till no sign of rd 1.raained, then the water buckets were emptied over th ashe's and the whole lot puVl ,c1 about till you could stand in it in your bare feet, smiling. So that is th- sort of fire I vas refereimr, to in my first paragraph when I spoke of Bushwalkers fires, and that is th sort of treatment Bushwelkers fires should get everywhere, always. For suppose instead of our ruthlessly- repressed little cooking fires which scrcely dusted the green forest air with faint blue smoke I had to paint the picture suggested by the title of this piece - a raging roaring monster, unleashed by Bushwalkers, ravening through the dappled green beauty of spotted gums, belching smoke and flames and leaving a scene overwhelmed hy black ruin! Ah, that would be another story. 5 VIHeT IS ? ri E.Eyles Recent discussions about the Kosciusko primitivo area have revealed a definite cleavage of o-Anion as to what a primitive area should be. The minority opinion regards a Primitive area as a place vtere nature- lovers may go freely in order to se- the wildlife in its natural state It is to be educational, and therefore of use to human beings. It is asserted that a primitive area would serve no purpose if human beings were not to have the pleasure of seeing it, There is also the important point that perhaps the only way of keeping the wild life is to educate mankind to appreciate and enjoy it. If it is once admitted that a primitive area exists for the pleasure of human beings, then it automatically follows that facilities must be given for human beings to go into it. Perhaps roads and motorists might be excluded, but tracks, huts and pasture grounds must be arranged. Indeed the people who best appreciate wild plants and animals (as distinct from far horizons and 1DJ-eety snots) are not the bushwalkers tough enough to rush through the bush with heavy packs containing tents, but the older people, who are nature-lovers rather than trampers and ne:d a hut. If 7, primitiv-, area is to serve the interests of human beings, to be consistent we must - admit that all types of human beings, who will not wantonly destroy it, must be catered for within its precincts, and personally-cordected narties led by scientists would be the most acceptable of all visitors. However, the vast majority of bushwalkers have ruled that a )rimitive area must be for the wild life, which shall flourish there, not for our pleasure, but for its own. After all, why should man in his ar,o,i,nce say that primaeval lands are of value only in so far as they subserve his ends. Is not this the vicious old profit mot:ve coming out in another i'or? Romans stripped the Delmatian hills in Quest of timber to build their empire. Kidman blaeted a trail of ruin across -ustralia to build a fortune. It is true that people who want a primitive area onle, 'Jecaese it satisfies a human desire, would not ruin it like Kidman or th; Romans, but their motives are the same, profit to themselves, mental or physical, if not material. Cannot man for once admit that there are other things beside himself with rights, and that he is not the only being in the universe? The majority of bushwalkers say he can and should. Human beings will not be excluded from the primitive area but no facilities for entering it will be given, and the flowers may hlossom and the kangaroos and wombats enjoy their lives there, whether any one sees them or not, Ti cp PHILLT-3S R:71JORTS THE C'eMPLTION OF FOLLOWING M.-PS (River Canoe Club) N0, 29 - MILL-RIZ;,Y RIVER (TOLVIONG TO ALBURY)com-Qiled and drawn by Gordon Ballard, No ,30. CENT= :IND NORTHERN L',.K1E tbis togethe r with its companiom (southern Lake Illavr rra– Map N0,15) completes the manning for c,inoeing purposes of th, entire lake). 1132UCE SIHPSON GUINEL to “DUNK” Have just received your letter of the l'eth pri1 and as I have been thinking of drowping you a line for some time now and as there is no time like the present, here goes. You know, I think, that I am in Nev Guinea. I sent you a lettercard from here just before Christmas, and you will have guessed that I have been in nction for a couple of months now - you said “I wonder where you are making your presence felt now, and whet fun you are having.” As for where I am, the newspapers will give you the exact locations I am not permitted to say any more than “I am in New Guinea.” But then there is only one camraign going on in N.G. at present, so it should not be herd to guess, And I will say this - the War Corresnondants ar being given a pretty free h-nd in renorting this campaign, You are getting the dinkum oil on this show just as soon as it happens. There is no delay in releasing information on this campaign. We see the Sydney and Brisbane newspapers the day after you do and I am often surprised how up-to-the-minute they are. Australian National Airways give us a great service in this regard. For months pest thir plane - a big Silver Douglas - has flown right over every one of our positions along th , coast and drooped yesterday's Sydney and Brisbane newsnaners to the troops right from the front line lon ck to base. And boy there sure is -t r-.ce end a scramble for those papers - at least in our areas, for of course artillery positions are comparatively safe, being behind the protective infantry and in parts of this country you're out of view of the enemy at fifty y rds. Sometimes however, its quite different. One day the “newspaper bomber” circled our gun position t;dce, c me in very low and tossed us i couple of parcels. Imaj_ne the excitment when it was discovered that th.: 1 Lrger ercel contained twenty Peters Ice Cream Bricks' It was like mannl from Heaven. L. gift from Peters' Brisbane Manager. ,Lnd very much a epreci-ted by all. Nobody evr thought they'd see ice cream in this -e-rt of th, world, much less be J-ting it in the front line! And the oth,r parcel contained a fruit cake baked the day before by the pilot's next door neighbour in Brisbane who ranted to do something for the boys up north. And that was very much al)precieted by all too. At that time (end of Febru-ry) we ware still waiting for our Christmas parcels to arrive! As you have probably re-d in the napers, our guns have been blasting the Nips to some order for some tire now, and our advance has been steady and successful. Nipnon is being driven 'back further and further - will soon have his beck to the wall. I take my hat off to the infantry - they are doing a marvellous job in those cruel mounteins. We consider it an honour to give them all the support we cell., whenever and wherever they require it. They're heroes, every blinkint one of Tem. At nresent I am resting - this battery is out for a wek or so - and we are bivouacld by the see. It is a pleasant break before:. we go in again. Here we are getting fresh (frozen) meat and butter several times a week. It is flown in and dropped by pnrechute by the “kai bombers” and a very welcome change it is from tinned rations - bully beef, M & V, servic,y biscuits and dehydrated vegetables etc. I'm afraid I won't take too kir41y to lightweight walking when I get beck, My pack will contain great hunks 7. of steak, bags of bananas neeches and cream - and the mileage for the weekend walk must not exceed ten! Th re'll be a lot of “armchair walkers” in the Clubs after the war, I reckon. We have our lighter moments here at times. For instance, the boong boy who went past this morning, riding an old Jap bicycle up the track. It had no tyres, no brakes, no oil, very little seat, and he was pushing like hell to meke it go through the send, But he had the usual cheery smile on his face. And in renly to my greeting “How are you going, Joseph?” he grinned even more broadly and said “Who ly-wheel belonga me, le bugger-up finish”. I like their language - it is co expressive. “Bugger-up finish” - a very common:expression - needs no explanation. But perhans I should mention that a bicycle is “wheely-wheel sit-down run”, which is quite a good description of a push-bike isn't it? They hate th,2 Jens, these boys, and their tend rness nd (31;e)tion to duty in carrying our wounded out of those terrible hills is a 1-7,nd, and every word of it is true. I hope the Government and th, ,)eo -le do not forget them when the war is over. I can assure you ther re hueldreds of soldiers who will never forget them. For many owe th ir liv-s to these brave and faithful stretcher bearers. They have perormed S. :11ifllT impossible tasks in getting our wounded to the dressing st:tions in time for the doctors to perform the operation tht has s ved We must not forget these things. - And now Dunk, apart from sf,yin-2 Pm well end ae hv-.7 as can be expected under the circamst nces, th re's not much mor,i t tell you at the moments Give my regards to all my Dushw-Ilker fri nds, an ti ,-21-1k them one and all for the ooti work they h-v.,) done and re doing for us Who are in the Services by their asietence to the Service Committee:. I still receive those magazines and coie5 nf the “Sydney Bush- walker” that you send me from time to time and they are more welcome than ever in this place where reading matter is so scarce, and those Bush- walker snapshots of the pincea that I used to know and others that I went to see after the war are a consAnt link with good old Aussie and the cobbers of the bush tracks and mountain trails. Thanks for everything, Dunk, especially your bright and breezy letters. 1.)TeiS TO R3MailiRe.. 27th July - Party in Clubroom 11th and 12th August - Sports _Carnival If you already have dates or these occasions den't let that pr,vent your attendance - bring her or him along too. SOME GRAINS OF SALT In a recent Club a-oting the tears welled up in my eyes as I listenA to a speaker(male) describing the hapless, helpless position of girls desiring to go wallzing but without BIG BROTHERS or PROSPCCTS. To my UTTER CONFUSION, information has come to my ears which greatly rduc is my chances of being a SHEPHERD OF LOST SHEEP; CHRISTA CAL= and NC:1n BARDEN recently com7Dleted a week out YERR-NDT]RIE way, meeting no fiercer WOLF than a prospector. I wonder if, in similar circumstances, a c-,1bratd nugget received the name of THE WELCOME STRANGER? The other intrepid pair were SALLY MACKAY and PEGGY D;.r'SDON who proposed to walk to KANANGM and back. These poor unfortunates chose the WET WEEK for their jaunt yet rut up a most creditable pJrforJ1nce. A car load of June-Weekendrs found them walking along th3 K7.nangra Road at about 1.a m. after leaving the Kowmung that morning. . VERY CRZIDIT-BLu i-'110Rivl..NC:JS have also toen r-corded for BRNLEE who has a SECOND D:iUGHTrR and R-Y ai.L.N, now the fathJr of a ;JCN -TUE DAUGHTER. When JOHN NOBLE heard the latter ne\,a he is rIported to have uttered the now falaous words “WH.7 NCXT”? We have always consid,red RLY to be INGENIOUS. FATHER for the FIY;97:2IME - and it's a DUGHT7iR - is JOHN HUNTER. It is so melancholy to have to add “Of course MA was JOAN -TTHILL, well known 'to many members of the Club”. However, there are so many new members about and it is not likely that they would all be NOTED QOLTECTORS of PIX or COVER GIRLS. Following upon all these acqusitions I have to report the loss of SOMETHING NOT SO EASILY ACQUIRED - to wit, one UMBRELLA by TUGGIE with all ribs in good order and condition. Will members search their HEARTS and UMBRELLA STANDS and see if they have not mistakenly taken it from the Club?. We recently admired very much the examples of the PHOTOGRAPHIC ART displayed in the Club rooms. DAVID STEAD, however, made sure that we noted the fine grain in his work by installing TWO 200,000 watt globes near his “CHEFS D'OEUVRE,” Stop me if there should have ben a DECIMAL POINT somewh-re. King's Birthday Weekend coming at the end of flooding rains provided a great VARIETY of experiences for Bushwalkers. One car could not reach its destination on account of flood in the Wollondilly but I shall not spoil the numerous articles which will be written about these trips by stealing the highlights. However, as I am NOT expecting any disclosures from this particular quarter, I do not hesitate to report that COLIN LLOYD'S party found the going so difficult down BUNDLNOON way, that progress was found to work out at about SIX MILES in TV1ELVE HOURS. COLIN, not the BOY he WAS, W-ts travelling with a HAND PICKED HAREM. The only new country reached se,vms to be theTINDERRY RANGE outside Canberra. ALEC COLLEY was the “STOUT CORTEZ” here and waxed enthusiastic particularly in regard to one “P3AL” peak. 9. THE Y. H. A. ON TH2 MARCH by Len Croker. Among otiecr recA,emento th NationeFitness Council controls the Youth Hostels 2eesoci-tlozi whezie members go out into the bush to stay at hostels and wall: through the Australian countryside. Many jokes h ive been made about Youth Hoe-tellers as walkers because most of them are ben;inners, but here's a report about one party of LH.A. youngsters who stood vee to e. walk as hard e wct Bushwalking Club test walks. Five girls, whose ages ranged from 17 to 19, a boy about 16 and a young man about 22 comprised the party which I had to lead from Tolerls Bay, on Pitt Water, to Refuge Bay, on Cowan Creek, one Sunday this utumn. I had not been over the route before and had to cut across country most of the way using map and compass and hoping to find a good track, We climbed, first, to the lookout above Towlers Bay Hostel, with the party, not knowing what was ahead of them, commenting in acrid terms el-)out the steepness of the climb. The view from this lookout was very :Pretty. We could see Barrenjoey Lighthouse and the waves br,iakin!s in tow,:.rd& Palm Beach from the open sea, though the beach itself was hideen by thc,it narrow strip of land qilich runs from BarrEznjoey to the mainland. Scotland Island, just across the water, hid most of Church 2t. from view, while, just below us, little white fishing boats floated in the blue as t'neir tiny occupants concentrated u-oon the task of catching fish. From the lookout we walked along a good track to Bairn Trig(596ft) and from here obtained an even better view of Pitt Water. The party was still getting along well and becoming quite keen about a'walk which yielded such delightful scenery, We could now see Box Head opposite Barrenjoey and the open sea, spreading away into the distance from the entrance of Broken Bay and as far down as Newport. A ridge lade, in an arc, from Bairn Trig to Topham Trig, so, since we no longer had a track to follow and walking along ridges is generally easier, we followed the ridge through tyPical Hawkesbury country. Autumn wild flowers were plentiful and we saw plenty of golden yellow bottle brush and other attractive bush flowers, Approaching Topham we crossed West Head Road before starting an arduous climb. Topham Mountain is very rocky and steep and we found no trecks on either side to make the task of climbing it easier. However, after much effort we finally reached the tor. A mervellous view of Broken Bay is obtainable from Topham :ountein, which is one of the highest places for many miles around, and all lovers of beautiful scenery should make a point of climbing it, From Topham we could 4 again see Towlers Bay as a beautiful blue triangle pointing towards us with a little white boat floating in the centre, while the entrenc: to Broken Bay stood out clearly with Box Head on the far side onnosite Barr n- : joey Lighthouse which always gives one a friendly, familitr feeling es it is a distinctive land-mark visible from many well-known scenic r,sorts. West Head blocked part of Broken Bay from view, but to the north-west we could see the Hawkesbury Bridge running from Long Island to the mainlnnd and Dangar Island just to the richt of Long Island. To th, east beyond Pitt Water the sea spread w-,y into the horizon, The National Fitness Camp at Juno was cl,arly visible from Topham and, past Juno, was the long yellow ribbon of 2atonga Beach. Over to the left, north of the Hawkesbury, a smudge of smoke rose into the cloudless blue sky as a train approached the Bridge. Unfortunately I cannot c'entinue to extoll th views obtainabl. from Topham, bat I must once more reeeat that those WhD ap-er..ciete the rare beauty of the Hawkesbury cou]etry should pay Tonham a visit as soon R.s poseible because the recent rains have Riven all this country a rich greenness,which cut into by the blue water of many bays and inlets, 7orovides sc,inery of unusual charm. We clambered down Topham and here began our troubles because the Refuge Bay side of Topham is very steep and rugged and the travelling slow. ID-)lf way down we struck fr?sh running water in the form of a stream which tumbled down the mountain-side in merry contempt of our clumsy movements. However our descent to the beach at Refuge Bay came to an end and some members of the party started the fire while the rest walked around to see the waterfall which is near the head of the Bay. , The waterfall ras running in great style, falling about 50ft down the cliff on to a flat rock just behind a little beach where anyone could easily have a fresh-water shower after swimming in the sa;.t water. This pretty waterfall and the little beech in front of it make Refuge Bay one of the well-known places in the area. Immedietely after lunch we began the return trio to Towlers Bay,/making the elementary error of trying to find an easier route than the one we had come on. As usual, the route we followed was much harder than the original, with tbe reeult that w ft-11)rd oureelves r!limbfng o7pr that this country was very rough indeed, when, after circling around Toph-m Mountain we decided to cut across country to Towlers Bay. The best way from here would have been to follow the ridge back again to Bairn Trig. On reaching Towlers Bay we just had time for a shower b_ifore cetching the motor boat lo-eck to Church Point, Youth Hostel ASFOCi tion members had proved once more that they are capable of completing arduous bush walks. Have you Ever seen a Dream Walking? If so, let's hear about it By adding on all his fingers and thumbs and two toes, the most backward reader should be able to satisfy himself that thire are twelve pages to be filled in this magazine. How much have you submitted during the last year? If you have not done any trips, have no imagination, are incoherent illiterate and purposeless, you are excused, otherwise; your duty is obvious. TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE-SPACED articles willbe most welcome. L,ET 'YI112,R17, BE LIGHT Whenever we heve the good fortune to come across glow wormslluminous fungi or any of the many organisms which, in cerit incircumstences give off' light, we almost invariably bestow upon the ph_inomenon the n-Ime of “phosphorescence”. Had we omniscience We would indicate the cause or means 0 of production of the light by use of one of the numerous ” -scencesilwhich , scientists have coined in the course of 1-hiir research, Fortunately, however, most of us can enjoy the clectecle and remain blissfully ignorant of the frightening immensity of one small branch of human knowledge. One is so used to realisation being disappointing after the embroidery of -preconceived ideas that the reverse comes as a shock. That was the predominant thour;.ht in my mind after witnessing the display put on by our lagoon on the South Coast of Queensland. It was a very dark night as we crossed the bridge but a shover of rockets shot across the water. Our eager curiosity was aroused and, as we gazed from the rails of the bridge, more trails of light -v-Iperd in the inkiness of the -rater. The water was phosphorescent to a der,;ree which I would not have credited had I not been an eye witness, Everyone can - picture the way a shoal of fish dart and scatter when disturbed, Put them in a phosphorescent lagoon and you have an effect like a Ewa= of meteors such as the Leonids - if the photographs do not lie. Almost in a frenzy we threw stones of all sizes into the water to admire the effect - small stones by the handful to give a reprc3ntary illumination and large ones to cause a ring of light as the resultant weve spread before finally dissipating itself, Than followed a series of experiments to endeavour to find a way to convey to peo-ele an understanding of the amount of liht which was in the poel. This was not easy but we found that the movement of the fish imre:diatcly below us on the bridge caused sufficde,)nt li-7ht for us to see both their shan and colour though it was a pitch black ni,ht. The luminescence in this instance was caused by countless myriads of an animalicule which is invisible to the nak-d eye but which requires move- ment to operate, On numerous occasions during the succeeding months we tested out the lagoon but never again did it remotely approach its brilliance of the occasion I have described. Some months later a friend and I decided to go for a surf about ten otclofia one night as it was still very warm upon arriving at the beach we found that the froth of the waves was bright as though flood-lit, To the exhilaration of surfing at night was added the beauty and novelty of 4 being engulfed, as the wave broke, in a shower of light, The spray had a quality of diamonds,darting a brittle beam but the tracts of foam were warm and caressing and wranped themselves around the body with the delicious comfort of white furs. Such a surf would be sufficiently unique but both Nature and Man contrived to make it into a Homeric drama with decor in black and white. For, as searchlights from the headlands on the shore impudently ex,,lored the black clouds, a fieree electrical storm flashed back its disdain. We, 12, in the wings, felt immeasurqbly insignificant as the leading actors declaimei on the stage but, in the warm, sparkling surf, met a friend in a modest but human role, I had heard of Natural Arch at the head of the Numinbah Valley long before I went there because the road signposts all gave the distance. There is no occasion to be alamed, however, for, though in a small National Park and close to a road, it is very attractito and unspoilt, Here Cave Creek, e coming in from Snringbrook, has cut its way underground and falls into the back of a large cave through which it then runs. The stream is confined to a channel on one side which enables one to penetrate on foot right to the back of the cave. The surrounding country is jungle, the creek's course as a consequence very beautiful and all circumstances combine to make a unique and pleasing reserve. I was telling a chap in town that I had been to Natural Arch and he asked me, “Were you there at night?” bpon my replying “No” he began the old, “the-garden's-ragged-now-but-you-should-have-seen-it-last-week formula; I myself have repeated it on many an occasion. A few weeks later I, in the company of a friend, was able to arrange another visit and we planned to arrive just before darkin order to see the stenery first in the daylight. We accomplished this and then made a fire and prepared a billy of tea while the light was fading. Very excitedly we noticed he first glow-worms showing suite soon until the whole of the portals, walls and the floor of the cave was a2Aght. Before the daylight had completely gone the mixture of lights gave an effect like the Milky Way on a hazy night but the later, deep darkness of the jungle contracted the drops of light to a Winter cris eness. Not to be outdone by foreigners a few fire-flies sailed around the cavern's mouth. In the cave we studied the glow-worms at close quarters and in comfort. Here the light of the insects had a definite blue colour not unlike mercury ,vapour lamps but the most peculiar trait of the worms was their apparent aility to make the,.: bead of light in their body behave like the spirit in a spirit level. And don't think that glow-lorms are Ehy creatures; on the contrary, they put on such a brilliant display for our unabashed and exclamatory scrutiny that I am prepared to believe that they are exhibitionists, EASTWAED Eastward our watching hopes in sunshine lie. Love gilds the tremulous veil of waiting thus - Here coldly drifts the pallid vapour by Toward the East the fog is luminous. J. Le Gay Erereton.

194507.1452738939.txt.gz · Last modified: 2016/01/14 13:35 by tyreless

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