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--- 198308 [2016/03/24 11:25] – (maximum 7<sup>0</sup> C) and were met by the leader (who had arrived ten days eimated that they were carrying 40 lbs each. Mark was advised to leave his leggings and hard hat behind but he would not part with the briefcase. His excuse was that he might h kclacher
+++ 198308 [2016/03/25 15:22] (current) – y the leader (who had arrived ten days earlier to do some walking on his own account). They were quickly transferred from the airport to their overnight accommodation at the Melville Private Hotel in Gloucester Street, close to the city centre, with instr kclacher
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 |**Editor**|Evelyn Walker, 158 Evans Street, Rozelle, 2039.  Telephone 827-3695.|
 |**Business Manager**|Bill Burke, 3 Coral Tree Drive, Carlingford, 2118.  Telephone 871-1207.|
-|**Production Manager**| Helen Gray |
+|**Production Manager**| Helen Gray|
 |**Typist**| Kath Brown|
 |**Duplicator Operator**|Phil Butt|
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 | The Franklin River Verdict |by Jim Brown |   2|
 | Social Notes for September | |   2|
-| Arthur and Us - Part 1 | Bill Gamble |   3|
+| Arthur and Us - Part I | Bill Gamble |   3|
 | For the Love of the-South-West | Peter Harris |  6|
 | Notes of the June & July General Meetings | Barry Wallace |   6|
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 ===== The Franklin River Verdict =====
- by Jim Brown  (13th July, 1983)
+(13th July, 1983) by Jim Brown
 | The Wise Men sat in judgement and they found |
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 Arthur's Pass is to the Christchurch tramper what the Blue Mountains are to the Sydney bushwalker, a rugged area within easy reach for weekend trips leaving Friday evening after work: but, otherwise, quite different. These differences - the nature of Arthur's Pass National Park - are perhaps best summarised with an extract or two from the park handbook.
-"The park is a rugged and mountainous area of about 100,000 hectares situated in the centre of the South Island (about 150 km west of Christchurch). It is a land of jagged skylines, tall snowy peaks and snowgrass-clad ridges, deep gorges, steep, bush-covered hillsides, sheer cliffs of angular black rock, high waterfalls, wide shingle riverbeds and rushing torrents. The park is traversed by large rivers - on the east the Waimakariri and Poulter and their tributaries,the Taramakau and Otira and their tribularies on the west.
+"The park is a rugged and mountainous area of about 100,000 hectares situated in the centre of the South Island (about 150 km west of Christchurch). It is a land of jagged skylines, tall snowy peaks and snowgrass-clad ridges, deep gorges, steep, bush-covered hillsides, sheer cliffs of angular black rock, high.waterfalls, wide shingle riverbeds and rushing torrents. The park is traversed by large rivers - on the east the Waimakariri and Poulter and their tributaries, the Taramakau and Otira and their tribularies on the west.
 "... the area of mountain ridges above bushline approximately equals the forested area. From valley floors at about 700m on the east the peaks rise to 1800m or more, but the western valley floors lie at only about 300m or slightly more. From any of the high peaks there are views over ridge upon ridge of broken rock, with snowfields lying beneath them and deep-cut valleys below. Ten named peaks over 2100m in height and twenty-one over 1800m lie within the park.
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 "The main divide of the Southern Alps bisects the park and from it branch intricate ranges of mountains between the courses of the rivers.... Between the peaks are many passes, high and low, but nearly all of them difficult to cross. The western and eastern separation has a dominating influence on the character of the park; but the rugged terrain, the wide range of altitudes, the relatively severe mountain climate, the swift rivers and the passes all affect the nature of the park in various ways."
-Instead of going straight into the walk as programmed, our introduction to the park, as a party, was two days spent above Arthurs Pass itself, firstly on the east side in the Temple Basin and in the upper Mingha Valley, and then an the west side on the slopes of Mt. Rolleston, 2271m. The leader had spent two days in the park on the previous weekend and proposed this change as a way of widening the scope of the walking to be done by the party. It proved to be an excellent beginning, in brilliantly fine weather immediately after snowfalls. The change was also partly due to recent alterations in the timetable for trains to and from the park, which had made impractical the use of public transport if full use was to be made of the days allotted for walking. The use of the leader's rental car to move the party from Christchurch to the park and back again kept the walking days to schedule and provided the sort of flexibilitY which members usually enjoy in their weekend walks out of Sydney.
+Instead of going straight into the walk as programmed, our introduction to the park, as a party, was two days spent above Arthurs Pass itself, firstly on the east side in the Temple Basin and in the upper Mingha Valley, and then an the west side on the slopes of Mt Rolleston, 2271m. The leader had spent two days in the park on the previous weekend and proposed this change as a way of widening the scope of the walking to be done by the party. It proved to be an excellent beginning, in brilliantly fine weather immediately after snowfalls. The change was also partly due to recent alterations in the timetable for trains to and from the park, which had made impractical the use of public transport if full use was to be made of the days allotted for walking. The use of the leader's rental car to move the party from Christchurch to the park and back again kept the walking days to schedule and provided the sort of flexibility which members usually enjoy in their weekend walks out of Sydney.
-Anyway, three of the party members arrived in Christchurch late on Wednesday afternoon, 16 March, on a cold, wet day ad assumed that we would get lost because of "poor leadership, inadequate maps and equipment". He had raised the alarm on reaching civilisation and the Forestry Commission had been alerted.
+Anyway, three of the party members arrived in Christchurch late on Wednesday afternoon, 16 March, on a cold, wet day (maximum 7<sup>0</sup> C) and were met b3 pm the storm had nearly reached the ridge and most of us stopped to don our rain gear. Shortly after the storm burst upon us with all its fury. First there came heavy torrential rain and lightning accompanied by a strong wind. Although I was protected by a parka my sleeping bag was in the haversack without a waterproof cover. Joyce came to the rescue with a large orange ground sheet which I held over my head and the haversack.
+After what seemed hours the rain gave way to a hail storm. The hail pelted down, cutting the leaves and small twigs from the trees, changing the earthen path surroundings into a dark green carpet. Fifteen minutes later the green carpet had changed to a white one with hailstones 2" deep underfoot. In a short time the temperature had dropped from 32<sup>0</sup> C to 15<sup>0</sup> C.
+Mark had been caught by the rain in only singlet and shorts and his clothing was wet under his rain cape. A bout of shivering came on him. He realised that it was a malarial fever attack, a legacy of his earlier years in the tropical north of Queensland. We made room for Mark under the groundsheet and huddled close together trying to keep him warm.
+The hail ceased after a while but a light drizzle had set in. We decided to push on and I picked up Mark's large haversack which contained our main supplies. Our conversation had turned to aborting the expedition via Xmas Creek because of Mark's condition and the weather.
+The track had nearly been obliterated by the leaves and hailstones. The afternoon light was fading as we came to a large clearing. Pat was endeavouring to start a fire boy scout fashion, by setting small twigs and branches upright in the shape or an Indian wigwam with the fire underneath. The prospect looked very dismal for the campers because of a dark overcast sky, a chill penetrating wind and damp ground underfoot. The tents were pitched whilst some looked for suitable firewood and others volunteered to fetch water for the evening meal. These tasks proved to be very difficult as suitable fallen limbs were scarce and the creek was at the bottom of a steep, slippery slope.
+After an hour the rain ceased. Mark seemed to have partly recovered. He looked rather odd in Mary's angora jumper. Pat had prepared a delicious tuna mornay which was wolfed down by the whole group. The first course was followed by tinned peaches and cream. Most of the campers slept that night in damp clothes with no chance of getting their belongings or sandshoes dry.
+We awoke next morning at 6.30 in misty cold conditions to find that two ringtail possums had raided our muesli supply.
+After breakfast the walkers were surprised to see Bill with his haversack on ready for departure. Without warning he bade us all goodbye. He gave no reason for his sudden decision to return home. My assumption from conversation I had with him over a two day period was that he did not feel safe in the Australian bush. He was familiar with the German and Swiss forests where there are well-marked tracks, shelter huts and roads and railways close by.
+The party then proceeded down a steep gully to the Stinson wreck, where olive-green tubular steel trusses protruded from the undergrowth. One of the wheel struts lay nearby. Small pieces of broken window glass were found by one of the walkers. A plaque set in concrete marked the scene of the crash. The inscription read:- "This plaque marks the spot where the Stinson Airliner 'VH-UHH, City of Brisbane, crashed on 19-2-37 and where two survivors sat for 10 days until found by Bernard O'Reilly. We remember the Stinson - a pathfinder at the dawn of commercial aviation in Australia."
+A white wooden cross nearby was marked:- "In memoriam Capt. Rex Boyden died in Stinson crash 19-2-37." Three smaller silver plaques set in stone and concrete were marked:- "Flying Officer Beverley Shepherd - William Walden, Fountain, New York - James Roland Graham, Sydney."
+Three passengers survived the crash - Westray, Bunstead and Proud. Westray, a young New Zealander, decided to go for help only to fall over a cliff and die in the bush. The other two survivors lived on the berries from the walking stick palm and water collected from Xmas Creek.
+The papers of the day and the aviation authorities had given up the Stinson as lost. People had sighted what they thought to be the plane everywhere from the Queensland border to the Hawkesbury River.
+After eight days and differing radio and press reports, Bernard O'Reilly contacted one of his neighbours who thought that the plane had crashed in the McPerson Ranges. O'Reilly decided that his neighbour's story was authentic, particularly as there had been no reports of the plane's arrival at Lismore Airport. O'Reilly produced an aerial survey map of the area and plotted destination lines on it. He deduced that the plane could have crashed on one of four high mountain ranges in the district.
+He packed some supplies which consisted of bread and butter, onions, sugar and tea, and mounted his horse ready for the journey to Mount Bethongabel. Here he sent the mare home and proceeded by f6ot through the trackless jungle. On the morning of the second day O'Reilly was an the top of Mount Throakban looking out over the three remaining mountain ranges. Eight miles away on the third range, Lamington Plateau, he sighted a burnt out tree which confirmed his theory. Eight hours later he found the survivors who were in very poor condition, one of whom had a broken leg. With help from all over the district a rescue party was organised which cut a stretcher path through the forest. Bunstead and Proud were lifted out over the next two days.
+After returning to camp from the wreck we were able to see the stretcher track, approximately 4 feet wide, which is maintained free from undergrowth to this day.
+Our party arrived at Tyalgum Valley Lookout at 9:30 where the hailstones on the track were thick underfoot. The track from here on became indistinct and we had to fan out many times to find one of the tree blazes. Wherever a break in the rain forest canopy occurred, the undergrowth was thick and tangled because of the life-accelerating effects of the sunlight. The undergrowth was wet and we had to stop at intervals to extricate ourselves from the lawyer vines that got caught in our clothing and flesh. This proved to be very painful at times, Allegedly lawyer vines were given this name by the early settlers because once they got their hooks into you you would never get them out.
+We passed a number of antarctic beeches, a huge gnarled tree with buttressed arched roots that meet the trunk metres above the ground. These trees are thought to be thousands of years old and are a relic from a colder epoch.	They usually occur at higher altitudes and are found in Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand, South America and the New Guinea Highlands.
+At one stage we became disoriented and found ourselves heading in the opposite direction to our compass course.	The group had just passed through a cleft in two large rocks which Pat recognised from our earlier wanderings. The mistake was confirmed, by reference to the area map.
+Some time after lunch the track became defined again and at 2:30 pm we arrived at a signpost which pointed to O'Gradys Creek.	It was evident that we were leaving the rainforest area because of the stands of eucalypt trees that surrounded us. At 4:30 we arrived at O'Gradys Falls and stopped to admire the surrounding black and grey rock formations. Tall lilies grew on the edge of a large pool above the falls. These lilies known as Helm Holtzia have light and dark green stems on which grow profuse pink and white flowers.
+At 5 pm the party emerged from the bush onto Forest Road. Here we were met by Peter Maxwell, a Forestry Commission Ranger. He drew the leaders aside and engaged them in earnest conversation. Pat later told us the story. Bill had assumed that we would get lost because of "poor leadership, inadequate maps and equipment". He had raised the alarm on reaching civilisation and the Forestry Commission had been alerted.
 That night we camped in cold, overcast conditions in a clearing at the Border Lookout.