A monthly Bulletin of matters of interest to the Sydney Bush Walkers, c/- Ingersoll Hall, 256 Crown St. Sydney.

Roneo on the rampage! Remington rapid repeater runs redhot in producing:

The Kweensland Speshul Edishun!!

(Complete Coverage of the Kirkby - Colley Combination.)

They bailed us up in club; harangued us as we sat around our camp fires; on walks, paid “social” calls as we cooked our food, then smote our ears with landatory eloquence; they flourished coloured maps in emphasis, made sketches and speeches - speeches longer still as time went by!

“Queensland,” and they mouthed the word in wide-eyed ecstasy. “Queensland! State of the sun! Days full of glory! Nights of adventure! Paradise returned to earth!” (Are they on commission from the Tourist Bureau?)

And surely enough, some more aspiring members harkened to their tales of majesty. Once more we saw them huddled over tables in the club, poring over maps with roting rotometers, running up distances on red-hot slide-rules, and toting up food tallies on ready-reckoners!

They've gone again - and we bless them. For in their wake they left a magazine complete!

The inimitable Ray Kirkby gives the low-down on the lighter side: Forestalling any libel suit by the Railways, we lay the entire article before you as his, and his alone.

My deah, do you wish to be booked together with your parrot to Kilimanjaro via King's Cross? Or do you wish to know how to do the cheapest submarine trip up the Yangtze Kiang? If so, I am your man. I am wonderful and I admit it myself. Of course I had to learn by hard exeperience but I may as well cash in oh it and, in years to come, as I drive past in my mngnificent limousine from the palatial offices of “Dulbolla Travellers' Aids” to my princely mansion, “Dulbolla”, set in the broad acres of “Dulbolla Park”, I see you cowering in the gutter with your dirty rucksack and saying, “He made his money out of us”.

Any simpleton can to the Railway and ask, “Is there or is there not a certain train running?” We have so much practice at that kind of question that we all are quite proficient. But how many are able, when required, to tell the Railways where to get off - at least, that is, of course where you want to get off - or rather where to get off if they will not let you off where you want to get off.

However, actions speak louder than words, let us to a concrete example.

To commence our Queensland trip I considerod it advisable to alight from the Brisbane Express at Dulbolla. Dulbolla is siding about 60 miles from Brisbane having quite three houses and no platform but only about a mile from the township of Rathdowney. The N.S.W. Railway Guide does not mention the place so resort had to be made to “Enquiries”. Here came my first triumph. You know how the clerk, if askud the time of the train to Sulphanilamide, mostly rattles it off without reference to index or page? This time he had to make a few enquiries from me before he could proceed! Then he seized a Queensland Guide and, like a huntsmen getting the fox, his eyes gleamed as he actually saw the name “Dulbolla” in print for the first time. Like the Sun surrounded by its plenets, like a lovely princess with lesser ladies clustered to her, like flies around a piece of bread and jam, Dulbolla whs hemmed in by a symbolism which would heve inspired Pitman. They were all represented - K, f, p, see page 68,Œ,::,ø, and ± which means “Don't spit where the platform ought to be” and øøø which means “When you get two different answers to the one question, don't believe either” and, yep, there it is, !!!, which means “Stops on Tues. Thurs. and Sat. if required”. And we should be there on Sat.

Of course, I am not blaming Alex. for what happened. Perhaps I should have had my party in for tutorial classes twice a week. However, Alex, offered to buy the tickets - just “Five returns Dulbolla please”. Apparently, after making discreet enquiries, the man endeavoured to hide his ignorance by saying that he could not issue return tickets there and that Alex would have to accept tickets to Brisbane “which is about the same”. Not having sufficient data in his possession Alex acquiesced. After sifting all the evidence I gathered that N.S.W. is unable to issue return tickets to Queensland stations other than Brisbane but what riled me was that, on a distance calculation, the overcharge was about £1 per ticket and we did not want to use a considerable proportion of the return ticket at all. Why could we not buy return tickets to the Border and then get single extensions to Dulbolla?

The official reluctantly agreed that this could be done, but said it would make little difference in cost so I had to make a lot of calculations to prove otherwise and then, only then, did he abandon his defences and surrender, knowing that I had an atom bomb up each sleeve. With good grace (and, I felt, with some respoct and a tinge of admiration for me) he handed me back lots of five pound notes and told me how to proceed.

The impact of a ticket to Border Tunnel onto the brain of the train officials had varying effects. Some expressed great astonishment, others looked at it as people probably looked at the first aeroplane and yet showed not the least curiosity. In the early hours of the morning, when it was still dark, a ticket examiner came through the train and happened to catch Jean away from her home base. Unfortunately, when he asked Jean where she was going, she could not remember beyond the fact that “It starts with 'D'”. He suggested “Deepwater. Perhaps Dapto. Not Dungog? Doonside, Dorrigo, Dubbo? He conducted Jean back to the compartment to satisfy himself that it wasn't Gladesville. Then he became quite keen to know where we “Flannel Flowers” were walking - apparently he had dealt with peculiar people before.

Within a hundred miles of our destination we got quite “jumpy” as to whether the train might forget or not be advised to stop at our destination. So I planned to ask the engine driver at Casino whether he intended to stop. However, just as I arrived at the engine, a station official handed him a form on which, a carbon copy, I could see the word “Dulbolla” written.

“Only one stop today”, he said cheerily, “Dulboola”.

“Dulbolla”, corrocted the engine driver haughtily.

The road may have been hard but the climax was worth it. The express came to a standstill and a voice called out “Seats numbers forty two to forty six - Dulbolla” and the conductor gave us advice on how to alight from a train as rucksacks, dilly bags, brown paper parcels, and cardboard boxes were flung out and he and numerous passengers, whose heads protruded from windows, saw the inexpressible sight of girls jumping onto the rails.

My deah, we were there and, between us and Rathdowney, only a mile of road and fifty per cent of Dulbolla's fowlyards.

As Alex Colley handed me his “copy”, I could see the fire burning in his eyes, and divined that he was even then “fighting through jungle, climbing rock faces, sliding round cliffs…”

THE WESTERN MoPHERSON RANGE. As far as I know the Western VfoPhoreon region was, until penetrated by Wnl Roots lnd Ray arkby, prictioally untrod by the foot of Bushwalkor, so it may be as well to eny where it is before proceeding to a mountain-by-mountain description. Perhnps the ecsiest way of explaining the layout without 3 map is to imagine we -re standing on Vilson's Peak, from which we would see most of the places described. We should be on the border, 60 miles from the coast and 60 miles SSW from Brisbane, though we could not quite see the sea nor the city. At this point the McPherson Rama joins the Grorvt Dividing Range. Looking Bast r)long the rrnge we snould sec Mount Lindesay, 16 pailes. lalminton, 40 miles away r,nd the peak of Mount Wrrning on tho horizon. The Divide comes up from the WSW 'Ind continues, at right angles, towards the NNW. About 10 miles NW, on the Divide, would be Spicer's Gp here we st-Irted our wP1k. This section of the Divide - bJtwoon us and Spicer's Grp find beyond - is really a high escarpment on the edge of the Darling Downs. We should be wt the source of the Conwlmine River, flowing west; the Clarence, flowing south; and near the source of the Logan, flowing north east. We could also see the source of the Richmond, beyond Mount nindosv. In the foreground, towards the North Last, would be a. plain on which were n number of isolated mountains, and tow-rds Mount Lindesily, the massive folds of Mount B,Illow -amost obscuring the peaks of Blrncy beyond. Many Of these mount-ins Rp)ear to be r,,nciont volcpnic cones, and the escarpment on the. Divide might be the reminder of streams from those cones. The MoPhersOn Range itself is rally string of separate mountains connected by low saddles. Both the ranges -na the separate mount-ins rise straight from the plain, their flanks unprotected by foothills. All the high peaks overlook a large section of the country described. Lot us now coma down from Wilson's '- ork to join the rest of the party, consisting of Ray Kirkby, Edlys: Gnrrad, Ted Constable and Joan Thirgood, as they step down the crri-ge footboards at the rail siding of Dulboll-1, 30 miles to the Last. We walked less than cl mile th't evening to our first camp-site, on the Logan River just outside Rr thdo,oncy. At this point we were about 1 iilos from Mount B-!rney, which rises straight from the to n height of 4434 foot. We rose en rly to be rewarded by an Elioth Gruner rendering of the mountain, ascending domes and spires bathed by the rising sun in softly luminous ,?urple light. Throughout the trip the first and rays of the sin gave 112 Yfr”ny mountain views, though none so bre“.tht”king as our first. At RrAhdowney we arranged for provisions to be sent to Mount Lindesqy for us to pick up ^, week lriter, then travelled by car, past the 'brut mount ins rising out of the plrlin, to Spicer's G-Ip. As we pdpproched the Divide 1.,tS 3000 foot e-storn face looked nearly vorticand im)s3ntoc1, n alm oGt rcgul7x, oorrugwtod ap)oarrInco. 7 Many of the rf-.nsas havo this appe-.r-nce in thu distn nco, giving ctn improssion of countless ages of worlthorins, roininiscont of pictures I hrive seen of c-rid r:Ingos in Western China. The clrid -ppor-ince is an illusion 0:used by a deep covoring of brown gr-Lss, which is often .the min covering of the Stoop slopes. In summer these slopes %ro. gren. From our 'comp in Spicer's Grip we climbed Spicor's Pk -nd MOunts. Mitchell 'tnd.Cordbaux., Mount Mitchell 'Ind Spicor's Pc-k nrc in tho shape of 'irregulr pyr-wids. Thbir eastern sicLo is n nlmost Tarticn1 , trirngul-x cliff frice, rising to tiish?..rp whilo their western- . odso slopes gr-dually to the Dc,xling Downs. In the deep gaps bbtwoon the po l.ks are the sources of stro ms flowing west to the Condamine River on the Lowns. Climbing the pomks w-,s not very difficult. Tluris Tourist trlcKs so nearly to the top of Mitchell -,nd Cordomix, which -ra on o-ch bid() of the mrin roeld through Ouniiinghqm's G-Ip. The lower spu spurs of the mountins aro mostly Pun bushlr.Ind clothed in deep brown K-ng-zoo Grf-Lss, while nor the top there is mixture of open gr-ssy ridges, junglu -nd rock fces. It is usually possible to pick your route up -p you climb, but very difficult to find m wny down'if you do not retr-ce your styps. The doscont of Mount Barney took nonzly_ eight hours' wmlking time. It will be realised thrt it would be impossible to w lk -dong the top of the r-ngu as li;o phould in mobt of our loc 1 17,agos, bee use you would be constantly climbing tho p o.mks, fighting your iirmy through jungle, climbing rock faces -nd sidling round cliffs.,_It is usunaly best to walk nt the foot of the- relnLo. If you tried this in tho rangos no r homu you would be continuously climbing in -Ind out of crook bods, but, becnuso of the absonce of foothills, most of tha coUntry bono-th. t“ this range is gently unaul-ting with lolv sadalea between the scPttored hills. So from Spacer's C-113 wo mcde our wy down the gratssy. open forested ridges and slopes to the cleared c-ttle country bolow. It wns rich volcanic grassland, warm and p1J?snnt in the northern winter sunshine, -,nd delightful for camping. Most of the creek beds were dry, but hero -1nd:there the Tmtor came to the surinco nnd thoreo sprins -nd soaks in side creeks ' a cnmpod in full view of Mount Steflmor, -n imporious mass of horizont-)1 strnta rum Stoop brown corrugrItod slopes, thrusting m-ljasticr'lly into the lowlqnds. Next d y we climbed Pnorrn Point, tram which we could see the extraordinary rock froM-tion known the Stu-liner (bohind Yount Stelmor - i e. to the East). It consists of - long cliff'face, then a gni) in which -.re to rook PYlong, PorhTPs 2Q0 foot high and quit unsc-aeblo, then a continur,tion of the cliff. With v)ry littlo im-gin-ition it looks like “7: sto-,mship. Another ay's wmlk brought us to tho.Gondmina Gap. We-roached thx: Gap at sundown. An icy-cold wind bleu through it from the West so ,so wont,,, few yrds into the jungle for out cmp. We looked out into open country where the wind blow by day n nd frost formed at night, but it w..a,snug nxid still under our forest c nopye Down w7hemlded by duet between '.knd a coV1/2/ - almost like R “Tiger” wlk not,tivlt I'm , -courso.. North'of tho Gtli is the highest point of the ranges, Mounts Suporbus (4,493 ft.) rid to the South is VIA-Pon's Po-k. The view from theactter h s iro-Ar 1:1604 doscribod but not the sons-tion of st,nding on the border of two 8tatas, Fyb the junction of two long 'rangos, n nd ,t or no,r the source of four 1,.rgo'rivers. Enlf n, mile bene-,th us was tho very start of the great a7rling River, rising horo amid donee damp junglo F!s a little mount in stro-m, soon to flow loisuroly north-west over tho IDrling Downs, then curving round to thu South, ch-lnging its n-lue to Culgoa;'1?rhlpu diS-Lp)orink; sometimos i 2 the arid wost; then joining Aivith the B-Iron to form the D-rlifq. flow slugO.shly tow rds S.A. ovor the exp-.,nso,of the f-x 'western pinin. Both Wilson rInd Superbus nre e-Isy to climb bocuse of n r'bbit-proof fonce'loding up to their summits. This is not the rurin boraor fence, but is stmilnx to it, flnd the tr-ck -longsido it provides unobstructed waking (1.1ong',c, dop jungle Ir-noVv. Often we p-Alsod1-1.s we crao to the gi;mt” but'Grossed bolo of -,, true, to grIzo upwn,rds -t the foli-ogo f r bov o. Somo of tho 1-r,ost t oc, were str-'nglor figs which htnA long - since onvelopod their hosts. The outside circumfrendo round tho buttrQSdOsnd dvontitious roots at the baso of some of tho trees Ii v(-) moasurod 40 feet or more. Some of the largost trees r-p)urea, by their lo-Nos, to be giant stinging trees, often :1D0 or more foot high. Tho older trees were covered with orchids, lichens, vines, st-lzhorns, olkhornS and other growths. Below were ii. 11 15-1.cul:ri-,.'palms, Stinging trees, laonkoy vines and many other subtro)icflt 1lorc-1. On the crosts of the high ridges were somo fine spocimons of hoop pine. Two cl.,71ys' wlk through open timber, tot unlike our Bluogum -Forust; nnd through more cleared country and junglo brought us to Mount Lindesay. Mot of. the wv wo followed tho border fonce.' ,Though this involved - very steep climb.,over Mount Clinic, an'y -1tornn tive route would h-ve boon much further or toULhor. Lindesv is ber'utifully proportion:ad mountrlin, its lower slopes rising symmetric lily to sup,iort a verticrl,block of bis,lt 600 or moro foot high. As we ppronched the mount;-An its bflso w,s blondod with the violet evpning haze and its sciure rock summit wrls spotlighted by t_le setting sun g:-inst the flocaulont roso-rod clouds FJoovo. Next dy we -ttomptod to climb it, but didn't like, the -lmost perpondiculr shrub-to-shrub ascent. Ted Consthblo, however, w-s undismayed.. Ho roachod the top and when intorviowod (-A the bottom), described the view -Is cIwo inspiring rather thn beautiful. R'ly had boon up 'before but must-hfl ve travelled too .fast to notice the nnturo of the ascent. Our noxt stop was at thfoot of Mount Ba rnoy. This is probi'bly 'the most iml)osing molint-An in Austr'li-is it rises strrItght from no 'rly ,lovul cOuntry somo 500 foot -lbove se i; level to - height of 4434 feet. , It is difficult, though not df!ngerous to climb. We ollowod Bc rney Creek, which rises between Mount B,rnay 17.nd Mount lJow,r,nd..:cp mc'tb r most spoctaculnx gorge. From the bottom of -1;he oige we lookod-up an almost unbroken, rock face to tho west peak of Barny. Th) cronk Dourod t1,11?ouoa a Eap into a groat pool which could be reacil,edjpnly by craulin through a hole in the rock wall. We believe that on the-upper-reaches of this creek, if ar*– where, there may be a truly primitive area. There is no grazing and almost certainly no route for taking out timber. It may even have escaped fires. A week or more could well be spent in exploring the Barney locality. - Anyone ilanning a trip to. tlie M.cPhersons should g,c) in the period from April to Setember. These are the dry months when heavy rain is unusual, though we were told there were floods last Junee There was not a drop of rain and hardly a cloudy day during our fortnight's trip. 'The icy wind vaiich blew from the West during the first few days, is, we were told, to be expected during the winter, though usually somewhat later; In this region, nature, by providing a heavy summer rainfall, has stayed the -destructive hand of man. During the hot wet summer months the jungle is too green to burn. There is evidence of grass fires, but few areas where there have been tree-top fires. It is all cattle country, being too wet for sheep. The soil i fertile and the grass cover dense. Man, for his wn good, has helped by excluding rabblts'.- Thus the fire, droughts, sheep and,rabbits team has never-got a start on tAe mountains, which show no-signs of erosic Much of the country is too rough' for timber-getting and here man has co-operated positively ' reserving some of the best remaining forest areas. This article would notbe complete without a'note on the luscious Queensland fruits and vegetables. We had pineapdleS, custard apples and some tomatoes and other vegetables. The fruits were rich ana sweet, even the tomatoes were i,L4eet and the vegetables full of aistinctive flavour. By comparison our local products are mere skins filled with 'cellusose and water by the use of forcing fertilisers. In time to come I believe thet 'Southern Queensland will be entirely popUlated by voracious vegetarians. :y-AIXS,TROGRA.MME. These two WalkShave:beeninte,r-change4: Leon B1u er Mitta gong Nattal Nattai PasS. - Couridjah. Set Aboh ,1-79r.:60.t., 12, 13. Will take place on - Ron.Knightloy.:T6Tdpg.-H3a4geryis. Tolwong.7 Bu ngonia:Tops Marular Set'dOwn for Set. 20 2l 22.''Will take

Dlade on- Oct'. l, , ,

r , 8. Jean Thirgood handed in some lovely paper which, by invoking. the Prime Minister's complete Staff of cipher experts, we decoded as being 77 more Qlle enslandl “Confessions and Impressions” – This perta1ns of course to the “t-rip” and whilst being in that stage of remorse and misery when memox-ie-s flock around, a decision has been reached that “Life in Cities” is a mere'farce. However, T gather this mood must pass and ere now a little joy will once again begin to seep from one's immediate surroundings. Our destination was cueensland to strangers, Southern ,)ileensland to people les strange and the Border to our intimates. And Dulbolla was only a little trifle tossed hither and yon with incredulous ticket inspectors. The Engine Driver was the only living soul who knew! And lo- and behold as if he were our benefactor and guardian he sto,ped the train at Dulbolla and we alighted, to the great amazement and deep interest of all who witnessed the event. We loaded our protesting backs with many pounas, and each carrying a parcel in hand - in two instances this contained 55 medium sized carrots and 60 medium sized onions - we began. However, a dumping ground was selected after great deliveration, and portion of our gear and: food was E)nt on to be collected itor, when we greeted it as do old accuaintances who have undergone many strange experiences in the interim. The variety and number of instructions delivered by our leader, to the unsuspecting countrysiders formed a pleasant store in my mind upon 1,hich to ruminate when the, need for something to worry about arose - having ,looked in vain for other sources. Except once, that is When our worthy Benighted. were but fledglin6s at this occupation, the. howling gales and bitter cold were fitting stimuli to my heated imagination - portion of such heat being generated by their own unused) downy sleeping-bags. But they dashed into camp the following morning aglow and agog after their comparatively pleasant night spent in the jungle. And I who had been lying awake the night thru - worrying - had not even time to heat the' meal of ihe previous evening for them an It must be admitted that a splendid opportunity for worrying was overlooked when thesBenighted spent the dark' hours on Barney. This mighty fierce mountain deserves a teal name'. Having scrutinized it carefully they had decided that climbing B,arney was fitting only for a trapeze artist, so high and nooky and wild aid it seem. But the courageous Were undaunted and set off, at near dawn but d:Id not return till 11.30 A.M. the following' day: And then I could_ act my long awaited role of ministering angel, for 'they looked worn and as if torn both mentally and physically from indescribble suflerings. Sleeping between jagged crags and boulders-On a fairly sheer mountain side in . the biting wind, and suffering the tortures of imminent death from an unruly fire which threatoned to 3Q1,104 madly round the crazy peaks was not unduly oo qr,table, it seem : 9. The Border Fence but an im;:overished concept to the unenlighted. Not having previous aCcitiaintance With 'such a phenomenon my imaginetion depicted it as a stark tall uninteresting wire erection designed to torme4lt stray 'animals, inclusive of the human species. But her v, discovered a friendly thing, for if one tired of Queensland one could pop back quite conveniently to homely N.S.W.' Not so the rabbits for they are regarded with just ire by the tZueenslanUers and atutdy 1 Lnuar:y riders keep watchful guard over their meanderings. This Fence, moreover; was heedless of hills or dales end trotted' uncompromisingly uP mountain sides which pd)roached the near vertical, and to)pling over a trig, fell down the other side. Why on earth raboits waild'choose'such an occupatiOn remains a puzzle. But apart from these small ingonveniences we found it a delightful trail along which to roam,'.We could walk very comfortably along thru soft ferns and gaze at the towerinE timbers bedeced with staghorns and trailing vines and \,,e could look into tile mysterious depths of the juhgle from our unimpeded ,pathway and vatch the cool )lay of light and softened gloom in the green depths beyond And, one evq nng after a stu pendous day when the search for water as imminent and the moon had been accomeanying us for an hour or more a man-made contraption called a tank was nicely set in the t '11 rasp,es. And the tank uas filled with waterl- , - But Lindesay: Ire ,first saw Lindesay at ver., close quarters looming up starkly in a 'greenish light, and gatiaering clouda were threatening the ramparts.. But at atill cdoser quarters it was sunset. Walking thru places which were all “Brue Gums” put together and tore, we watcheu the flecked clouus iv u ink behind the darkening tree tops. Ana we suun around a, curve onto Lindesay. It was a0_ow with g_,ntle fire but it remained mysteriouo and aloof like some fairy castle full of unimaginable things. . Lindesay remained' a mystery to most of us for it is only to a select few that its secrets are yielded. This few should be designed ir make for treadinL-airi13,- into sace.,,hen the grasstrees and crumbling rocz s'do not inspire - e'arthly- - - Barney, now is a different roposition. ,On another trip we stumbled fairly easily and accidentlly onto a wondez-ful vantage point, from thich to )rize smIle-.of its secrets. We,gazed into its craggy heart with its sheer rock faces and little gaps joining some of , its peaks. Forming the whole eanorama into a cohesive whole 1, a s a ,riihty gorge pouring forth noisy waters, and away to the right the mountain pea1c2 fell more gntly down, ,cut by acaother stream of longer history and more patient behaviour. 'There is a, can') site belonging to this part of the story which is only in our imagination as yet. But I think it is worth traVelling nearly 600 miles to camp in this enchanting place. 1Jo,- pbor' thincE,' discovered it when our stay was over. Not-thFlt it is a reflection on our other camp sites. For they were delihtful and the \ves,-6.b!ar treted Us to a quite exeIplory performance. . 10. In contrast was the countrY further west - -Having Said goodbuy to one of our darty in th-e salWorious town of Woodenbong, a centre noted for its service cars and gangling poor blcks (but considerably enlivened by them 'ikers) we toured through less and less attractive country. Our spirits were low from dust, )oor,ring bf3rked trees and scrubby scrub and a spatter of rain made the dust more murky. I thought “What a dreadful hole” and looked out once again to see a notice board saying “Wilsons Downfall” and was shocked Lato activjtj. Our destination. But we revived after a cuppa brewed in the deser6-)d Court House. For the last two days we were all pioneers and as such had been our troubles, but we only suffered for one half day and in the afternoon of this day had some interesting views of granite formations which burst forth from the surroinding countryside. It was here we - had our coldest camp, right under a granite mount2in and (I think) at over 3500 and also in the middle of swampy land covered by pink, frost-bitten grasses. As the moon rose up at the side of the domed Liountain the dingoes uttered plaintive lament and left an eerie ceition to keep us company. Incidentally, WyburbA National Park ,(t&g:. what we were looking for. As usual this 1vaS a local mystery but I think we did just touch its boundaries. My last impression Was Wnllangarra. Dust and stock routes and darkness looming, and someone saying jbkingly “We'll take our torches and do the town”. This proved only too true and after a small attempt to locate the town from the station we remained put - at which it began to rain and meant it. So our story just about ends with some really 'generous treatment by the Qrland R.R.R. in the matter of dinner tnd with eedh member having a comfortp ble journey home. But Lindesay., Barney and the otheTS.belong to a remote world and have already assumed a dre-mlike quality. Edna Garrad made sure we'd print her version - typed it out toto. A treatise upon the art of camping out - completely out “Bonightody Bushlholkors do not often find themselves benighted, but on p. recent holiday in the McPhersons and the Great Dividing Range we twice 11. d. this experience within a fortnight. Our camps were in lovely sunny valleys or in gaps between the peaks, and from here we did our climbing without packs. On the first ryolasion, we climbed Mt., Cordeaux in the morning and in the afternoon three ofthe party dectided to traverse Mitchell's Peak and make our wRy Vfzelc. to Spicer's Gap where our crimp was situated* 11. ; There is a tourist track from the, E..a,p,)protcFaly to_the top of the peak, nicely graded. 0n arrival, we Id r glorious p,T_nornmic view of plains and peaks, ;although is was so windy we had to hnng onto grass trees and 'small shrubs to prevent ourselves being blown off! On the far side of the mountain there is no trnck md we made our wfly through jungle and grass. It took considerably longer than we anticipated and a1thou0i. we expected to be reaching camp in torchlight we thought that by the time it was dark we would be on a track again. However we took wrong ridge -und had to retret and then found ourselves w-ndering around in the jungle on the range by the light of one torch between three of us - being scratched by thorns and torn by brambles in unmerciful fashion.. J.Qgot on to what proved to be the right ridge and -s the torch was about-finisEed and there appeared to 'be a sheer cliff ahead, we made camp as best we could without tent, sleeping bag or groundsheet. We wJro at about 2,000 ft. above selevel and it was the middle of June. Need I spzr more? We built A ,iarge fire, and would hrvc1 liked. an ec.,ualiy large fire behind us, but the wind was L% high and even with the little fire we did build the frmes would sweep towards us in the wind. We had no water and very'little 'food; a mouthful of chocolate nnd some rr'isins. We made n nd of grass and settled down to winit for the dawn. Surprisingly enough however we did get a considerable amount of sleep. One member of the party was so near the fire that the' following eciy found his back burnt and blistereot through his shorts: I awakened at one stage to find the bedding on fire as we had all edged closer to the warmth and worked the grass with us. lihen dawn came \e found thcit the seeminkqy,difficult cliff was easily negotiated and we wore back at camp in about forty minutes. iThe loalance of the party had spent a very comfort'Ible night on our sleeping bags and we trrived in time to pre)arc their morning tea: So much for our anticipation ofstaggering into camp to be welcomed with food and drink. However the food that they had cooked for our te,l, the night before made a very good breakfast. On the second,occasion we had climbed Mt. Barney (the. grandpst mountain I hrIve ever seen) and had sought a routa down R ridge. without success. We had wasted considerable time looking for the ridge and were still not very,far from the 4,000 ft top when it begL,an to get darkish. The going VMS terrific. We wore swinging along OA sapaings like Tarzans one minute, crawling under logs the ricact, walking on ferns nnd having our legs subside into space unexpectedly and somewhat painfully the next. Then there were rOcks,rInd..rock faces to be negotiated rind pieces of akin seemed somehow to be continually left behind so thgt our hands and knees became very tender and the scrcitches-of fraah thorns was agonising. We continued on unttl,it_ was so dark that it was dangerous in torchlight, nnd once again settled down for a night. This time nowever there was insufficient space to lie down, the only possible place to make a fire on the hillside being a small portion of rock enclosed on three sides, but with a nasty crack which allowed the draughts through. A fire was lit and immediately the whole area in which we were sheltering was aflame, the sparks having caught lots of dry leaves and small sticks etc. It was only by quick action that the one rucksack we had was pulled to safety. All that Jaight -the buys werG making trip.3 to the outer edge of the :rocksto-extinguish smar11–fires :whichstarted.–.The wind was again high and sparks were blown everywhere. During the-niitht the sky became very overcast and I had visions of torrential rain beating down on us, but this was something ,we were spared. The last straw as far as I was conceined was when-a bush rat ran across the roar of'the shelter. We had practically no sleep and Were very glad when dawn came. It had been a strenuous climb up on to Mt. Barney and it was a strenuous climb down by the route we took. We were extremely glad whOn we reached camp at about11 A.M. We ate enormous quantities of food, tilen stretched out in the sun for a huvonly sleep. By next morning any discomforts were forgotten and ,u started off for fresh fields to conquer. STOP'-PRESS ON THE STORKII Do you know whal Wo hear hat the l'son” born to Wal and Miriam Roots in the last issue has been christened Margaret Radalindl It seems that we picked the Wrong stork. Our deepest apologies to the parents. tOw, this stork took a lot of catching, but we have authoritative information that another ex-President is rocking a cradle. Way bacx in February, the Richard Orockers acided Caroline Maljorie to the family tree. Yes, that was why tiwy missed their first reunion: Both mother and daughter doing well. Did you know the reason behind the extra-broE-dness of Bob Eastoe's smile the other night in club? In case you did not, a personal interview with the proud pappy (Mother, Mary, was of course at home) elicited the full pedigree of the new colt. Sox, male; name, Jonathan; date, 18.7.46; weight at birth, albs. Long in limbs, -nd ,sare-ms like a bushualker on a ridge. Sheila Garrad now answers to the name of 7Mother”, and once again we havo to name of the child (just to ipTOVO we've got the right sexI). Mary Vinessa, as another tramper of future trails. Who will be next? Rumour has t. that evants _are )onding. Watch next issue for furtiler development-SI Apply this-pffibe, for tickets in the Swoo-gatake on, the Stor31