A monthly Bulletin of matters of interest to The Sydney Bush Walkers, 5 Hamilton Street, Sydney.

In the last issue of the Magazine, Dorothy Lawry, who edited the Magazine for four years, bade farewell, as Editor, to her readers, and gave her best wishes to the new team. We are all more or less new to our jobs, but we are fortunate in taking over a smoothly running organisation and in having the help and advice of the old Editor whenever we need it.

Dorothy Lawry, and Jean and Brian Harvey and their helpers have done sterling work for the Club by keeping the magazine running even in the most difficult times. We hope to carry on their good work, and see that the Magazine loses none of its appeal to readers.

We feel that the publication of the Magazine is one of the most essential of the Club's many activities. “The Sydney Bushwalker” describes for you walks, club events, personalities, our ideas, and our humour, in fact it is the written expression of everything which makes the Club.

It is the readers who make the Magazine. If anything of interest comes to your notice, write it down and hand it to one of us. Don't be afraid to express yourself through its pages. Remember too our members in camps, here and abroad, whose only contact with the Club is the B.S.C. and the Magazine. They want to know what we are doing, and it would be very selfish of us not to let them know.

If you don't like the way we run the magazine, tell us. Better still write to the Editor and have your vievs published. It is your Magazine. See that it measures up to your standards.

FEDERATION NOTES At the March meeting Marie Byles re:._-Jorted that a Boy Scout had been found cutting down a tree at Cheltunham. The matter was referred to Scout Headquarters with a request that all such offenders should be required to plant another tree at the place where the crime took place. At the last meeting a reply came from the Strathfi0ld Troop, saying that the boy responsible was no longer_ a member of t~ir troop, but that they would nevertheless be glad to plant a tree in tho place of the one cut /' down. The Secretary for Railways denied the Federation's report that trains billed to stop at Lilyyale on the Sunday aftc~ Christmas passe~ straight through. It was decided however to repeat the request for_thc appointment of a station attendant. An attendant was nc~ded to stop trains, sell tickets, and so~ that train doors we~e properly closed. The Minister for Lo..nds replied to a Federation letter that any person could carry a gun in the Kosciusko area for the purpose of killing noxious nni_mo.ls. It was decided to ask that only shepherds and authorised persons be perm:t-tte.d. to- -o-o.rry guns, so that tourists would not be permitted to carry them. A~rangements arc going ahead for the publication of the Annual, and it is pretty certain that it will come out as usual. Contributions are requested. Miss Emily Reynolds of the Rucksack Club is now organising the Playground Walks in place of Dorothy Lawry. A convenor is ruquired for the Fed0ration Publicity Bureau. Mr. Trevor Krok has gone a.wo:y from Sydney and has had to resign from the Blu~~gum F.or~ct Trust.. 4- suocese-o–r has not yet bee.n appointed. - - - - - ..:. 3 - (as Fit~io tells it). The tre~s in the gully grew groen and thick, for the strenm that ran ovGr the rocks brought them nourishing food. The hot winds never blew on them, anq the sun only sent his kindost rays to them. S9 it came nbout that the Tree Ferns, the Wattles and the Myrtles were the most admired in the district. Up on the hill-side where the young Gums grew, t~lO loose s::mdy soil contained very little food, for ~ll the water used to run down the hill to the stream in the gu.lly. But the Gums never grumbled; Of a:)..l the tre-:;s in the forest they were the gaye_s..t/and most cheerful. VJhatevcr the weather, the Gums were contented and enjoy0d their lives to the utmost. Because they w~re so happy, everyone lov;;d them o..nd the birds o.nd bq-:-:s would make thoir homes in their branches, Thus they lived on quietly und contentedly for many yeo..rs w·~tching the seasons come and go until onG day a. very bo.d tempered s~~er arrived. She came eo..rly before Spring hud left the l~nd a.nd the gentler scison fled before her. Scorching winds c•.nd bluzing sunbenms followed in her train, und c;vcn tho big trees grew fa.int :.1nd weary n.na. bent their heads b0forc her. Down in the gully the trees moaned and sighed with pain for they bud never known such heut, and they cried to the Gums to shelt<:r them. Heuring the cries the Gums were saddened for it.was beyond their power to protect their friends. They suid sadly, 11We would give·our lives to sa.ve you dear boautiful things, but we arc powerless.“ The cruel s'l.tOl!ller hcn.rd these words and laughed mocldngly. 11You would give your lives for them would you? You will soon have u chunce to do so .. ;; So snying she raced away a~ross the mountuin, That ve~y night the chance came. The sun went down a. fiery bull behind t~e hills a.nd as he disappeared n. red glow was seen to rise in the eastern sky, 11Is the sun coming back again alreudy?11 a.sked u bu.by tree in tea.rs. The bigger Gums shook their heads. “It is not the Sun. It is the Fire,” At these words there rose from all the i;;rees and bushes, a vm.il of despair, for the Fire is the most dreaded of all enemies. Very soon the Fir~ appeared on the top of the op)osite hill. With red hair flying and blue urns waving she leaped from tree to tree, licking up everything before her. Behind her came the hot winds driving her forward a.nd la.ughing fiendishly at their work. The gully trees wept piteously, Instantly the Gums decided to fight to the death to save their darlings in the gully. They lifted their heads and shouted in one voice. “Come and fight us if you da.re”. …;· 4 - The Fire hen.rd the chn.llenge nnd vvi th a. roar loa.:ped right across the gully, over the tops of the gully-trees, and hurled her fluncs into the midst of th-.:; gum$. Fiercely the battle rn.ged. :The G”t;Lns dashing their green len.ves in the fa.ce of the flumes. But tho Fire wns stronger, and very soon tho Gums were overwhelned and conquered. Then the Fire pasc:od on len.ving tho gully-trees all grecna.nd untouched, but on the hillside stood a defeated army_of burnt black trunks. In a few days the Fire burnt itself out. The Gully-trees were as green and beautiful as ever, but they drooped their heads and mourned for their lost friends. Suddenly the silence was broken by a tin~r whisper which said, ;;Do not grieve dear trees, we are not dead, though we are badly wounded• But our sap is still fresh and cool, and we shall be ourselves again, some-day.“ The Gully-trees could not keep still with excitement, they asked together, “Is it true”? “Yes”, called the Stream as he danced along, “That is the :SlJirit of the Gums. Fire cannot kill their brave hearts, ·and while a tree's heart is alive, it calmot die.” Little by little the Gums begun to recover. ~t the end of a few sea.sons they s~”'..ng quite merrily on the hillside. But a great change had come over them. Inste~d of the ragged straggling things of dull green they had beon before, thor0 rose tier after tier of straight strong trees, all thickly clothed with leaves of glorious copper colour, which g:j..eruned and glistened in the sunshine and made the hillside glow like burnished armou~. And no longer were the Gully-trees the most admired. Everyone stopped to gaze at the hillside and sn.y, “Oh, what beautiful Gum-trees”. ~s for the Gums, they laughed and enjoyed life just ,in the same old way, and answered all the compliments by saying. 11After all, it doesn't matter what your face is like, if only your sap keeps cool and pure. Sap is the thing that counts.“

“Cross him off! they shouted, “Cross him off! tl:J.e miserable cow; he didn't pay. 11 Don 1 t let this happen to you• ra,y your subscriptions now to Doris Allden or Beryl English. c - 5 - “Got oy sleeping bag from you 1939, it is now probably keGping a Greek peasant warm.” YJould rather lose wy identific~:.:.tio:n disc than ny sleeping bag.” “Cane through Greece, Crete and Libya vlith it, wouldn't part with it.” 11Had it through 21 years active service. My best fri·end.” Hin the snow in Syria, I think I would have diG-d without it.11 . These are a few of the dozens of tributes paid to Paddy-oade sleeping bags by ~en on active service and now al~s there is no oore dovm. Sources of supply (Chine.a:nd Java etc.) have been cut off and the Governnent has frozen what little is left. Sorry folks crest laguerre'. In future Paddynade sl~cping bugs will_ be filled with -fine feather. They will be just as warn as ever but will weigh 4t lbs. and will be about 60% bulkier. dost £2/12/6. Even now they are still heaps better than blankets and well worth carrying, PADDY PALLI:N, 327 George Street, SYDNEY. 'Phone j.,3101. - 6 - :.EA.STER ON _TEE. COX by Joyce Kennedy. ' Dogs! little id~o. did we have of the po.rt they were .soon to play in our lives as vw wildly scrambled aboard the 6.27 eager for adventure once more. However, Katoomba and a few hours moonlight walking brought us to Corral Swamp - already inhabited by numerous slumbering forms. A hasty conference resulted in a majority ruling to remain, with some suggestion about early rising to conciliate t_}le minority. 8 a.m. A refreshing sleep Qnd a bright crisp morning and we were soon on our way with light hearts and springing step ~ our destino.tion Kunn.ngaroo via Yellow Dog, M~.Mouin and ~lendour Rock at this st~ge insignificant but ~orthwhile digressions in between. Gaily we forged ahead, pausing be·low Deberts Knob for s<;>me sustenance to float us over Mt. Mouin which by now and viewed from this angle wo.s beginning to assume ruther more considerable proportions. However, us explained to the credulous there was really nothing to it and what slight exertion was required to ren.ch the top would be more than compenso. ted by the view. Also, since we must rise wasn't that the logical place to do so? · Thus reassured the ascent was begun. But it was not long before the less hardy were convinced they had been betrayed, for who but a deliberate truth distorter could describe such travail, labouring under a weighty pack in the heat of the day as negligible? '\!lith lips compressed and reason mocking, how-::ver, the rearguard finally struggled to the to::p, wondering what aberration of r.1ind had led us to stake all on a place on the 6.27. Here we found no sign of the indefatiguable advance guard who we concluded had tired of waiting and were already trying to burn up some of their unnatural energy, A glimpse of their retreating forms confirmed this conclusion, though as the scene of our tribulations was left further and further behind with no other sign of them, we began to doubt the accuracy of our vision. Calling against the gale sweeping the tops o.nd hindering our progress proved waste of breath, and it was with relief that four hungry and very weary people finally descended on the others preparing lunch at the foo~ of Mt. Warrigal. This was 2 p.m. and according to schedule we should have been lunching on top of Mt.Merrigal at noon. Imagine our feelings when on arrival we lc~rncd from two leisurely passers by that they lo.d left Corral Swamp an hour or moro ~fter us, lunched, and skirted easily through the gap .at the side - now so obvious - with no thought of climbing the harassing Mt.l\louin at u.ll. Disillusioned, we pushed doggudly on around Mt.Parrigal, up on to M-t.Mer.rj_ga~ o.nd. n~or~e; Mt_D:i.ne;o to S:p~Gn.dour Rock~ wherG in the light ) .:. 7 - of the sinking sun we viewed thc_most superb mountain pn.nornma I've yet seen. However, a.s we ra.n our ayes. over the sweeping curves of the Yellow Dog crouching on our right, 'vve realised a ha.sty retrea.t would be necossa.ry to beat the darkness to the Cox. J?y now we felt quite content to camp wherove~ the old dog' ca.me to rest, but shG made no a.tter.1pt to help us, in fact merely ndded to our trials by- inflicting minor injuries which ca.used further delay. At last night overtook us, hungry a.nd footsore, an unknown distance . from the over more elusive Cox. A fire winking tanta.lising~y at us from her b0ckoning banks dispelled our doubts as to whether she existed at all. Hungry, dirty a.nd thirsty' us we were, .the suggestion of a. dry c;:a.mp was welcomed by the now thoroughly wornout a.nd rebellious 11not so to1.1gh• VIai ting fqr the moon to ,rise and throw out her guiding light held no o.ppea.l for us. So, the decision made, first thoughts flew to juicy food, and a.ll menus were soon upset by the reckless consumption of items meant to be our joy throughout the trip. Chastened, we thought of the a.musem0nt of the unknown campers in comfort on the river when they sighted our fire and guessed our sorry plight. We even. speculated whether th~irsympa.thy would drive them to our rescue with a bucket of water for which we would have paid a. heavy ransom, Having dined to r0pletion, our fla.gging spirits ma.na.god to revive, a.nd it was in tho b·Jst of humour tha.t 7 tired;,. thirsty people eventua.lly sank to rest on the unyielding stony back of Yellow Dog. Morning! :md my first waking thought was 11what ha.s happened to the thirst I went to bed with?H Stra.nge it should ha.ve va.nished so completely. The Cox ha.d somehow lost hor allure, and it wns with tho usua.l rolucto.nco we fina.lly o.bo.ndoned tho fleecy fnstnesses of cosy sleeping ba.gs. Half a.n hour 1s rough descent down tho rocky bo.ck of our host, qowever, a.nd loJ there sho la.y, rippling ·an invi ta.tion which wo.s joyously a.cce1Jted a.s we plunged hca.d~ong into her icy but refreshing depths. \'lith v~ha.t contentment then we settled down to a. welcome breo.lcfa.st, tho tria.ls_of 11Dlo..ck Frido.y” o.lready forgotten in the rapture of just being 11on tho CQx“. The mca.l over we padded a.long the bo.nks tovmrds our next campsite, noa.r Breo.k£a.st Creek, revelling in the ra.pids bequoa.thed by tho recent ra.in. After lunch the mor0 ener$etic ho.lf of the p2..rty climbed the riQ.ge behind us and 9-ro}.Jped down to explore Harry's River a.nd the Ca.nyon,which proved·o. pleasant substitute for their origina.l goa.l- Davies Canyon, Having vfO..tched them diso.ppea.r I began r<:tro.cing my steps to look for the 7th member of tho pa.rty whoso non-appeo.ro.nce was beginning to a.la.rm tho two of us left behind. A mile downstrea.m, just a.s my feo.rs reached tho stage of picturing the ma.nglcd body, the smiling Ruth a.ppea.red, thoroughly da.mp in a.ll but spirits, ha.ving just received an unexpected embra.qe by the a.ll too friendly Cox. The drying out process with other domestic dut:i.Gs oocu.pied what wa.s left of the a.fternoon until the bro.ves roturned. ..:. 8 - Since an ectrly stnrt wa.s the order of the following dr..ty, we brought our discussions to a. timely close n.nd retired in prepo..ra.tion. 7 a..n. saw us on our wr:,y, and who should upp0a.r round th-:.: first bc.:nd but Mo.x who udded r.1oral support to tho party for the remaind~r of the trip. This began by following the gushing stre~ past its junction with Hnrry 1s River, where our pa.use was fa.r too fleet~ng to do justice to its beauty, _ a.nd on until we paused for ct welcome sunny hour a.nd a.nother breakfast before sadly leaving the river·to tuckle the climb up Black Jerry's Ridge. This-accomplished, we tra.versed the newly clothed green tablelands with pleasure at the refreshing sight they made. The lunchi~g rendezvous was Kirbys, but owing to the party falling into two detachments and some confusion as to who was meant by Kirby, we of the second division finnlly pctrtook of lunch convinced that the othej~s were very dull indeed and not sure if we'd see them again. Despite the handicap of blistered feet suffered by” one member of e::cch division, we met again after coming thro' the Va.lley at Mnrk Jo'oy 1s farm where hope of transport f·or the l:1m.c quickly disappeared with one glcuice at the already overloaded bus. 1'Ji th some sympathy for the sufferers, we started off up Murphy's Track, a direct and scenic route leading right up to the Hydro, from which we loo~ed back over Megalong changing with the lengthening shadows as we rose. On top . tho scene was crowned· by a really magnificent traditional sunset. By now the air was chillier than at a.ny time throughout the trip, a.nd no time wa.s wasted in invading the cafe to indulge in juicy stea.k before venturing out into the bla.st again to catch the tra.in for home. ~-the 11 R~9_rt of National Fitness Council of N .s. W. - l\1a.y 1941 •. Primitive Reserves (for use in nature stud a.nd for hikers) a.nd National Po.rks !or tourists, hikers and motorists). The need for these is well recognised. It increases with (a) the growing urba.nisation of our people, and (b) the expa.nding tourist tra.ffic, both these ca.uses, especially (a), being closely related to hea.lth. The tendency to reward a.nd refresh all cla.sses of workers by·holiday tours is world wide a.nd ra.pidly growing. The position has been rea.ched at which it should be even economically advantageous to the na.tion to reserve for public recre;~ tion scenic and rugged areas accessible to tourj_sts; hikers o.nd campers, rather than leave them to be used by a few scattGred fa.rmers, a. policy which, in some pa.rts, is gra.dually destroying the scenery and raising problems of erosion.“

- 9 - A 'I' OUH OWN MEETING The first ta.sk of our new President wa.s t~c;> present some very irnpressi ve certificates from the Roya.l Life Saving Society to those who ha.d successfully completed a. course of lectures in resuscitation. Ne~t the _prize for the .damper competition wo..s~ presented to the winner, Yvonne.Rolfe. .. A letter wa.s received from Mr •. w. M. ~1hLtney, sa.ying tha.t he wa.s prepared to continue with the Club a.udit. It wa.s decided to tha.nk Mr.'I”Jhitney for his kind offer, and tell .him we would be gl:c..d to a.ccept it, if, in these uncertain times, the o.uditor.elected a.t our la.st meeting wa.s una.ble to ca.rry on. The Committee reported thC.t it ha.d a.ppointed a. Sub-committee ·to report to the Youth Po..rlio.ment. It ha.d a.lso a.rra.nged for a. spea:ker from the Youth Pcixlia.ment to ~ddress the Ma.y Monthly .meeting. The list of Officers a.ppoi.nted by the. Commi ttce ws.s rend to the meeting. Membe'rs will receive this list i:n. a. circulo.r to be S<?nt them. Dorothy decla.red the meeting clos()d <it 8.45 ~.m. thereby filling_the Ma.na.ging Editor of The 11Bushwa.lker“ with wonder a.nd o.dmira.tion • ..:.————…. ALL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC REQUIR1:MEITTS Fresh Films Pa.pcrs Chomica.ls A new Ca.mera. 1.. 11 AQ.cessories o.nd espccia.lly a.n excellent Developing, .Printing a.nd Enlarging Service where your wishes a.re :r:wt iJ:'ldivic1ua.lly 1 o.t GOODMAN BROS. 20, Hunter Street, Sydney - 10 - DOT'S TRIP TO. -:M-EL-B-OU-RN-E- (Being extracts from a·letter). “I finished up my 1.:-tst patient ut 9 o..m. Wednesday morning, then toured off with bike and puck to Centrul and caught the train to Goulburn. Rode out of Goulburn ~bout 4.30 p.m. n.nd covered 20 miles, I suppose, before camping for the night. All road signs have been removed (wu~ precaution) n.nd I didn't have a ro~d map or a watch, so conditions wore us neur to primitive and breuking into virgin c.ountry, n.s they could be. There was ~ howling southerly against me n.ll the wuy and about dusk it begun to spot ruin, so, as my entire·worldly_possessions consisted n.t that moment of u sleoping bug, a singlet, n. plute and a knife, I bethought mo to look for shelter, and thut pretty rn.pidly. The country was bare und open and stoney and s tur.1py, with no shel tor even for c. wn.llaby so I took to examining all bridges and culverts !·passed over in the hope of finding one without water undel! it •. .: .. h, thank Heuven, (as Mandus would say), here n.”!; lust is the perfect canp spot! - n. concrete tunnel under the road a yard squure whose purpose is to carry storm water into yonder muddy clay pond. It!s floor is about 6n above water level at the moment n.nd quite dry. Let us hope there is no flood tide in the night. I blocked up the fur end of it with bushes and stones to keep the wind out for one thing, for it roared through as down a funnel, then I collected a heap of grn.ss which the YTind had banked up against n. wire rabbit proof fence and lined my little dug-out. I hud a bath in the reedy clay-pool, lit a fire at the entrance to my burrow, snuggled down in my sleeping bag among the grass and ate bread and cheese while I wrote a letter home by firelight, then w~nt to sleep among a scent of briar roses from the nearby bushes, which always brings me memories of what I love best in this wbrld. Next day did about a hundred miles and snoozed in a railway paddock or shunting yard under some gum-trees and was woken at 1 a.m. by the Station Master to catch the tra.in south. The Express was crowded, so I put up n card ta.ble between two seats and curled up on that in my sleeping bug und slept the sleep of the just till 7 a.m. when the train pulled into nlbury. ~vo hundr8d niles to Melbourne a.nd two d~ys to get there - that is a fnirly siJ.:J.ple uri thmetical ca.lcul~, tio!c. Perfect wouther - no wind - very flat country so 100 miles was wiped off ~he slate easily by da.rk. Discovered that ull cash was gone bar 8/- which I thought I had better koep in case I hud to get tho train for the last 30 or 40 miles. So, my child, draw in your beltJ Nothing but 2 slices of broad and che0se for breakfast, for dinner and ten for next two days! D:i..d c.no±.her 100 nil-.:s thc.ncxt do.y o.nd o.rri.vcd a.s lea.n ns u. greyhound. c ' - 11 - There wo.s no no.:Jd to got tho train nt o.ll us I got c. lift for 20 miles in o. mili t::-.ry ca.ttle truck -in which sor.w 15 lc.~s were pa.ckod. Being in Khal:'”.i. o.ll, .I het.d to do vm.s p'ut on~·ono of thu_ir w.ilitc-.ry- ,ha.ts, pull it_ well down a.nd · .ta.ke no interest· in n.nything vrhunC:vor wo pa.s:::~0d other :oili t;“'.!'y trucks or wore stoppod by officers 011 roc..d pc..trol, a.nd n.ll wc:nt well. However I could see the young lad driving began to eet a bit anxious as we approached the outsld.rts of the city, so I GOt him to put me_ off about 15 miles from town, and pedalled the rest of the way. Arrived in about 7 p.m. and rang Perce VJoo'dman - a friend in J:le:)d ~o stray Bushualkers, very like Paddy - and he held out a h.eJ_ping hand· to a lady in distress by inviting me to stay with himself and his sister for the night, which invitation was proml:Jtly accepted. He has done a bit of walking with S.B.VJIS and has formed. his own Club in Melbourne in which the mediaeval segregation of the sexes into Melbourne i~lh·J·,· Walking Club and Melbourne Vlomen 1 s fialking Club do “D not occur. John Hunter (recently ap:pointed S .B.VI. member) had just been staying with the VJoodman 1s for 5 weeks on his arrival in Melbourne. - - - .- -. - - -. . LETTERETTES VJ”e are starting a col~ for “letterettes11 • These will be in the . form of short letters of}. any subject of interest to Bushwalkers. vle would:· like the “letterettes•• to be of about 50 _wo:-ds in. length, though longer ones will be published if space_permitc.,_ Here.is an example: S .B.VJ. Interest in Federation. Bill Hall writes 11The Club is by far the biggest one in the Federation, but members spart from its delegates show little :personal interes~ in FedGration matters. They show no desire-to unite with other bodies .. on objects outside of walking, no matter how· worthwhile those_objects are. Members are wrapped up in but one thing, the · personal enjoyment to be gotten by the individual member from walking and camping. II You may, if you prefer, write under a nom de plume, so long as your real name is submitted to the editor. We hope that some people .. who do not like talking in meetings may express themselves in letterettes of this kind. In any case, if you have an idea or suggestion, it is often a good scheme to let people road it and che~ it over before you put it before a general meeting. - 12 - CLUB GOSSIP Bean marriage took ~lace at appointed date. Bride suffered no ill eff8Ctl? from walk to Church, Church to Studio, Studio to Ann's Pantry (in Bridal array). Happy couple now honeymooning at Kirribilli. · Remember the “Pet Friday”. Rod Eddos and Bobby ~nee teamed up that day. Bridegroom chose bedroom slippers, Best man, wore shorts, (we think there was a shirt), and the clergyman looked neat in brown brogues. Dick Jackson and Cora Henderson wore also marric:d last month, In the absence of more details; we assume this ceremony was quite conventional. John and Dora Harvey now in Hobart, It has been pleasing to see so many old members coming into the Club of late. Th~re is no apparent reason for this, though it has been suggested that, ovdng to the new liquor regulations, the beer runs out very early now, (This is noi necessarily our opinion- Ed.) • . Vlhile having lunch at Mobbs Swam1) during the hot weather a party was surprised to observe a whirlwind gyrating rapidly down the Blue Dog. As this was a rare phenomenon in mountain country, a photographer took a fast exposure, Development of film ~evealed, in the centre of whirlwind, the unmistakable figures of those intrepid explorers Cosgrove and Watson, evidently on week-end manouvres. Members will be pleased to hear the class distinctions are becoming somewhat blurred at Medlow Bath, On Easter Sunday a party of Bushwalkers, who looked like the lower classes, (though the blood in their veins was deepest blue - it was very cold) asked for f9od and were fed. They were the only ones in the restaurant, but we are assured that this had nothing to do with the fact that they got in first. - 13 - LETTEHS AND NEl'1S . FROl:”! THE LADS • . . ——–·—. — JOHN GLOVER :- In some parts of Iceland I have gone for long wallrn, 8-12”:“41 and also climbed some of tho ·smaller mountains which arc very barren.· Most are snowca1_Jped and from 500 ft. upwards coyered in mist. Very fr:;w alpine plants grow on th~m. 1Nc had · , several very cold swims in the creeks and also the ocean where wo were anchored. We caught some salmon in somi.: of the lower onos. The water • is very hard but quite pleasant to drink. There isn't a tree or bush ;; in sight anywhere on the island. I thi~k I am right in saying there i.s one mountain that is about 10,000 feet high. It sticks up to'v'lards the sky and about half of it. is sno·w covered, I had been at sea up till the end of September and then had a spell on shore. In that ten months aboard the iast ship I escort~d ma~y · convoys. VJhile on leave in London I was in a guard of hotiour outside tho Club in which I was staying. This was when the Queen o'fficially opened it •. She spoke to me and also the other Empire troops in the GQard of Honour. She was dressed in a light blue dress, hat and coat v1ith shoes to match. She is very pretty an.d ·ha's a very pleasant spealdng voice. I don't know ':Vhether you knew that I was in the Roosevelt-Churchill meeting. A Church Service was held ~board H.M.s. “Prince of 17ales11 and I was also aboard for the Service. It was a marvellous sight and was the first time that I had seen Churchill, He was not with a cigar in his mouth this time (nobody is allowed to smoke on the quarter-deck of any naval ship). I and other Australians are very strictly censored. After tl;.e war I shall tell you all my experiences and what has happened that is not published or broadcast, that is, of course, if you want to listen. I can tell you that I have not been kept idle in England, they have kept me on the move at sea most of the time and consequently I have visited several inte+esting-countrios. · JACK SPAIN ~—r;–· - ' 25-3-'-i-2. ., _ RAAF. Q._1LAND. I a.m. now stationed. up in tho peanut country on-a new-station, it is not nearly finished yet, only Q few of the huts have electric light. Of cours-:: there is tho water problem, the water we use is from an artesian bore and as the boilers arc not yet fixed it is all cold and very cold at thO.t. 'The other night which was a “going out night” the tank ra.n dry, so the showers were turn;d off and there were we covered in red dust and engine grease and the ~olaces of refreshment closing at 8 :p~m. One chap got the bright idea of ha~ing a. bath in the wnsh tubs and before we could say peanuts there were quite a number of very dirty airmen sitting in the wash tubs having baths it wa.s a sight for sore eyes but we did get to town in time, ' I hope to be in Sydney on leave early in May, I have been packed three - 14 - times only to have my leave washGd out; but this time I should mcltc it. If I am in Sydney on a Friday night I vdll call in and see you, it is over two years since I joined up~ We have boen working with the Yanks since; Christmas and have p;:t_cked up Yankee sayings 2..nd habits. We got·onto the American cigu~ettes and now we have be.;;n moved away from them it is hard to get back to: .our own, By tho way my nick name is no longer 11Spn.nish:1 but 11 Si~ See”. BOB SAVAGE 16-2-42. Note:- We have a long and particularly interesting lettor from Bob, five foolscap pages, in ~act, 6.nyone.may have the loan of a copy on application to Dunk, The follovdng are short extracts:- 11During the early portion of the course at the Lebanon Ski School we were concentrating on the. individual ski-ing proficiency of the students, the snow was very icy - so much so in fact that a number of the seats of the wind-proof trousers gave out under the strain of constant. contact with the ground, or rather ice, Biddell said that we reversed the Napoleonic dictU:m “that an army marches on its stomach”, Shortly before Christmas I had to. go down to Corps Heo.dquarters and during my absence heavy snow fell cutting off all comraunic.a.tion by phone or road. After a rush trip to Halfa on Christmas Eve I left Headquarters on Christmas morning hoping to be at the School for a. late Christmas dinn~;J;'. The first mishap was.on a short cut road that I had used in summer but I had no idea what Lebanon winter rains could do to a second class road, After skidding into a two foot deep WQter cut on tho surface of the road I was pulled out by a towing truck about three in the afternoon. The Unit kindly pulled me out and gave us some cold meat - all that was left of their Christmas dinner, Then along the normal road, up all the hair pin bends until I reached about five thou9and fuct and was plowing through six inches of snow. The final straw was when the vehicle ahead of me got stuck on a corner and I could not get po.st. VIG eventually, just on do.rk 1 turned both vehicles around by locking the wheels and skidding the front around on the icy surface. Then downhill in the dark, all l;air pin bends again, and when I was on the level ground near the coast we skidded again, hit a stone wa+l and I was pulled out by a recovery vehicle about one a.m. on Boxing morning. Quite definitely the worst Christmas Day that I ho.vc~ ever spent. The next day I borrowed another truck since mine was well smashed up and got within ~ive miles of the School where my staff met me with ski and so I got home. Since recc1v1ng this letter we hear he has been promoted to Lieut-Colonel. Congratulations, Bob. Another promotion - our Ex-Secr~tCLry, Tom Moppett, now has three stripes - Cong:r.:;;. tu].;J. t:i.one, Tom, • ~- 12th Tuesday 22nd Friday 29th Friday 2nd Tuesday 26th Friday - 15 - THE VOICE Qlt, THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE S .A Y S PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING DATES. PARTY for THE FUNDS OF TilE BUSHWALKIT::R E~JERGENCY SERVICES It was to have been at the “MINERVA” but the show doesn't seem worthwhile, so we are looldng for a good picture. Any suggestion please? LECTURE with SLIDES by MR. PRICE” CONIGREVE STUNT NIGHT is here again, and Grace Edgecombe and Ray Kirkby are looking for talent ~ tell them about_3_0..E.!_Blf. · We will have another small DANCE, if ~_nough peopl_e. would like-~· ~UAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION. _Begin now to plan your exhibit. If you haven't taken your masterpiece, don't delay, we will be looking for it. - - - - - ~ ..:.. ..:. BEYOND THE BR01NN-OUT. It is not so long since a great glow lit up the ski.es above the city. Dazzling signs glared and blinked at us, attracting our attention to various aJ..os”~.J:l.S p1::~-Nu:ds and symbols which exhorted us to buy things we didn't need or co1.l.ld.n 1t pay for (If we did need them and could pay for them we would have bought them anyway). The brown-out has blotted out the glare and the signs. Looking upward now you will see instead the misty luminosity of the Milky Way. If the buildings are not too tall you will see that it stretches over the vthole “dohe of the sky from the Eastern to the \”.!estern horizon. Towards the East is the great curve of Scorpio and the red star Antaree. Nearly above is the Southern Cro~s and towards the 1'1est Canis Major with the brj_lliant Sirius sparkling with bluish-white intensity. If you are interested_in piecing together the constellations the stars will acquire a new meaning. You will be pleased to recognise old friends and get to know new ones. Apart from the beauty of the sky itself the ~anes of the stars and constellations are sonorous and mystical. Some were named by the Greeks, many were named before the days of recorded history. Th~ animals, real and. legendary, the tools and househol~ goods, the Gods, the thoughts and myths of the ancients are still reflected back to us from above. 1fany centuries have passed since they were named. Since then homo sapiena has done rluch to destroy the beauty of the earth, but the skies remain very much as they. were before he, or the earth he lives on, ever ·~xisted. by “Canopustt. - 16 - MORE ABOUT THE RE-UNION Taro sent in an article which was a· bit late for the last issue, but not too late to be interesting, for re-unions never g~ow stale as time passes. So here are some extracts from his article. ” ••••• Then c~ac another bright spot. A more or le~s lecture on incendiary and other .(very other) bombs. 1.:!hen I say the actors were Rootsie! DuncanJ l BeanJ J! all may guess we got our 1:1oneys worth. Personally I find the satanic humor of Duncan most attractive, may be tis my angelic disposition makes me fall for it. The whole affair was a c~ever tangle of N.E.S. instruction and blood transfusion - the blood in this case being the new blood - that is - the new members - whose initiation was cleverly combined with the ~.E.S •. effort. The part tickled me most was Dr. Mephisto Duncan's transfusion of the bloo·d of a tasty young (female) morsel into his ovm wide chest • • • • .“ •• • Our new President \vas given the syr:1bols of office·, then Dorothy gave the history of the famous bone. Our new ·Pres. must have held nearly every office in the S,B.W. If she could now use her influence she might got the job of ch1..1.cker-out some Friday night, and thus complete the list~ Cocoa was served, everyone rolaxed, and the second stage began. Sonehow - at this point - the tide always surges closer to the fire. They sang about everything and everybody. One very high spot was th;r”Donkey 1s Serenade. Edgo.r and Joyce charmed all with duets from Ruddig~e and Pinafore., -“'~ Peter again and again. Choruses to the right and left, in unison - in opposition. Joyce Duru:1er sung “Trees” to all that fine assec1blage of tret:s and tree lovers (Name and address required of any darae who can sing this poem bettern our Joyce). E.ven Dot English, L.H. (= long h: .. dr) gave a recitation, nost unexpected and. convincing, with tho soft purr of a 16 cylinder .job, •••••••• I an prepared to adl:ri.t.that between the hours of 9P. and 2A. the fluto was occasionally heo:trd..” - - - - - - - …_ ~ . '~.