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194611

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The Sydney Bushwalker

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

No. 143. November 1946. Price 6d.

EditorRon Knightley
AssistsElsa Mcregor, Norma Barden
IllustrationsDennis Gittoes
Bus. ManagerMaurie Berry
ProductionBrian Harvey
Assist.Peggy Brandon
Sales & Subs.Jean Hervey

Contents.

Page
“Mount Tomah”Arbores Australis 1
“An Episode (Regrettable)“D. Helmrich 2
“Working Bee”Illustration 3
“Sole-Searing”Skip 4
“For the Gossips”News! 6
“Porthos & Pathos with Priddle”“Dingo” 8
“Things of Yore”Skip11

Mount Tomah

Arbores Australis.

There is gladness in the laughter of the sunshine;
There is beauty in the blue light of the sky;
There is sadness in the earth beneath them lying,
Source of all man's life that man has made to die!

Where the giant trees of old grew grand and lofty,
And the jungle with its tree-ferns wildly fair -
Where the twining vines and hanging orchids flowered
In the darkly green, and ferny leafy air.

There is now a lonely ragged tree-fern standing,
And some old burned stumps, whose lordly trunks lie dead,
And a waste of barren bracken, round a stunted
Sassafras, which bravely rears its scented head.

In past times out-pourings of primordial love
Overspread the earth's wide paneplanal view,
And natural orogenic cataclysm
Brought the old to end and ushered in the new.

Now no natural cataclysm earth has need of
Bringing Age of Man unto a timely end.
He himself destroys the source of all his being,
And will take his part in Nature's cyclic trend.

But the Life-Force lives and brings to life forever.
And from out the barren waste that man will trace,
It will bring to life another cyclic era,
And perhaps a kinder and less selfish race!


.ANEPfSODE. (REGRZTTABI4J. -Related by D. Helmrich as a warning of the misfortunes likely to overtf3ke.Bushwalkers who become too interested in :their work, The Friday of Eight-hour Day week-end dawned clear and bright. Ticket in pocket (reserved seat), rucksackpractically packed, I set. off to work,meditating upon the joys-ofthe holidays ahead… As the day wore on I came upon a tantalising, fascinating case, and wrestling with the problem., conaCiousness of the week-end became more and more remotes.- Late in the afternoon with a rude shock came the. realization that I probably shouldn't have time to catch the train -.the 5.52 p m. the. one and only to Berry. Zuickest possible speed to Chatswood got inc home with ten minutes to aaange; finish packingoeat and get back to the station first class panic - all the family pressed into service - tax40iR4426IM'P4M-Py%InrAfA. , , EVen-theh 'if' the' Of a train had VOIndtaedLwith' my aY.rival at the station the tsituation would not have been .qUii.Ae desperate. But no Twelve minutes to wait , Too -17 With a gasp and a prayer, casting caution to the winds, said.I to the taxi-driver, “Will you drive me'to'Central station?”. “Sorry, Mise—–there's a. Regulation. We can ring for our private-hire car tho'”. “Yes said the Office, you can have it in a few minutes”. Precioua' minutes went by before it materialised. “Please give me your name, address, age and religion”, said the driver. “I have to ring and tell the office,.it's a Regulation”. Away ticked inexorable Time. “Fifteen minutes until your train leaves Central?” said he who had my fate in his hanaa, “I think we'll get there”. Crows Nest - trpffic police - North Sydney'- traffic lights - Bridge - traffic police - toll - Bus ahead - Market Street - traffic lights Cursing all Regulations, we SFW the Town Hall clock; two minutes-to go….”The fare will be ZI-1.0”. “Here it is”. (whet a wranchl) CENTR,J.,….AND IT IS “Elease wait”, said I, “I'll be back if the tin has gone”. The magic worci, Baru was nowhera thQ. Ladi-co-tors; The train had

oted, r returned to the car, and we proceeded at's leisurely Ch:ata-aoods. ,771-r 3. At the first. telephone .box theHdriVersadd, Excuse Me but I must ring the office to tell them I.Tm now retlii“nihg40 “What for? .1 zi,ske4.,,,,:. …'. . . “It's a. RegUtionheexplairied.'. .”.1:t1S-just a.S well I didn't P –getpinched fol-specliiig.&&014g'iri'- SO th116s-i? the litit:'al ong'here. . . _ . you kricni. Tv' , ' ' . . '.. “How much were te doing?-4” . a “Over. 601, was the reply. Then..”YoujkhOW; I bad a. garage.?- Tamworth, but when I came out of the A,ir Force my nerves were so 0,4 that I'h-sd to come to Sydney. That'S why- I'm bore. I have shock treatment every day……” 1-.7T-07(AuTIT `i .kLy4 - ” 1. -y , \-7r' I / .1. “ WHEN t Allv5 AVARDWoop Aft4 4: Sole-Searing, by “Skip” ., Take a train for the Gangerangs, slide down Suicide Cr., walk (?) through Canyon, and pass over Solitary on the way home. Are you tirc of life? Do your kidneys trouble-you? Are you spotless - c,.1! ]i de (remember Inner Cleanliness comes First)? Kill care on Suicicke_Cr4eakS Go Ti-Willeising; Do I sound rather keen on Ti-Willa Canyon? Until last yecr it was just a n5me on the map to me, and not particularly attractive at that. Last year it became The Name on the m5p for me, for I christened Suicide Creek with a spectaculor jump over_a cliff: This year I revisited the scene of the crime. Having passed Ci-entle's P5ss you have but a mile or so to go. There's nothing special about Suicide Creek where it starts up on the range except it has -R - swampy beginning, and Adght have watel”in it when others haven't. . e 4afax_tb,, of LA.93r ek. If you're wise, this is where you camp, oven without water. We h1 tea on two tins Of spaghetti heated in the ashes. Add 7 tin opener (to get the spagaetti out - am I not obvious) and you have a-ready made atom gun. Next morni pg, if you woke up, you follow down Suicide Ck. 'Natural4“ you meet a cliff. This c?n be negotiated on ono, side. Which brings you to another cliff. Here I took the shortest wv down the first time, but that's another story. At this point the lunatic is well advised to take the ridge on his or her right h-,Ind -nd follow it down. Care must be taken tht the ridge dows not follow you ,down In tais wild land where the hand of -atah hs never set foot, olh hardly ever, the fpot of the w9llaby gives cs. helping hand. On the way you Olutch tufts of gr,asa, loose rocks, trickly bushes, nd further down near the end yoi cf,'n hardly resist temptation to take to the vines. (Not of the grape, but even th-t applies). You're down. Or are you? If you haven't seen water since lenving the Cox yesterday morning, you throw away your -2-!ck and dash franticalV for a rock pool. But don't trip over the boulders. In good time nearly the whole of the ten foot width of the Gsnyon floor is tken up with 2 beautiful' babbling brook. Wrens ,:nd robins chatter noisily in the sunshine filtering through the leaves above. I don't know what it is that grows -there, but there's a lot of it. However I do know a tree fern when I8eo it, also the river-oke (that spelling's official) hi-ch grows to gigantic proportions in this ageless land. If you're lucky, there will be only a series of pools hero and there, water flowing between them Under thegroxindiu,atar-Ihorn rocks mak- ing up the bed of th,a stra9m, the gives way to smooth rock, the water flowing along a self-made channel. At these places you're apt to sit down,suddenly. Gee, octopi arc lucky suckers. About every five minutes you change direction with the stream. Eagerly you anticip?to something new around the next corner, and after 0 you'v stopped Inticipating what dcosn't seem to be coming you draw b-'ck your outstretched foottfrom,the 40' drop below you I have. had the temerity to call these Surprise Falls. The only woy to bypass them is to take to the hills. On tho right you hang by the eyebrows '.just -.boy the brink of sixty foot cliffs until you come to a long shale slippery dip, unless the Tarzcn urge becomes too strong for yoU, :Ind you attempt to gat down the cliff on vines. en the left yOu hang by the eyebrows just above the brink of sixty foot cliffs until you come to long shale slippery dip. You don't lic've to go as Tar on this side -Is on the other, :Ind there are no tempting vines. I mieht m?..ke mantich here of t,ha. only fly in the Rexona. These are nettles, and on these little hillside expeditions to get round things, all portions-of one's anatomy are equally fs likely to suffer. And suffer one does. For all the hard vvork so for you hlve the banifits of almost tame wild life,_ Rosa Robins will flutter around you, and lyre birds are forever dashing off in a panic before your irresistible progress (thRts for the banifit of the ladies or otherwise 'pause I like to think I'm g::Illant). We came across a dead fox, and never hls the wallaby, often seen, been such ca friend, with his network of paths along the hillside. Having mode the croak once more you keep on wnlkirig till you come to Mary Foils. These are not such a surprise, but are deeper and more spectqculF7r, and you have to struggle skywards to circumnevicte them. Both times I've taken the left side, so you take the_riht, and everybody will be happy. Exceipt you. , Uhan you've agin re-pchod the creek you b.:Ive only to walk until you reach the Ko1..,ugg. By this time you've got completely used to walking over round stones and are skinning along at a steady four miles on hour, dodging over falling trees, ,nd wetting your feet in the interests of progress if you're not fussy. It saves a lot of hill climbing, There are however tricky and slippery places which c-pn mean an involuntary b'ith for the unwary. Further down the creek widens out, and here '_,./ad there at the bonds . are grassy banks - and nettles - and traces of the bovine breed. The river okes grow tall and straight, and Sunlight roaches down unhamp..)red by warmth hungry branches. On and on you go, bond after bond - has tho. areek no ending. And right whore you think there's going to be another bond the creek broadens immensely. Stones give vc:y to grass. Ahecd aide &tr,3.am busily bubbiee. cyvcr slip?ary. storlp. 13 Xowmungl And if it iSn't yet dusk-i*doptt we'rry: Have tea, bed down quickly,- and sweat dreams to yOu.'..For tomorrow-4nd tomorrow you have to strug,c,le with the pox and Solitary, before you can settle down to a good meal in Katoomba.-. For the Gossaa. The social round ,on. Labour Day. Barren Lands & Beyond. Nose to the ground, eyes peering hither end thither, notebook appearing and disappearing in flourishes grandiose,' the Official Reporter was on the Ofiicia:.1-Walk. (Alarming, what?) When first i looked, Edna Gurrr,Id Was there. Agi.O. I cPst my eyes around —7.nd she vDs gone: Did the Barren Lands mists swallow hr up? Or w.,,s she cons-ci6iis of my furtive entries in the notebook? Subterfuge was rife. Norm.), Borden, with enough food for three (and Bob Younger-cF.irryinE- it - 'Labour Day, alright) did her best to whiten Alex Colloy's hir. Got lost three times, with at least throe melds. She seemed to be tbe ntcleut of the Breakswv “Group, which consistently lagzad five. mils behind the loader, EE1W him only 9t meal times. (some:: times), 9nd in a:, lat 4alf-mile sprint' to 0tch him – yes, missod the train! The Leydon -..CosEro,ve controversir,ns confounded the critics. Bushu-Ilkers. wor lousey; Berry Leer as lousey; Kosciusko ww7ithor lousy. Bu :211 ag i.ed th-t;whon the depression comes, it will be grand to go w:IlkIng po ,,.n6htly with occ71Sion711 ports'. Of vll'to collect the At Centrr.1, Dennis Gittoes missed the trr lin, thoma raced it tc Berry' No, this isn't fliploy's column – he hi-jack,ed, a timely truck. ,, We thought o hTd.' U.S. Army:ConstructI'Dn Battalion, but somebne murmur,-Jd, “Dora17n,” IhtrIgued we wore by twb lumps of hose:-pipe, one 12rge, one sm7ill. ”.Firp ppr8Uders, for 'blowing fires to life. Large ono for large fires, sm-II”Onb for cm 11 When he wants to put the fire out, ho sucks instef'.d of blowinE. At Yoo12, folloed-the trend of the times, sporting a ten-mm tent, with pck I1flXQ coMplete. Is it rot nm7zing how the tort is put awv in the fick thP' P7-ck putt=11/17ny,id thc; tent ,111 pight? Phil H7.11 struck geologic f-z me over night, un6. rthing the best fossils Yeoln h,9.s yet produced. “Pbo,h17 sTid r, sceptic, “Ii,ve soon

better ones in * uhl” We hope lp maitit rocks. dole; Walgon River Walkribout– You ilave herd Rolcy on wompn;: of ccurso? “TwQmon to ovorY WOM912, lads, etc., c5to.”…bui there's rnother side to the story. There he was on the VIT,Jn-,t4.a. old for th.,.; hrard rn-d. Throe women in the crowd, ?nd oyery. One of them in his fond p-rty! Ngod we explain th-t his pock weighed i4lbs., that he fried not ono single chop, nor stirred one sinala billy, yo, ncr washed 'me sincale ,A;-tel? In tht impromptu spirit so mnifest 5,m-ng the w-lkers, they wanekered up ci side creek from Anne Row-nis, tr) find '2,n imp9sse in the form of two -waterf-als.* No; they_must turn bock. But whist! W'as - th-t a voice up there? Why, ,thoro wore Jenny -nd Eric, w-y up top. N7w this, my do9rs, pretty-pickie – for h-.1f of the food W9S up and could n-t get hdown, whilst tiae othar hnlf w:. nnd could not get up. Have yru ever f-lcod th.) pros2ect of living the rest of th-Q' doy on dried cbbog on,rnil1? Then do y-u wonder th,-,4t Jenny yelled as only Jenny 0-2,n yoil? STORK DERBY. Yes, as forecast,- the storlt has been working as hard as usual. The Paul BarnseS. drew a cloak of secrecy around the event, but it is now known that their daughter will be six months old at Christmas. The Ron Bakers, too) -are ,gurgling babytalk. Rhonda Lisbeth is their last lightweight effort. Visitors to the ward notioed that another baby barlE! strong resemblanoeto one of the club's male, eligiblies. Now, yho'.15 blu8hin0 _ _ The Yearl s hard luck StorY comes from the2 poor unTortunate 6.t 6arqtawarra working bee, Who, far from missing the hail and hitting his thumb, placed his thUmb on the hail, then hit with unerring aim!, Irving Calnan has disappeared from the Club. Gone to Lismore. Did he _read the Kweens14nd Spesh-ul -and develope a yearning for the North? The “free” nights on the ,social programme are not because we think you are broke. Merely to rerilih4 you to turn over your spare_ cash to Rene Browne's Kiddies' Triwt:' “THE SYDNEY B1J5HWALKER” XMAS ISSUE.. Next monthtl. The year' s best artic1es1 Fun and gossip; full page illustrations by Dennis Gittoes and Ted Constable; poems by the Club' s lyrics; articles (we hope'.) by many oontrlbutors (yet to.00Me). Come forth and contribute. PORTHOS AND 'PATHOS, WITH PRIDDLE” By “Dingo” So I sez to myself says I “What you 'want, ',old chap_is. a nice quiet ramble in the bush and then yOu'll return to work as fregh-as paint”. Being Friday evening I wriggle down to the Club and there I am introduced to a pleasant bird called Luke priddle. Luke it seems is taking a team from the Upper Colo to Kurrajong Heights. I have conversation with LUke and emerge from the fray sixteen boblets poorer, but, my little Spanish Onions - I'm on the walk. The aucdeeding week I float about and Friday evening finds me with suffictent fodder for the trip. I am Also to be found at Parramatta Station whence the truck is scheduled to leave at 7.30 p m. I arrive at 7.20 p m. and by 8 p m. have walked about two miles around the station, seeking latecomers. Betty duly arrives and there is a vulgar souffle to see,who sits next to her in the motor chariot. Disgusting the way these young chaps push theses forward. From where I sit I sse the top of her ear occasionally,so brighten up. somewhat. The trip is entertaining fron0he beginning. When wa get really going the lorry gives, out a great shower of sparks from the und,ergear, so much so, that a followiag. motor cyclist draws abreast and informs our driver that he is on fire (not the-driver). Much to our disappointment we pull up and discover that it'ia only carbon from the exhaust pipe and I 'settle down tolook at the ear again. About one hour afterwards 140 are bowling along a dusty road and I woUld not'bb contradicted if I mendhthat :a 'speck or two of the same dust 'enters the part where I sit.':I.at:informedt:hat it ia called affectionate dust, which I believelaeCause a pound on-two is clinging to my skin. Around about this time some heartless beast obscures W. view of the auditory appendage (ear, you mug) so I cast A glance to my right.. Dogonne my ornery hide if I'm not sitting next to.Bob: and Phil.-j.Having bunked with Phil on Berry Mountain, I feel at home and ehoXtly afterwards the conversation turns to tents. It is discovered thatlim'three have a tent 'each, ao someone suggests we tent together and utilise the slur-Pius tents aEvicoverage. -A very solid idea, so When we turn in at 11 p m. it is-not'surprising that we thl'eeare cheek to cheek, more or 1&&s Anyway. I also am not surprisad-t0,t1Ad. myself on the outside as We have ,drawn straws for the position in the centre. ..:plarid a very restless night and am pleased to seethe dawn. aiAbiried- by 'others and soon breakfast is on the way. Phil and Bob each report a'goOd“night,'..s al4ep, which makes the big blbite' a little envious. Phil however draws.:attentio4.to my sleeping pants and I am advised that by removing the rtom the,pockets an improvement in the slumber will be noticed. - .4.. The-,inetriictionorare,to b6. ready to Move off at 8 a m.'ed at - . 9. aale% we. ki4'Off;to, ItOty%hic.(1 start Up'a'hill naturally,. Going down the other. slae tp:efaingry :Way Cree,k. lattli, Bob ar..m wirdMmw.. Imm..p011.Wmoven CL. and_Phil and some_ bright soul claSseS us aS the Three Musketeers. Thi'7i is same,speCulation as to how to allot the characters but on discussio:i Bob id.Aramis, Phil is Athos and you Can'gueSs who Cops Porthos. I rack My brain and am rewarded with ,the memory that Porthos is the -4Ullest of the trio… Curse Alex Dumas, The descent 1.8 also highlighted by a wallaby aChieVing aliost impossible leaps from rock to Westward'alOng the Creek and,we come to the Colo River. There we receive a pleasant surprise as, the River is cleaner than we expected. About midday the party crossed the river, knee deep at the crossing, and mention might be' made that all talk of swimming before. lunch SpPMed to just fade away. Lunch at the junction of the Colo and Tootle Creek and afterwards alcnz the creek for about half a mile then Bingo, we seek higher alti, tudc:. The afternoon passes- climbing fOur successive ridges and Porthos here dips his lid to the girls in the party, Gwen, Betty; May, Shirley and Jenny. They never chants down into low gear. I would like to report the same about Porthosiout you know how it is. Too ,many- witnesses. Five-oclock finds Luke & Co. at Condor Trig, and we are cheered at the news that camp im,only a short distance away. Several glamor boys take the opportunity-tojpose,on the trig for photos and it is reallydisgusting:the way they push themselves forward and it is only by good fortUne-that I am not shoved off the trig and -put completely out of thespicture. - Away goes the team to camp and away go the Musketeers, and please notice, Betty. -I'm not a woman to talk but that girl has really got taste. Iffien next we take a look about us the rest of th6 party seem to have vanished so we follow in the direction we assume to be correct. .After a few minutes we are not. so sure Of ourselves, so Porthos, who has learned to C000, gets in a little Practice, but not even an echo replies. Things are soquiet that even the sound of Sinatra singing would be welcome, “rep Bud; it is as -quiet as that. So Athos, Aramis and Porthos start to use their horse sense and bowl down a ridge or . two. The position is not improved by Athosf pack going for a stroll all by its self.: It does not go very farbut completes the trip by dropping over a,middle cliff. Just between you and me the abovementioned pack contains eggs. By this time the place is getting very dark' arli on account of power rationing there are no lights (Curse the Government 7'Curse the Miners). The gentle reader may now be excueed for thinking the Musketeers are lost, but not those bright boys. All you have to do 16 return to Condor Trig and make another start. po away they go and walk for about half an hour:, but some praatioal -joker has removed the trig. By this time it is so dark. that the Owls are even carrying Glow-worms for illumination and it is decided to make a dry camp. At that presact moment several coos are heard and. in a couple of minutes along bowl-.Luke,'Clem and Colin. I don't wish to be anyway emotionallaut veryankissed BettyYand even Porthos iscarried:away and participates, in the orgy and is Only halted. when he makes a mistake in the dark and 'gets gulash on his chin. The least said about the shameful return 1116 better but. I am assured that although Bushwalkere may be overdue, th6y_aro never_lost. Which is 10. a vbry dmforting thought when you don' t know where you are. Sunday morning fin04, the pl rtY o ve4opki4gWheeny Creek' and it -is -t,i7.t1,17..ying to receive the 'complitherits:,f;rbta the rest of the party. The r_,:r_rer3. Musketeers are even honored to the extent of being placed at the head' of the crowd. As I was saying we are looking down on 'Wheeny and, youmight be pardoned for saying ' it is only a short step Investigating officers JOhnO,- _Like.' and 'Clem report it to be :Only: a: short' step, but a rock 'face intervened so we must need's turn our; Va.-01c. on' the.' short way: At the baCk of olir ridge we 'find a convenient creek, bit half way down We 'also strike a not do convenient waterfall so it i e a case of back up the creek. . _ :The next. creek' looks promiel rig so with strict instructions to the Musketeers not to stray, away o the investigators. Better luck this time and a.: halt ie.:called half 'way' 'down for lunch. Short and. sweet would-, be the, oorre-ct term for thismeal a:e we are: behind schedule.,. The 4,4c-ent of the creek is most int6resting even if at tithes a tri.C.2 rough. and Wheenie. Creek is reached practically without incident It mlzght.:be mentioned that Porthos: is inclined' to be a little original in his method of deei-anding a' waterfall. After he has :picked. hithself up' it is oxplainkid patiently that fee-t.'“first, , not head first, is thecorrs:tt way. prom Wheenie Creek it is -juetne; biecuit'toss to Kurrajong Heights and after a couple of hours we come out on to the roadway where we expected to our lorry. It is almost six o' clock and. Are are heartened by 'a report from a tag.8eing motorist, that there is a covered' just up the road. Luke. has never been over the complete route !.-fore and a gentle pat on the back is merited for his leading.: io owess.'. Back to parramatta by our motor 'chariot where Luke further Uears himself to the team by producing a chaff bag full o. oranges now nforms Us that he purchased them for twenty sheckels at Arinstron g1 s Orchard, at the oorarrenderrient of the walk. I 'recollect the story Of a' bloke' who once oarrieil half a hundr,edwei:ght of coboa over seventeen mountains sbI look hard :at Luke but he doesn' t bat an eye and swears they were Carried in the lorry since the “time of purchase. Didregarding. my iorbken back, I 'believe the story; - There is!'nothirig. else to, report except to record that the Ham- .. burger: shop sold,. out…at -Parramatta and a 'Milk bar has iraoancies for two new attendants next: time We ge..thete:.

, 1 j A dathser.`bending - With altitrnati ng: – As r - Peg'gy- lqields a And fLercely jabs th- Itol-ey.- pacing , POEM - TO JENNY but speaking not a word) A splinter causes strife In any womant s over -Peggy'-e knee,- (A. wicked., :shrieks of– path: and 'glee','”' r it 'in, up arid d-own. the

. sgard; - ;..=rtiorg…wwgerrtiraa 11. THINGS OF YORE. By Skip. During my period of self enforced absence from bushwalking I've been looking over my souvenirs and photographs of my fRw but happy days in the bush. Everyone of us has his own personal experiences on which we look back with pleasure and pride, awe or what have you. Frl-rie, of these belong to you and you alone, but some are boomerangs; that is they repeat themselves, although We de the coming back. Occupying pride of place at the present are three feathers from a lyrebird's tail. This pride of place business is very temporary, as most of the souvenirs serve no purpose other than to remind one of the past. The present is continually replacing theM. Anyway, whilst the present state of affairs exists they droop in - rathnr bedraggled splendour, jammed. :between the leaves bf a large trade catalogue.. They will go soon, but-the memory stays. These were picked up along,Ti-Willa Creek, where I have seen many things I will not soon forget. Two waterfalls, difficult to negotiate, rose robins which would flutter round one's head, stinging nettles (rather redundant, that), thorny trees, thick Undergrowth, and wonderfully pure water come to my mind as I write. Another plaCe where I had a most satisfying experience with lyrebirds was Derp Creek, Narrabeen. I suppose this is rather scorned by the bushwalker who's,”had” most placed, and is Seeking fresh fields to conquer. But the Sunday Picknicqrs do not penetrate far, and this rugged little gulley has much to offer those in search far beauty after you've passed the barrier of rubbish. Lyrebirds in Deep Creek, you wonder? I certainly can vouch for that. Whilst fifteen of us were drying ourselves aftRr a swim in the creek, one of the party drew our attention to a female lyrebird scratching for food. She slowly approached us, and shortly her mate appeared. They took very little notice of us as they scratched about, and the pair came within ten iards of us. The ohly thing that did not happen was the spreading of daddy's tail feathers. Sounds uninteresting? I suppose so, but you didn't see it. You weren't theret And lyrebirds aren't the only thing in Deep Creek. 1 have four or five plaster casts of animal tracks somewhere. There is the inevitable wallaby, the lyrebird, some eort of, lliard, a goanna and a possum. then again the place is alive with firetail finches, ravens, and mosquitoes, and we heard the currawong. Again we saw the little forest kingfisher, the kooka, peewit, mullet, sundew, slipper ochid, the blun and red sort of fowl that's peculiar to NarrabRen and so on and on and on. There is tall timber under _which to camp and an unreliable water suRply. But this is only for a campr, not a bushwalkqr. 12.

But the first time I saw a lyrebird was on the Cox River. What a tripl It was the first time I had walked - or tried to - for more than three days and thirty miles, Whatvas leorse,J*, had to pick the worst surmer-the mountains have had 1944.. The at least not on top - although the few pools 'we saw were of some help, mostly for relaxation: Between, Black Jerry's and Harry's River We relaxed 7era1times, and from thereon the only water in the Cox was Harry's I-daresay most of you remember. that summer with its terrific buc,hfires, dust hazes, and at least one bushwalker fatality. I do 'cause I was noarly one myself, Or. so I like to kid myself. However, 4 back to the point.. We caught only-:6. glimpse of quite a few 13irebids all that time, but made our first acquaintance With a dingo and duck d la nature. We remember the-heat,andhaze, the sensation of walking through burnt, out colintry mhere,:logs[-tirestill smoulderinganctpf the etatlmess'ofia dead animal -:.our first experience of theee,things. 1 remember fifty miles with blisters. on all toes and. both heels, and'a_dry_gOollOn , tongue..:-.-.. ' -. ,.; . ' , , . . .,;w….', .:.. .. . , . . . , ' . , , alat:mhaps T7.17& brought back half,f6r0t:bOn MSmoried-tO:you'i-pr perhaps I've kindled an interest about theseplaci4.- An&perh'apiiiyoumutter a whispered prayer as you turn to the next ttticle'-'“Lbrd prerent himfrom seeing anything Worth,spu7pniring next,time.” ., .. … … ,…. . i 9..m.,..rm. fr., r , r .., , , - RIVERCANOE CLUB TOPOGAAPHICAL'SECTION.. The folipling Maps have noW been-,completedW this'aection: Map No. 37 Nymboida River (Nymboida to 'Clarence River junctibn). Map No. 38 - ClarenceRiver (Nymboida River Junction to Copmanhurst). Includes a 16rge-scale. inset,epecially illustrating the approach, portage of,' and general negotiation rand navi, .gation of the Clarence River Gorge. . _ . . E:Caines Convenor. ' 39 Silver Stree:t,' St. Peters. (Phone LA2667) CHRISTMAS PARTY. - Watch notice board for details. For inform6,- see Social Secretar7_7-104url e Wood. (Phone BX 6424). t, .. , A ]7ate_flashvOrY late) bringg' ne0 'of Bill Burke. Next time you see him, oorigratialate hip, 'upon the 'ii0quisition of a son. Still later flaeh - Don and Betty Gordon are the proud parents of a son. - name Angus. MDIES' CHRISTMAS TREAT - REMINEER. RINE BROWNE NEEDS HELPERS. tion STORK AGAIN,

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