Cover Page

Inside Cover

Title Page

W. Baldwin Spencer, University of Melbourne 1894

Page 1

HORN EXPEDITION TO MACDONNELL RANGES

MAY 3
Left Adelaide 8.10am Train to Terowie where broad gauge ends & narrow begins. Around Hallett 119-3/4 miles N. of Adelaide 1973 feet above sea. Eucalyptus Leucoxylon growing from 20 – 40 feet high joining open woodland. At Gumbowie 147 ¼ miles north of Adelaide highest station on
line out, 1976 feet. Country with high sparsely wooded picturesque ranges. Silver plains of dried grass & red of soil with bushes & trees of grey green. Line descends to Quorn (961 feet, 234½ miles north of Adelaide. Saw near Orroroo rabbit hung in shrub up which it had evidently
climbed for food. Slept in car all night.

MAY 4
Woke near Bopechee 483½ miles N. of Adelaide 36 feet above sea level. Surrounded by level desert with table topped hills in distance everywhere. Desert sandstone. Tops of hills fired by harder light of porcellanite (indurated grit). S. Lake Eyre in sight after a short time to E. of line. Great salt pan. Impossible to see if any water present. Over all was salt surface. At Stuart Creek then 3 feet.

Page 2

below surface of sea. At Coward Springs artesian well close to station. 1,200,000 gallons per day 95◦F water when issuing, flowing away along trench. seemed great waste. Water tasted fresh but soft. Coward Springs 1½ W. of bore on mound 10-15 ft. Emerald Springs 15E (big spring). N. from bore Kouson, Margaret, Elizabeth & Jersey Springs.
around latter no mound. 4½ miles S. Mt. Hamilton Hill spring Blanche cup diameter 20 ft., 15 ft. high Got few small fish in pool & trench at artesian bore & 2 small water beetles. Water goes up 15 ft. & no appreciable decrease since started 7 years ago. Rainfall said to average 2 points per annum.

In early morning saw emus away across desert. At Algebruchina crossed waterhole (plenty of water) 653 miles N. of Adelaide. 241 ft. above sea. Train stopped some way from waterhole unfortunately or might have got something. Turned up stones (ironstone lying o n surface) but only got elytra of beetle firmly welded together along centre line.

MAY 5
Saturday. After breakfast at the hotel went down to the camp. Searched waterhole. In bank got frog. Yellow ochre upper surface, with small

Page 3

dark mottling. White under surface. Eyes yellowish.Hind foot webbed. Bulinus pectrosus & remains of Unio (Stuart?). Small crab on banks making Muchleubeckia Mentha. Nardoo growing round & Claytonia (balonensia). [In margin: On sandy ground near creeks.]
(Marsilea quadrifolia) Native name Nardoo Adnuid Claytonia – Native name (eaten by them) uitandja (pronounced Whitandia) Seed = danga Locust = Native name indildja

Native implement amēra or throwing stick. Resin over this end. Procured from native yam (= anoolja) pointed end made from different wood. Boomerang made out of acacia sp. (homatophylla?) native name = iquādiga). Boomerang made out of inner wood – throwing stick out of outer wood. Pointed end of latter attached by emu tendon & made out of wood of inguada (? what tree –there was none just about where we were talking to the blacks).
Kangaroo - arira. Wallaby - arrus.
Emu - āltra.
Gum (E. micirotheca) withcaterpillar nests = angara

Page 4

Camels eat Santalum lanceolatum & Salsjola kali & other species.
Native tuba – Eila. Men with black beard & moustache.Hair drawn back over forehead by band of cotton material tied at back by string made of native hair (human). One man in mourning had strings of kaolin matting the hair together. Women also put this on their heads when in mourning. (cf. this with tribes on Murray where this is laid on so as to form a thick cap. By pool saw crow flying with big pellet of earth at least 1 in. diameter attached to feet. The gum trees (E. microtheca) had plenty of caterpillar nests in them 1 ft long – 6 in. wide at top filled with caterpillars & excreta. Blacks said “maybe ‘em scratch suppose you rub it on”

Left camp 11.45 with 23 camels. Reached 3 miles S of Swallow creek about 3. Packs coming up 2 hrs. later.‘Locusts’ fairly plentiful. Mulga (A. Anneura ?) & A. sp. E. microtheca Loranthus.

Page 5

Camp 1
4 miles S. of Swallow
7 or 8 miles travelled.
(Seen not secured)
Hooded Robin, Young of chestnut eared white eyed crow
Up creek abundant growth of Mitchell’s grass.

May 6
Sunday.
Camp 2
7 miles S of Macumba
22 miles Left camp at 8.30. Stirling, Watt, Tate & self went on ahead towards Storm Creek waterhole. Country level with low distant ranges table-topped. Rose gradually & then sudden descent to broad flat valley with gum & acacia trees along sides of dry creek. Stirling & self went up one. One butterly – lizard (Phillodactlylus?) locusts fair numbers. On to waterhole. Had lunch there.
Frogs (as at Oodnadatta) Estheria (Sp.) Bulinus newcombei & Paludina Kingaii (?) young forms. Saw white breasted hawk.(Hooded robin & chestnut eared finch at Swallow Creek camp). Spiders on webs at Swallow Camp on (hakeas?) Trees along route (E. microtheca) with very many caterpillar nests on them. Amphibolurus barbata at night camp. Light brown colour – adaptation to colour surroundings.

Page 6

Lizard at Camp 2 (Geckonidae)
MAY 7
Monday,
In margin: Camp 3 on Stevenson R.
Metulligan Waterhole.
Left camp 2 at 8 a.m. On to Macumba Creek. Lunched on
waterhole before coming to Ck. Crossed stony plain with
gibbers & dried up pools. Got case moth on Cassia oimophylla
Three lizards on pool on Macumba. Munyeroo (Portulace
oleracea) succulent edible leaves. In Macumba pool got
cypres-like form. Rotifer Dytiscus (?). Very young
unio sturtii & remain of shell of older one. Drosera indica.
True Spinifex growing & clinum (sp.) with fruit & Tribulus
hystrix with yellow flower. After lunch passed Macumbra
Station near waterhole. Then on across undulating to
Stevenson Camp 3 by waterhole. Reached camp about 3.30.
18 miles. Camera broken, mended this.

MAY 8
Tuesday. Left Camp 3 at 8.30. Travelled north over
scrubby country with Mulga – Hakea (H. leucoptera). Stopped
at waterhole. Got good few Curculios, 2 Stymotheras.
Plenty of bugs. One or two coccinilids, Port Lincoln parakeet.
All along track E. microtheca infested by caterpillar nests
& in many cases stripped bare. Lizards gynerodactylus &
felyra (?)

548730.jpg

More of ‘stinking acacia’ found in abundance further S.
Lunch in small gum clump. Curculios on Cassias in cop.
also locusts. Amongst latter copulating forms always same
colouration. Phasmus bugs & curculios on trunks of E.
microtheca assimilating same in colour. Ants (?) winged &
with yellow antennae. Series of larger & smaller circular
pans with dried beds with at times Chenopodium nitrariaceum.
In one pan remains of water pools.
Case moths on a few Cassia trees.
‘ Track passed close to Three Forges Trig. station & then
descended to palain & on through low lying sandy hills to
Camp 4. Reached this 4.30. Distance travelled 16½ miles

MAY 9
Wednesday. Left camp at 8.30 after photographing camels &
groups. Travelled N. to Dalhousie first through broad
valley with Hakeas then on to higher tableland very bare
indeed & covered with great layers of gibbers. Then down
into valleyland with watercourses marked by escarpments &
belts of timber indicating creeks rising to form Emery
Ranges (Escarpments belong to Emery Range). Very

548731.jpg

bare country to Dalhousie. Mound spring on mound about
15 feet high & about 100 yards diameter. On top layer
‘pond’ & smaller well. In latter number of large tadpoles
(one albino). Man in station (houses built on mound) said
he knew of 3 kinds of frogs in mound spring.. Water in
pond with reeds was warm (prob. containing magnesia) and
mud black probably owing to vegetation & forming kind of
peat. Blacks with tribe of dogs. Snake sticks & barbed
spears.




Had lunch. Notonecta (?) in basin at base of mound with
little red water acarid & ostracods. Travelleld in
N. west over gibber country to Red Mulga Creek. Acacia
farnesiiana. Locusts – bugs – beetle or two & lizards
wider back (febyra?). On mound gramatophora & Hinulia
(Egomia?, Near mound 50 ft. of Travertine. On top of
this chips of blocks made of desert sandstone. Rock close
to spring with 2 sp. melania, Corticula (sp.) & Paludina
which Tate thinks is adult form of

548732.jpg

In margin: Camp 5

same species found living in young form in Storm Creek water-
hole. No water all lday save at Mound Spring. Camp 5
about 5.30 on Red Mulga Creek.
Distance travelled about 20 miles. Amongst chips one bit
of stone similar to ‘granite’ of Gawler Range.
Beautiful sunset. To E. bluey grey on horizon melting into
pink above into green & blue of sky. To W. great fan shaped
mass of parallel layers of cirri at first gold then pink.
Grey green of Mulga – gums – salt bush. Ground pink in
sunlight. Red Mulga with bark peeling off in little curls
& very red. Only instance of deciduous bark amongst acacias.


MAY 10
Thursday. Left camp 5 little after 8.30 Travelled along
Red Mulga Creek up towards Emery Escarpment. Country very
poor with Mulga. Red M. & E. Microtheca Great masses of
gibbers as watershed apaproached. Hills capped with ‘Desert
Sandstone’. On top of watershed along rolling plain- Stanley
Tableland – gibber – plenty of painted ladies (Pyrameis
kershawi?) dusky colour. blue in spots on hind wings

548733.jpg

Not very strongly marked. Lunch camp at Opossum waterhole
9½ miles on from Mulga Crk. Got Estherias in great abundance.
? Dytiseus & ? Notonecta. Frog as at all waterholes –
yellow back – black spotted – white beneath. Tadpoles of
same in various stages – very large. Unio sp. & very many
dead shells of Bulinus Newcombii but few living. Butterflies
fairly numerous. (Pyrameis Kershawi?)
On across sandy plain with butterflies as before – few lizards
Gramatophora 2 sp. & Gecho (Gebyra).
To Camp 6. Reached this at 5 o’clock, 22 miles. Camped
at Opossum Waterhole. B. Newcombii, Unio, claw of crayfish.
Crab by sides of water. Casts at holes of same but rather
expect these belong to crayfish as plenty of crab holes with
living ones & no casts. Dytiscus – Unio.

MAY 11
’94 Friday. Harry gave us account of rough native implements
found by side of Opossum Water Creek. ‘Flints’ for cutting
body & circumcision. One made of piece of glass bottle with
very sharp edge used for

548734.jpg

shaving hair only. Stone for grinding nardoo & munyeroo.
Up at 5.30. Photographed & left camp 8.30. Travelled N.W.
over tableland with salt bushes etc. to Bloods Creek (store)
when struck telegraph line (4½ miles from camp). Followed
line in straight line for 7-8 miles. Lunch. Mulga & E.
on up hill (two eggs of Black Breasted Plover on track) with
gibbers of various sizes. Down into valley & up again &
then down to Adringa Crk. Bathed in waterhole. Frogs
plentiful on bank. ? Hyla. Rubella.
In margin Camp 7.
1 shell (dead) B. Newcumbei. Crabs very plentiful.
Butterflies – Painted Lady & Yellow & Black. Form same size
as former. Tracks of kangaroos & emu by waterhole. Scorpion.
Scotopendra & Scutigera. Bats round camp. Curlew heard.
Country passed through most miserable. Reached Adringa
Creek. Camp 7 at about 4.

MAY 12
Saturday. ? Photod. Down at waterhole. Group with camels.
Left camp 9.30

548735.jpg

Whole day over grit alluvial flat then over plain with gibbers.
Nothing special. Very desolate. Few gums & E & Salt Bush.
Painted ladies. Few lizards. Slightly rising to Charlotte
waters about 800 ft. For long distances road perfectly
straight. By side of poles got to tel. station about 4.30.
Stayed there some time talking to Mr. Byrne then telegraphed
& wrote. Then on to Camp 1 M.N.W. of station on waterhole
on Coghlan R. Writing, smoking & talking in evening.
Camp 8. Disitance 19 miles.

MAY 13
Sunday. Some went up to Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station.
Got myriophyllum in waterhole. Started 10 a.m. about a mile
out of Charlotte Waters. Country changed suddenly. No gibbers
but flat slightly undulating plains with acacias. A Pence &
Aulicvia etc. Myall (so-called – known by us as Stinking Acacia
(prob. A. Homald Dhylla) & Mulga (A. Aneura). Puticina has
sharp thorns which are true aborted branchlets. Harry (black)
showed us root out of external part of which after putting in fire
& scraping off they get resinous matter which rapidly hardens and
is

548736.jpg

[In margin: A. Reticulatus

used by them for sticking on spear heads etc. (This is not of
A. Peuce.) Got also Claytonia Polandria (small red flowers).
Leaves succulent & edible. Roasted & eaten by blacks & by them
called Hekēa.) Winnecke calls this Parakylia. This name
probably applied indifferently to several species of large flowering
Claytonias (C. Polyandria. Baloneusis etc. Peter (Black _ got
us Ant-Lion out of sand. In one ‘crater’ at bottom were dozens
small white embryos. Something like immature ‘white ants’.
Lizards fairly abundant – sp. of Amphibiduries Gramatophora
(cream markings with black & brown on upper surface. Tympanis
deeply depressed & large. Some 7 femoral pores each side vent.
Tail with transverse dark & lighter bands. Ventral surface light
coloured. In holes in sand & under logs.
Hinulia. Geckos. 2 sp. (Gehyra & Gynerion Dactylus ?) First
named most abundant. Gehyra small & darker coloured than
previously. Gynerio dact. small l& very reddish coloured. Few
beetles. (Carab.. Coccinolid. Curculios. Painted adies &
small yellow & blue butterfly.

548737.jpg

Tufts of porcupine (Inodia sp. not irritans) (Resin obt. by
Blacks from I Mitchelli or fungus which have visicid sheaths
(not irritans). Track straight along line leading on to
Mt. Daniel in distance.
Giddea
Distance travelled 14 miles. Camp 9 in Myall scrub.

MAY 14 Monday. Left camp 8.30. Travelled along by telegraph line over
sandy country gradually rising. Just outside camp Grevillea
in flower. Also acacias (Stinking) in flower. Went over high
ground – very stoney with good size gibbers. – Acacia, Hakeas
etc. then down to Boggy Flats where halted after passing over
level sandy grassed plain – flooded inn heavy rain. To S.W.
Mt. Daniel Range rising up up. Horn Wineche & Watt went.
Lunched under small clump of eucalaaypts. Wahlenbergia gracillis
in flower. Salsola kali as usual. Vary dry & cracked clay pan.
Chenopodium nitraraceum . Small cracks leading down to space
into which 6 - 8 - 12 in. below surface Cheiroleptes platyoephalus

548738.jpg

fits body which is swollen out to at least twice its natural size
by water which lies mainly in body cavity & less in subcutaneous
spaces. Also on pressure squirts out of cloaca. Blacks use
these in dry times as water supply. Evidently same frog as yellow
one got in other water holes. Lungs very distended reaching down
to pelvis region. Eyes covered with film & pupils dilate on
exposure to light & film seems to pass downwards. (Lower eye lid?)
In cracks also found Dytiscus & Bulinous newcumbei (inflaltus?)
alive with mud hardened & filling up opening.
Travelled on over rising ground with olive grey green mulga.
Hakeas, Salt Bush
In margin: Europus
butterfly (yellow & black) & small yellow & blue ones. On to
Goyder. Then up this with gooed ?gums. (Stream quite dry)
to camp by side of artificial well (good water). In it were
small frogs dark colour. In distance had a good view of table-
topped Mt. with outlier.
In margin: Mt. Townsend
Section of unconformably stratified sandstone on Goyder about
I mikle S. of camp

548739.jpg

Went out with Harry & Peter. Got Nyrocleon & lizards.
Latter gramatophia as in district since Charlotte and also
similar to one got at Opossum Creek – dark upper surface with
longit. light bands.
[In margin:] Physignathus longirostris
Stick insects & almost wingless manatis. In evening sat
around camp fire smoking & discussing plans for publication etc.
Camp 10.

MAY 15 Tuesday. Day in camp. Plans discussed. At first Stirling.
Watt, Winecke & self were to go off to Ayers but a Mr. Ross came
into camp in the aft. & told us about region to S.W. of Goyder
& up Goyder. No water & Ayres Ranges problematic, so decided
to go up to Ross’ camp on the ? Tilla Ck. and so out W. & then N.
to Erldunda. (Long discussion over this in the evening.)
Spent morning arranging material. Got small frog
(see descript) in water hole3 & well & t species of beetles under
log by W.H.

[[n margin:] H. rubella
In aft. read Giles & then with Tate & Watt went some 3 miles
down creek to bluff with camera.

548740.jpg

Mulga – E. Rostrata. Portulaca Hakea Salsolea etc.
Spiders (o + o) with very strong webs & long outrunners.
+
In margin: All are o Feb.95
+
Usually 1 o + 1 o web close together. Female makes cocoon in
+
shrub by side of web which often spreads between 2 shrubs
(Acacia or Hakea). Photod Mt. Townsend, Mt Daniel Range & Bluff.
Heavy walking in sand. Peter & Harry brought in large venomous
snake. length - skinned it in the evening.
Large Phasman caught at dusk. Camp 11.

MAY 16. Winnecke & Watt started off up Goyder Valley for
two days – there to cut across to Tilla Crk. Tate & self
started off across Goyder & Rose over old river. Gravel with
quartz pebbles in ground & up to denuded hummock of desert
sandstone. Small ruin-like outcrops of this further on amongst
mulga scrub. Hakeas & Mulga (with Coranthus Parasitic) &
somewhat umbrella-top shaped E (prob. E terminalis or Tesselatus) –
fruit urn shaped. Lizard under log (see descript.) On ground
Haljanis Cerulea.

548741.jpg

with blue flower. From brow of escarpment facing N. had good
view over plain with Crom Point & Finke Valley to N. & Dowell’s
Range S. Lunched in Mulga scrub. Coccinclid beetle common
in dead gum trunk.

From lunch camp went on & through gap in desert sandstone ridge
(see sketch p. 7). Dodonga – (Hop Bush) dark somewhat bright
green & Cassia Eryunphylla with yellow flowers. Down into Finke
Valley. Level plain with E. Rostrata in abundance & E Microtheca.
Track passed into bed of creek. Quite dry with traces of recent
floods. Trees washed down etc. but everything very dry – though
sand damp 1 ft. down. Just before reaching camp cliff escarpment
35 ft. high of sandstone overlying desert sandstone. Cream &
red coloured (or abutting on desert sandstone.
Camp 12 16/5/94. Distance 20 miles.

THURSDAY, MAY 17
Day in Camp. In early morning photod,. Finke Valley
& Crown Point. Tate got striated boulbus in cliff – sandstone
with river borne pebbles throughout. Went with Pater

548742.jpg

& Archie (blacks) on hills behind camp. – scorpions – lizards as
before. Then down to Finke Valley. In sand got Vermicellid
snake – orange & black bands. Scorpions. Curculionid beetles.
Frog i9n sand 6 – 12 inches down where damp. No special case
(as in frog before). See descript. p. 9. burrows backwards.

[In margin:] L. Ornatus

Amayclid (?) plant with bulb wh. blacks eat (may half roast them)
in bed of river. Blacks call it Irri-ākủra (ā = German au
nearly in this word). Tobacco plant (Nicotianum suaveolans) –
blacks chew stem as so called. ‘Pituri’ (latter really =
Duboisia Hopwoodii). In drifitwood brought down by flood – on
banks of Finke got sp. of Helix Pupa Planorbis & Melaina. Also
Helix Perinflata. Purplish black aphis on Crotalariia dissitifolia
(Trifoliate leaf with ?E suppressin 1 leaflet.) Curculids on
banks & Lacordaria in drift. Sulphur yellow butterfly – Paianted
Lady & yellow & black Erippus as before only 1 or two. Tate went
to Crown Point.
[In margin:] Camp 13

Desert Sandstone

Lower Cretae Detached parts of
White sandstone sandstone = sandstone
= Dalhousie of cliff
clays at camp

548743.jpg

MAY 18, FRIDAY Spent day at Crown Point chiefly amongst blacks at camp
on opposite side. Photod. groups. Corroboree dancing.
Difficult to obtain name of tribe. General name applied to a
man is ‘Arilla’ which probably means a black man as opposed to
a white man as it seems (from what Peter says to be applied to
? young boys on whom rite not practised)
Urrabuna – black Oodndatta & Strangways.
Urrunda – Crown Point as far as Macumba.
Andolinya – Henbury
Andikarina (= my) West black fellow
Blacks in camp from Charlotte Water & Bend. Some had Jewish
caste of face. Hair pulled back & done up into kind of chignon
by strings of opossum hair.
Fig. leaves – goat tails. Large and small tassel of possum fur
strings. Rats tails (Peragale lagotis)
Armlet of human hair.
Arms – spear with mulga blade. Shaft in 1 or 2 pieces
(usually 1 of some acacia). Shield of some soft wood.
Throwing stick – mulga. Porcupine grass resin.
Boomerang slightly curved – not for returning.

548744.jpg

One man had bunch of feathers in hair. In others kangaroo
bone which is used for scratching & getting out thorns etc.
Old lubra with hair in coils – matted together with gypsum
& band of same across bridge of nose & cheek & forehead.
Grinding munyero seed on flat stone with both hands pressing
down on smaller stone. Put water on & let soft porridge like
blackish mush slide over edge of stone into Coolamon. Eat it
raw or sometimes heat it. Plenty of (?) amaryllid bulbs
eaten or roasted. (= īrri - ākủra.)
Circumcised & sub incised.
Band instead of yellow ocohre band or white gypsum
going over shoulder yellow ochre (or gypsum)
may pass down arm –
in this case
yellow ochre no
spots yellow ochre

white gypsum

white gypsum Black
yellow ochre photod
white gypsum


3 blacks photod
Left
1. 2. 3.
5.9-3/8in.
1. Glen-gaduck (?)
5.7 5/8
mean of ten
To knee 5.5 9/40 2. Arramantika
5.5

3. Calijiga
5.7

548745.jpg

Tate got Melania & Cortiicula in debris along Finke same species
as fossil in Dalhoussie Limestone. Succinca Cassus moth to
fire at night.
Blacks brought in gramatophora barbata – brick red dorsal surface
with dark markings. Purplish black under-surface of head &
neck frill & somewhat lighter posteriorly.
Snake (furina like) Dull brick red dorsal surface
with 6 black bands behind head. Last one corresp.
with vert. brick red black Bands pass down sides but not
across vert. surface. Lizard in alaim. canal.
[In margin:] Camp 14

MAY 19 SATURDAY. Left camp 8.30 Called at Mr. Ross. Left buggy
there. Went out N.W. across flat land. Up side of valley of
Finke to W. of Crown Point in Finke Valley again. Lunch –
Stigmodura Curculiomidae Moloth. Lacordaria etc . A. Ulcinina.
Mulga. On along Finke Valley with gums. Helichrysum
Yellow ‘margarite’ in flower. Melaleuca in Finke. Wood duck.
Over undulating plain with low scrub & few gums & acacias.

548746.jpg

Past Jack the Sailors well & into Lilla Crk. valley. Few
bustards shot close to camp. Mt. Humphries just to W.S.W. of
camp. Tate & self walked 1 mile to Lilla.
? Geleyra Questioned Harry at night. (See notes)
Camp 15 Distance 13 miles.
Note from Winnecke saying he & Watt had gone across to Horse shoe
bend so must go there.

MAY 20, SUNDAY 7 Black Cockatoo flew over camp. Left camp 8.30.
Went N. 7 a.m. slightly E. Crossed Lilla near junction with
Finke. Latter joins L. at very acute angle & its flood waters
carried over into Lilla for mile or two up mouth.
Level plain with escarpment on N.E. at base of where Finke runs.
Escarpment to S.W. perhaps 1 mile away. Crossed Finke at
water pool. Duck & young ones on pool. Zygophyllum (Succulent)
Lepidium ruderale (‘crease’) Spinifex paradoxus
Went on along valley & up tableland to W. of Mt. Musgrave which is
pyramidal in form. Down to Finke again – lunch camp. On into
undulating

548747.jpg

sand hill country. Sand hills running generally parallel to one
another from N.W. to S.,E. Mulga A. Tempiana. Loranthus
exocarpa (red flower). Got into camp about 4.30. Went on to
sand hills with blacks – Scorpion. Furnia? snake (as before)
Camp 16. Distance about 18 miles.

MAY 21 MONDAY. Left camp 8.30. Went N.W. to Finke. Ptilotis
latifolium – small plant rounded 1 ft. mhigh. Whitish everlasting
flowers. Ptilotis exaltatum. 1 ft. high. Purplish spike of
flowers (Amaranatiae) Erniophilla – Cassias. Dodonea Viscosa.
Very green bush 6 - 6 ft. high. Long viscid leaves
Templetonia Egenia – broomlike – poisonous. E. Microtheca with
plenty of caterpillar cocoons (as before). Latter not apparently
attack E. Rostrata wh. is in R. bed & close to bank. E. microtheca
(box wood) on flooded flats. Waited at bend which is shut in to
E. side by long curved escarpment – flat topped. Met Watts &
Winnecke. They had got lower Siberian fossils on hill N.W. from
junction of

548748.jpg

Lilla & Finke – 45 miles. Crossed Finke – got fish in small
waterhole & few kinds water beetles – argoneeta. Senecis Gorgoni
yellow margarite-like flower. Sternoclia (Scrophilariam)
purplish flowers on sand. On W. across plain with few trees or
shrubs. Plenty of salsolla kali. Flat topped hills to W.& S.
Camped by dried up creek about 4.30. Tate & self went out. Big
bugs under bark of gum. Spider webs & cocoon. Conishaped &
oo cornical on cassia. Erymophilla longifolia – long purplish
flower. Curculios. Camp 17.
New Notation of Camps after this:
May 22 - TUESDAY Photod camel team as leaving camp. Up across rising
plains with flat topped hills all around, Very desolate – just
a few mulga – Cassias & plenty old Man Salt Bush. Lunch by
water hole. Black cockatoo. Chestnut sand finch in scores.
Erosion hill sides. In dried up bank of W.H. Frog (Limnodynasters)
much like L. dorsalis in greenish appearance in cavities in mud.
Cavity fitted body which was a good deal swollen out with water
but not so much as in case of frog (yellow one) before.

548749.jpg

Along with this plenty of bulinus subinflata with mud operculum.
Seemed as if passed through body as it consisted entirely of fine
particles – was just like hard chocolate in colour and consistency.
Dytiscus also in hard muc – alive. Blacks save all live till
rainy season returns. On bank cassia erymophylla in full flower
(yellow). On up rise with splendid view of Chambers Pillar &
Castle Hill away to N. then over hilly country with mulgas on
hill sides & tops till turned N. to Finke Valley & camped at
Idracowra by water hole.
Camp 17.

MAY 23 WEDNESDAY Left camp (where stayed at Indracowra) at 10.30.
Around Finke & took track N. to Chambers Pillar 10 miles. Crossed
some 35 sandhills varying in height from 20 – 35 ft. Casuarina
Decaisneana – up to 60 ft. high. A. Salicina with very fine
leaves & drooping habit in flower. A. Dictyophleba large yellow
spherical. Grevillea pterosperma in flower. Evidently had
been showers of rain lately as good many flowers about.

548750.jpg

Helichysum Lucidum yellow. Brunomia Australis (light blue) in
middle of white helichrysum (H. semipaposum) goodenia – white
violet flower. Claytonia pleiopetalla – red purplish flower –
Claytonias usually 5 petals this 8 or 9 hence name.
Eremophila willsii – purple & abundant, Ptilotus exalatatus with
5 or 6 beautiful heads of pale violet flowers.
Chambers Pillar – base of white friable felspathic sandstone –
pillar white at bottom – reddish above with iron. Total height
167 ft. pedestal 100. Column 67. Circumference of pillar
500 yards. Castle Hill.
[In margin:] Molech horndii & same Hyeto cephalus as before.
Camp 17. Distance 20 miles. Got into camp 7.15.
Evening writing. specimens & changing plates. Horn left us
this day.
MAY 24, THURSDAY. Left camp 17 at 9. Went to W.H. in Finke.
3 sp. of fish (see sketch) amongst them a siluroid closely
similar to cat (fish). On along Finke Valley all day.
Nothing special. Camped.

548751.jpg

at3.30 by w.h. 17 miles. Bathed & arranged & labelled specimens.
Evening writing. Mailman came in at dark & went on driving
2 pack horses to old Idracowra St. Passed new Idracowra Station
some 3 miles from Camp 17. Well.
Distance 17 miles. Close to Johnston Range.
Trioodiia pungens. Camp 18. Warman’s Camp.
may 25 Friday. Left camp 8.30. Crossed Finke about 2 miles up to
Warman’s Camp . Jim got a few lizards one brick red colour
(gramatophora). Bean seeds & munyeroo. “Tom” came on with
us – clothed in a white head band & a small white tassel in
front. Kept all day along Finke Valley which we crossed 6
times. Water holes at intervals. Flock of 18 black
cockatoos at Camp 18, After leaving Warman’s camp travelled
along base of Johnston Rang. Escarpment of sandstone very red
with topping of desert sandstone. Dried pans of brick red
sand – sandhills lighter colour with bright

548752.jpg

green foliage & whitey green of Niodia Salsola Salt bush –
bright blue grey cotton-bush. Spinifex & Niodia. Grevillea
Striata – Silky Oak in flower. Eremophylla Macdonnelli – low
ciricular growing plant with purple flower. Large & small
circulios in abundance on Cassias. Spider webs as usual –
some fully 6 – 8 feet across. Acacias as before. Desert
Sheoaks at time. Hakeks Laurea (? Sp.) in flower.
At Warman’s Camp irri-aquara with many bulbs attached to root
of each plant. Plant belongs to Lilliaceae – each ‘bulb’ =
a bud.
[In margin:] amayllida?
See notes for blacks etc .

Reached camp 19 by side of Finke near junction of Palmer.
21½ miles Tate came in after dark. Camels also.
MAY 26 SATURDAY. Left camp 19 & went on 2 miles (about) to junction
of Palmer. W.H. crossed & went along S. bank of Finke amongst
well grown E. rostrata. In one or two places saw big web cocoons
on Cassias low down with web leading away from cocoon over ground
to root. In one instance saw web leading up (or down) trunk of

548753.jpg

E. Microtheca from ground for 10 ft. same material as cocoon made of.
Plenty of caterpillars on & going into ground round roots of gums.
Probably ‘chrysalate’ in ground. Plenty of big spider webs.
Painted Lady still frequent & erippus (sp.) as before. Crossed
Finke again to N. bank & went on to 15 mile W.H. (i.e. from Henbury).
Good W.H. on up steep bank. On this side limestone (Palaeizoic
outcrop. Hills different to contour from table tops seen before.
Some ‘Razor-backs’. Cassias. Erimophylla.
Macdonelli Paisleyi & Freelingi (see notes) Pterigeron
Micro glossus – purplish – procumbent composite flower like a
small thistle – on clay flats. Lunch under desert oak. On
across level uplands. A aneura tetragonathica (?)
Ptilotus Exaltatus – puce coloured. Rose up broken country &
saw Finke Valley. Much better land than previously. Good
deal in parts of Spinifex & triodia. Tate found ‘resin’ in
casuarina trunks. On to Henbury. Camp 20 by side of permanent
W.H. said to be 30-40 feet deep in Finke R. Camp of Blacks.
Distance 20½ miles.

548755.jpg

MAY 27 – SUNDAY Day’s spell at Henbury. In morning went across to
Mr. Park’s house & then spent day amongst Blacks camped by Finke.
All save two or three belonged to Larapinta Tribe, others to
Andajorina. Put net in river – or rather Blacks did – but
only got some 5 “Bony Bream” same as those at Idracowra W.H.
‘Mud Fish’ (= probably Cat Fish) also in pool. Chara in
fruit in abundance. Weapons etc. as before. Munyeroo &
irri-akura. Andajorina men with emu chignons & tufts –
one of emu feathers, other of eagle hawk. Head bands of human
hair red-ochred & white possum downy hair. One man with
necklet of dead man’s hair (see notes). Very reluctant to part
with. Got piece of ‘resin’ made of Triodia.
[In margin:] Andjerra or Antiaarra.
Watt went out to Chandler Range – Silurian. Remarkable hollow
cave is rocks with projecting flat stone ledge on which Blacks
cut themselves & let blood trickle down over front face which
is coloured with alternate hands of red & yellow ochre. Arm
cut after tying above elbow. Seem to be done with idea of
securing many wallaby. Got some information about gesture
language (see notes).

548756.jpg

Among plants. Ficus platypodia & Calitris at Chandlers Range.
Erimophylla freelingi in flower (mauve). Got few bony bream
during day In net. Cat fish also in holes & spotted fish as
before but couldn’t get them. Chara – intella & on former
lava of Dragon Fly exactly name in colour as chara stem. No
snails very few oonclonecta. Temp. 20◦ 26◦ at 6.30 a.m.

MAY 28, MONDAY. Went across to station house. Blacks drew out net
with about 100 bony bream in. Largest 1 lb. 13 by 4-6/8 high.
Heard of big spider which lives in ground & after rain comes to
surface & makes croaking noises much like frog. Blacks & whites
know of it.
[In margin:] Prob. Phrictus crassipes

Left camp 9.15 Crossed Finke on over sand hills out N.S.
Desert sandstone only outcropping at intervals forming detached
rising ground with gibber fields rarely. Salsolacea gradually
disappearing. Wire grass & country generally losing dried up
appearance. Desert Sheoak. A. Salicina with drooping thin
leaves frequent. Cassie as usual. Erymopphylla Paisleyi. E.

548757.jpg

gamophylla (a mallee eucalypt. A mallee has a bole a bossy stem
often not conspicuous above ground. The mallee root – so called –
is really main trunk.)
with leaves except on oldest branches.
without peticles & attached to one another
round stalk. This on branches of trees 20 ft. high.
A. farneslana with thorn at base of leaves = modified bract.
Mulga at intervals. Crossed Finke 3 times before lunch. Latter
by W.H. with plenty very young fish in but too cute to be caught.
No shells. On along Finke Valley up rise with big distant view
of hills to N.W. Dodonea with green curculios & coccinelidae.
Eucalypt as usual. Social caterpillar cocoons on cassias with
web leading to root of tree. Spiders on web o & o
+
again close together. One string at least 15 ft. long.
Country looking better – more grass, some Spinifex & triodia.
Camped in good clump of casuarina. Bathed inW.H. Chara &
phyrisphyllus. Tate got 4 Macdonnell plants – E gamophylla &
3 herbaceous plants.
Camp 21 Distance 15½ milers. Height above sea 1324 ft. Temp. 29.
MAY 29, TUESDAY. Left camp 8.20 Rising

548758.jpg

country with mulga scrub, porcupine & grass. Then into thicker
scrub with acacias – aneura – tetragonophylla kempiana. salicina
(drooping) farnesiana & few sheoaks. Stony ground & crossed
creek to gap into James Range. Silurian sandstones – anticline.
Red rocks jutting out as crags. Fairly covered with timber
Cassia Erimophylla as usual. Erimophylla Paisleyi freelingi
(red flower) & viscida. Latter blue flower & very viscid leaves
& flowers & sweet smell. On across flat land to creek when had
lunch. E. Rostrata cocoon of social caterpillar on cassias but
not so recent. From creek up rugged broken hills – rather
picturesque down to Finke Valley at Rising Waters. Illiscus
(desert rose) in flower at crossing. On along valley on
N.W. bank for ¾ mile to camp. Put net in pool & got bony
bream. Transversely striped perch shaped form & small fish
with golden spots. Crayfish said to be in river but saw none
or traces of them. Potamogeton vallisneria & a possible species
of Chara – but “leaves” thicker & reticulated with reddish bands.
[In margin: Naias major
Saw “mud” fish. (= catfish of Idracowra) in pool but could not
catch them. E. gamophylla with mallee like

548759.jpg

habit on road down to Finke. Also Sernigea with blue flower &
greyish green leaves forming low lying shrub. Myoporum Dampieri
Prostanthera Wilkians On hill Winnecke got Canthium Latifolium
(allied to Coffee Plant) Capparis Sp. nr. gap in James Mts.
Cassia Artemesioides near gap Flowers light yellow & larger
than those of C. Omin & leaves lighter. Fair amount of porcupine
grass but very little Salsola.
Distance 16 miles. Camp 22.

MAY 30 WEDNESDAY. Left camp 8.20. At 11.15 after passing through mulga
scrub reached turn off to Ilpila Crk. & gorge. Lunch. Low
growing Ptilotis (sp.) with pinkish head of flowers. Also
Ptilotis Exaltatus in patches. Watt & Tate went off. Spinifex,
Acacias. Rising ground with range to N. Ranges covered with
mulga. Callitris on hills. Across Macmins Crk. & Police Station.
At mouth of picturesque gorge with little water hole. Afternoon
in arranging specimens & digging for worms. Got

548760.jpg

one species in black soil near water holes. Also fine specimen
of Hadra Perinflata & small frog. Both latter in damp earth.
Met Mr. Daer in charge of Station.
Out of rising waters in morning got Astacopsis Bicarinatus.
striped fish gold spotted form “cat-fish”.
Around Police Camp & in Ilapilla Gorge – Capparis Mitchelli
(native orange – fruit. Rough rind & pulp adherent to large
stones)

[In margin: E. Tesselaris

Balimulus Stenogyra Saniolus refens along crk. (usually in
brackish earth) Papilis 2 sp. Ferns.
Distance 14 miles. Warm night cloudy with few drops of rain.
Temp. 46. Height 1669.
Camp 23

MAY 31 THURSDAY Day in camp.
Morning digging – Worm Hadra Frog. Aft. along Ilpilla Gorge.
Bony bream. Gold spotted form (2 sp.) Striped fish & dark
coloured.

548761.jpg

catfish. All in rock pools which would apparently soon dry up.
Vallisneria – Chara. ‘Tom’ got me mouse (Hapalotis?) Lizards
Big Scotopendra.
Mollusca Stenogyra aff. tuckeri (Q + North Territ) Hadra perinflata
sp. brown banded. sp. (Sect. Angasiiola).
Bulimulus aff. Adelaidiensis. Aff myoposināe (shell always reversed)

[In margin: See notes
Bulinus sp. small in pool in gorge.
Night very cold 18◦F.

JUNE 1. FRIDAY Left camap 8.40. On along base of range. Picturesque
red jutting Silurian rocks with mulga scrub & gorges. Much
E. Gamophylla forming scrub with acacias, sheoaks & Cassias &
Erimophyllas in flower. On after lunch over some country
with Spinifex, Triodia, Kangaroo Grass – Helichrysum Stipitatum
(yellow). Bracts on stalks around base of flowers. Bassia
paradoxa & Diacantha (notes). Callitris verucosa. Grevillea
Erimophyllas. Red flowers of

548762.jpg

Brachyseum at base of porcupine. On to Palmer R. Belt of gums
as usual. Camp 4.15. Went on along Palmer (Illara Water)
for some 3 miles. On N & E bank of river high ranges. Some
Silurian red sandstone. Very picturesque with red rocks
jutting out above mulga. Pine water pool,. Rushes.
Bullrushes Chara (2 sp.) & some Characeus plant as at Rising
Waters.
[In margin:] Nais major
Very fine tobacco plant. Camped at Illara Waters.
Camp 24. Distance 21 miles.
(See notes on shells etc.)
JUNE 2. SATURDAY. LEFT Illara W.H. at 8.45. Went with train for about
mile S.W. across crk. into ranges. Followed up Walker Crk.
Good Sheoaks. Xerotis sp. Bushlike plant with white spikes.
A Farnesiana (“Briarbush” taken as indication of water)
Into Walker Gorge. Fine rocks. Pools with fish. Catfish
gold spotted Chara. Melaina baboneuri. Hadra 2 sp.
perinflata & banded. Lobelia sp. After

548763.jpg

reaching Tempe Downs had talk with Mr. Thornton who kindly
entertained us all (Tate, Stirling, & self) and then with Tate
went back to Gorge & searched for beasts. Jim brought in
thin bodied lizards somewhat resembling Siabbos.
[In margin:] Rhodona?
In evening wrote, labelled & talked
Camp 26. Tempe Downs a fair sized valley shut in N & S by
ranges. Open at W. end completely closed at E about 1 mile to
W. of E. end. Walker cuts N. through gorge – very picturesque.
Blacks about. Distance 11 miles.
JUNE 3 SUNDAY Day at Tempe Downs
Natives’ markings.

Narrow but well marked


Faint












FRONT BACK



One incisor knocked out with stick when young.
Nasal septum perforated.
Tallest man 5-11½ Tallest woman 5-2½

548764.jpg

Morning spent on hill to S of Station. Good view E & W
(see rough sketches). Gorge with water holes in rock.
Nothing in them apparently. Boys got usual frogs in sand
of creek. Spiders male & female on web close together.

[In margin:] L. ornatus

Small black ants Triodia (pungens?) making nests out of resin
very hard & chambered. Only got one kind of ant with eggs.
Probably source of Blacks’ resin for ? woomera etc. Galleries
of same coated with sand particles rising for many yards
between porcupine bushes & latter often covered with regular
network of galleries which blacken & harden when bush burnt.
Aft. amongst blacks. Photod single ones & groups & position
during operation of circumcision & subincision. Got emu
head dresses, bull roarers – spears – womerays, nose bones,
fig leaves, necklaces, etc. Spiders (black) from web on roof
of house. Each web has form of funnel with wide mouth perhaps
6 in. across rapidly narrowing to tube perhaps ½-¾ in wide
leading into crevice. Web strong & covered with sand particles.
Evening writing, labelling & along creek where Blacks were
singing keeping time on ground with womeras, sticks, etc.

548765.jpg

JUNE 4 MONDAY Day at Tempe Downs. Early in morning went out with
the sandhill blacks in search of beasts. Got very little
though spent several hours digging up burrows in sandhills.
(In margin:] Mus sp:
Plenty of tracks of ‘mice’ etc. but most burrows empty.
Scorpions flat beetles (in sand some inches under ground.) Bugs
Few lizards. Curculios walking on sand & on acacia & esp.
Dodonea & Cassias. Insects with long ovipositor – mouth parts
like blatta & body somewhat shape of locust & long antenae.
form burrow 1 ft. deep with cast of cylindrical sand pellets
each about ¾ in. long x ¼in. broad thrown up in small mound
6 in. diam. & 1 in. high Spent aft. on hillside opposite
station examining porcupine grass & nests of social caterpillar.
In porcupine ant nest – winged (large & small) smaller black &
larger brown black form. In younger nests only found single
larger winged form Old nests with resin & large passages.
Eggs along passages promiscuously. No special chamber for them.
Go down 1 ft. to 1-6” under ground roots of grass being

548766.jpg

enclosed in them. In connection with nests (1) Galleries
running often many yards from tuft to tuft & communicating
between two or more nests. (2) On leaves of Triodia larger or
smaller. Tunnel-like structures of same nature as galleries
i.e. resin of grass with sand particles, closed at upper end
small opening at lower in & out of which little black ants go.
These are built over coccus – insects on leaf. May gradually
be increased so as to form a regular network all over tuft. In
roots a much larger coccus (see specimen). The latter never
on the leaves above ground. At base of tuft but above ground
2 kinds of bugs not seen elsewhere & spiders. (see specimens)
Social caterpillars – Web leads down stem of Cassia (or whatever
tree growing on) to ground. Catepillars pass into ground &
then bore way into root below ground & pass up stem in wh
chrysalis formed & emerge above ground

[In margin:] Only in ground ?
Cassia leaves seen none worse for caterpillar nor acacia nor
Hakeas or Grevilleas but Eucalyptus microtheca does.
(Tate suggests periodicity in

548767.jpg

station spent some time amongst blacks preparing for corrobboree.
Helmets etc. (see notes). Down made from grass & mixed with
red or yellow ochre or gypsum & stuck on with human blood drawn
by prodding penis with sharp pointed twig & then ‘milking’
blood out. Latter came in thin stream & is caught in bark.
Saw quite half pannikin-full from one man. Men sit in pairs
& adorn each other. Corrobboree at night.
TUESDAY, JUNE 5. Photod corrobboree man in morning & packed up sending
some things back to Alice Springs. Went back on tracks to
Palmer R. 3 miles S.E. of Illara W.H. A Salicina with 27
cocoons of social caterpillsr apparently not eating leaves.
Curculias on Erimophylla & Cassias (spines post. abd) Camp 27
Distance about 9 miles. Camp 27
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6. Left camp 8.30… Went

548768.jpg

to Illara W.H. with Stirling. Tate & Thornton went on to see
grass trees on sand hills. Seems to be new species.
W.H. disappointing. Bulrushes, Cyperaceas, very fine Nicotiannus.
Fern & moss. Striped fish in deep pool. Teal & Wood duck.
White butterfly (Pieridae?) Characeous plant but no fruit to
be seen. In bed 2 – 3 feet thick 12 ft. long x 6 ft. broad.
All under water. Reed Warbler singing but could not see it.
Left W.H. at 1.15. Returned to Palmer & through gap then S.W. to
Petermann Crk. on up valley to camp 10 miles in fine amphitheatre
of lower silucian red sandstone with fine escarpments.
Camp 28. Distance about 18 miles. Camp about 2 miles W of
Undia W.H. 1888 ft.
THURSDAY, JUNE 7. Left camp 8.45. Went W. following Petermann then
round Mt. Levi at W. end of Levi Range up stony rise down into
broad plain between Levi & E. end of George Till Range.
Camped
[In margin:] 2 scutigeras & ?
in debris by side of W.H.

548769.jpg

early on Tricketts Crk. so as to allow Tate & Watt to go after
fossils. Spent some 3 hours arranging specimens. Turned
in early not feeling well. Bad toothache all night – very
close (45◦) & scarcely slept. Camp 28. Distance 9 miles.

FRIDAY, JUNE 8. Left camp 8.40. Went W. through fairly thick mulga
scrub skirting S. side of George Gills – Bold escarpment of
red lower Silurian sandstone. Rounded bluffs one after the
other. Capparis in flower – native figs – Cassias –
Erimophyllas etc. Ptilotis etc. Travelled across plain
at base of range stretching away S. Gum Crk. with E. Rostrata
(plenty of E. Gamophylla on way) away out into plain out of
Bagot Creek. Camped at latter small trickling water amongst
reeds with 2 W.H. Very large …..pas which crowd together in
water looking just like dark discoloured gum leaves. Orthonectus
Bulinus. Longicorn & coccinalids. G. Adelaidensia (Bagots Crk.)
Camp 29. Distance about 16 miles.

548770.jpg

SATURDAY, JUNE, 9. Day in camp. In morning dug (with Pritchard) at
likely spots for worms.
[In margin:] Acanthrodrilus
Only got single specimen apparently same as one at Police Camp.
In W.H. Bulinus sp. small black doplinid (or cypris ? ) in
abundance. Water spiders. Notonecta – Nepa very large.
Aft. out with 3 black boys on sandhills. Tracked emu with 6
young ones. Caught latter & brought them back to camp alive.
Bower Bird. Scorpions – Mouse – 9 in one hole round root of
E. Gamophylla. Curculios on C. Dug for lory at Rat’s hole.
Not get it though in ‘nest’ (straws) were ticks showing burrow
inhabited. Lizards – Grammatophora 3 sp. Vasarus 1 sp.
Egernica 2 sp. Long bodied lizard short legs & two others (see
sketch). In W.H. up gorge plant allied to ‘Trapa’ of Q.
Ordinary leaves like Vallisneria & flowering leaves on surface
like Potamogeton.
2 sp. Chara in full fruit.
Solarium erimophylla – purple flowers very spiny leaves.
Hibiscus krichauffii. Prostanthera striatiflora. Cassia
artemesioides etc. Typha angustifolia (Bulrush) Phraqriates
Australasica.

548771.jpg

SUNDAY, June 10. Left camp 8.40.
Travelled W along S of George Gill Range. Same high escarpment
with red projecting bluffs rounded off covered with mulga.
On sandy plains Santalum acuminatum (quandong) in full fruit –
not ripe. E. gamophylla & Tesselaris & pyrifolias. Hakeas.
grevilleas. Salsola. Very little Triodia. Spinifex.
E. latroli goodwinii (blue something like Willsii) macdonelli.
pachyphylla (red flowers) Cassia phyllodonea. Casuarina.
Acacias various sp. Claytonia polyandra (ref flower.)
C. pleispetala. polyandra balonensis apparently all called
parakilia in various parts. Prostanthera Wilkiana.
Jassinium simplicifolium shrub with bright green leaves &
green berries turning bluish. On rocks E. Terminalis.
rostrata as usual along gum crks. About 2.30 turned into
Reedy creek – running out into sand hills from semicircular
hollow of rocky cliffs with higher hill to W. end. Beautiful
rocky W.H. shut in except on S. side by cliffs about 100 ft.
high. Typha phragmites.

548772.jpg

Strong growth of Aspidium – few adiantum & cheilanthes.
Isotoma petroes – 2 blue lobelia.
In water large black planarian sp. as leaves of Potamogeton
(flowering). Under deleis stengyra (living). Bulinus (recessed)
Hadra – flattened form allied to peainflata
Hibbertia glaberrinia – largest flowering one k… yellow –
(Macdonell plant). Wahlenbergia gracilia.
In district around here & up from Police Camp grevillia
agrifolia – leaves with points like holly & red pendant pannicles.
Camp 30 1903 ft.
MONDAY, JUNE 11 Day in Camp 30. In morning went up escarpment
to gorge above W.H. 3 W.H’s last largest & shut in completely
at W. end by high round escarpment of rocks. Very little
animal life. Potamogeton – Chara. Dead Bulinus. Hibbertia
glaberrinia. Goodenia. Fig tree. Callitris with Loranthus
exocarpa growing on it. Cut up nest of termite made

548773.jpg

around roots of troidia (pungens?) Chambers & passages much same
as porcupine ant but no use apparently made of resin. Could
find no eggs. This nest on top of escarpment. Snake in pot
hole in gorge. (See notes). Came back to W.H. Hadra
(flattened form) alive. No trace of earthworms. Thysamuran (?)
in abundance amongst bases of reeds. In aft. went out with
Harry, Larry, Arali & Watt to sand hills. 2 nests of Conilivius
(sp) one with adult & 4 very young & 5 larger young ones.
Another with adult & 4 large immature. In burrows nests with
cut bits of grass. Scorpions. Lizards. Scolopendra.
Tate brought Oniscus. Spiders fairly plentiful around W.H.
TUESDAY, JUNE 13. Day in camp In morning went to Penny’s Crk. to see
cycads & ravine where reputed bats to be. Cycads on face of
bluff with small very shallow pool of water under ledge of rock.
Went up deep ravine (3 wallabies). Fig tree, Tecoma. Stiff

548774.jpg

climb first up cleft then down precipitous face of bluff.
No bats. Kind of gorge with rounded red bluffs reminding
one in form & colour of Colorado canons [canyons] on a small scale.
On E. side waterholes + good trickling water over stone
ledges. Pisiduim + new minute univalve orthopteran in pools
much like ? Trilthite in form,. Back to camp,. Aft. arranging
material + digging for worms + photo’ing W.H. No worms.
Pupa Bulimulus ? Stenogyra Hadra.

JUNE 14 WEDNESDAY. Watt, Belt, Cowle, self + ‘Larry’
1.10 Left camp at Reedy Crk. travelled S.S.W. along sandy flat.
1.30 Porcupine sand hills – Mulga + other bushes.
A. Salieina, Ermiophyllas (Sp. Goodwinii)
2 p.m. Passed low sandstone ridge (? end of)
Plenty of Casuarina ? Decaiseana on sand hills on flats.
3 p.m. Saw ?Finke to N.W. From sand hills had good view
of Carmiichael’s crag at W. end of Gills Range.
3.15 Crossed low sandstone ridge striking E + w.

548775.jpg

3.50. Crossed Kings Crk. (E. Rostrata) + passed by end of low Mulga –
covered sandstone ridge. Striking W.N.W. Dip 10◦ S.
4.15 Crossed Kings Crk. again.
4.45 Crossed end of Crk – where it runs out amongst the sandhills.
5.40 Camp just after sundown on hard clay pan. Camp 31a.
JUNE 14 THURSDAY. Left camp 7.50 a.m. Grassy flats between sandhills.
8.am Porcupine sandhills with sandhill gums. Leaves something
like E. Gamophylla in form but not Gamophyllous. Acacias, Mulgas,
Desert Oaks.
10.20 Passed within mile of low stoney ridge outcrop,.
11.10 Left isolated high hill to W. about 4 miles away.
Desert oaks. ? Grevilleas. Codonocarpus.
1.5 Passed E. end Winnall’s Ridge. This rises abruptly from
plain with high escarpment to N. Highest point. Towards
W. end + at about 3 mile …. Down to level of plain

548776.jpg

Strike of rocks E. + w. at E. end escarpment on S. side also
+ clearly seen to form a syncline. 10 minutes after passing
E. end of ridge outcrops of iron stone + quartzite.
Saw Pitcheri to N. of ridge on sand hills. Travelled W. for
quarter of hour along S. side of ridge on high ground with
distant views of Ayres Rock + Olga. Then S. to Kameron’s Well
(Urnterpata) in a flat with desert oaks + Tea Tree Melaleuca
round well. Latter is hole – about 12 feet deep in ? Travertine
+ is remains of broken down mound spring. Plenty of travertine
all round. 4 dead + very ‘high’ dingoes in the water so that
the horses (save one) refused to drink.
4 p.m. Started. Sand hills increased in height. Desert oaks.
4.30 Sand hill gums, Pitchuri, Santalum, Erimophylla
Goodwinii, E. Gammophylla, Pyriformis frequent in scrub.
Reached L. Amadeus 6 p.m. Crossed in twilight. Very picturesque,
white glistening sheet of salt with low ‘ scrubbed’ hills all round
save to E. where lake stretched away

548777.jpg

to the horizon. Across the lake were the tracks of the previous
party ( 8 weeks before) making black streaks across the white.
Very little boggy. Little over half mile when crossed.
20 miles to E. end. E. such much narrower than W. but
broadening out from where we crossed. At 6 miles to E. of
crossing is 10 miles broad.
6.15 camped 200 yards S. of lake on sandhill. Horses
tethered for night. Bad toothache here + often el…..tive
at nights. Emu, kangaroo + small marsupial tracks plentiful.
‘ L. Amadeus = Purntoo. Kamarans Well = Urnterpata (or Ventapata).
Dingo followed us half way across lake. Ant nests (white) very
plentiful, some standing up 2 ft. above ground. Made of hard
black substance (not red sand) but not so hard as Triodia ants.
Also triodia ant nests with galleries. Some of triodia tussocks
4 yards diameter. Country all day sand hills. Wire grass.
Porcupine + certain amount of Spinifex. Mulga very abundant –
one form with more blue grey

548778.jpg

foliage than usual + branches growing out more horizontally.
Comparatively little A. Salicina. Large quantity of Desert
Oaks – young form with pendant of foliage like funereal – hearse –
plumes. Before reaching lake passed by W. end of two flats with
travertine on them – probably indicate old mound springs.
Sand hill gum has silver-grey vey shiny trunk with yellow brown
thin papery bark which peels off in small scales perhaps 4 – 6 in. long by 1-2 or 3 broad. Younger leaves same colour + shape
as E. Gamophylla but not united across stem. Old leaves stalked
+ different in form – longer & narrower. Often umbrella-
shaped tops – green-grey up to 80 ft. Often 50-60 ft. Butt yard
thick.

Ant hills with mulga leaves (at times Grevillea
arranged concentrically round the crater like
mount. May be 2 ft. across mound.

Trap door spiders.
E. Tesselaris.
Very few birds. Small one amongst porcupine

548779.jpg

grass running along ground + flying very little. Few small
lizards. (Plenty of kangaroos on 1st day out of Reedy Crk.)
?
JUNE 15 FRIDAY. Started 7.10 a.m. Breakfast by starlight.
Distant view of Ayers R + Olga. S. from camp.
Desert Oaks, E. Gamophylla, Acacia, Pitchuri E. of Mallee
nature Sp?
7.30 crossed flat – arm of Amadeus.
9 a.m. Kurtitina – Coulthard’s Well. Old mound spring,
in impure travertine – Travertine & Siliceous Scinter.
Depth of well 10 ft. with side hole below this running down
in slanting direction to surface of muddy sand for 2 ft. more.
Shortly after leaving Amadeus saw mound bird nest in mallee
scrub.
Left 9.18 over sandy flats with travertine on surface.
Grevilleas + mulgas – desert oaks scarce.
Erimophylla Longifolia – Ptilotis Incanis Exaltatus +
Latifolius. Templeltonia (Broom).
Minahs, Port Lincoln parrots, Wedge Bills, Chestnut Sand Finches –
2 hawks, 2 white plumed

548780.jpg

[In margin:] B. Lesueurii ?

Honey Eaters, Porcupine birds, Bettongias plentiful.
10.30 a.m. In burnt ?back sand hill country.
Occasional clumps Sheoaks + Mulga:
Yellow small butterflies. Same country to within ¾ mile of
Ayres Rock then plain with mulga scrub. Nests of honey ants
dug out by Blacks. Erippus close to rock.
Small W.H. in N. face of rock. First water for horses after
Reedy Crk. ¾ mile on around rock. (E. Tesselaris).
Camped in deep cleft-like recess of rock. Only open to W.
Good W.H. Tadpole – water beetles – Cockroaches, Bull Dog +
other ants.
JUNE 16 SATURDAY. In camp at Ayres Rock. Watt + self went out early round
rock. Copied Black drawings,. Photo sides very precipitous. Possible ascent at S.W. corner (probably where Gorse went up).
Smooth surface with scales peeling off. Big blocks all round
base with hollowing out of rocks forming so-called caves.
Blacks’ drawings + crow dung.

548781.jpg

Fig trees. Mulga, Kangaroo Grass – Maggie’s.
[In margin:] Sphenostoma Cristata. Crested Wedge Bill
Springs not nearly so much water as when Cowle + party there
8 weeks ago. Spinifex.
Curtain-like appearance of rock sides on N.
E. end formed by a rounded hummock mass.
In aft. dug up sugar ant nest + photo. Nest. No mound at surface.
Slight overhanging ledge of sand with hole slit like about 2 in.
long & ¾ in high. From this hole goes straight down about
¾” diameter for about 5 ft. Side passages lead off from
central burrow with ants in + few sugar ants but no separate
chambers for latter …. Are incapable of much if of any
movement. Got 7 with two other kinds. –worker + males.
Blacks say there is winged ant but could not find it.
Egg case + embryos. Latter out of another nest.
In W.H. at camp got tadpole large + bluish general body colour
with dark mottling. In spirits. Resembles closely tadpole
of ? Restivating frog but colour different when alive.
No adult frog + no croaking heard. (Note. The frog obt.
[In margin:] H. Pictus.

548782.jpg

burrowing in sand. Croaks something like the ‘Chuck-Chuck’
of a hen.) The small dark frog (as at e.g. Goyder Spring)
has Queck-Queck pitched in high tone.
Since leaving Gills Range scarcely a trace of grasshoppers.
Small beetles near side of water + few spiders on water.
Plenty of bulldog ants.

JUNE 17, SUNDAY. Left camp 9.10 over sandy flats with porcupine.
9.40 photd. Ayers Rock from about 2 miles to W. Low sand hills -
occasional desert oaks – Grevilleas & Cassias.
10.15 Started again. Low sandhills, occasional dense Mulga.
12.10 Camped for lunch amongst desert oaks.
1.45 started again. E. Gamophylla – Oaks – Mulga.
1 solitary Codonocarpus. Sandy flats. Dense Mulga Scrub
(good deal dead). An-craters with Mulga leaves. White ant
mounds 1’ – 1’6” high. At about 16 miles got level with
most E. point of Olga which is a mass of hills all united at base –
mostly in form of high domes which slant over at top.

548783.jpg

Rock is conglomerate with larger boulder near base + smaller ones
towards top. Streaked with green licken + black deposit.
General rock red at Ayers Rock. Went along S. side at base of
highest point. Huge precipices with deep ravine separating two
hills. Crk. runs out of ravine onto plain. E,. Rostrata
+ Tesselaris Santalum Capparis – Mulga.
In scrub around ? Whalenbergia Gracilis with red bugs.
Kangaroo Grass. Surprised native camp + one man wanted to
spear us but desisted on explanation from native with us.
Asked them to come to our camp but they followed in a little –
then seemed frightened & went up steep slopes at S. of one
of hills & camped amongst scrub & porcupine taking all
belongings with them.
Two trees marked T T (E Tesselaris
S.75 7.89
Both evidently marked at same time & by same hand.)
Few Pituri (Duboisia Hopwoodi) on way over. Ptilotis Incanis
Latifolius Exaltatus. Caught 1 young emu.

548784.jpg

Height of Finke ….. 1603
Souder Camp 2135

Mt Olga lovely salmon pink in morning with blue shadow under
lofty dome-shaped tops. Ayers Rock somewhat brighter red
colour in form of flattened dome. As neared Olga it
gradually broke up into separate rounded ?peaks. Ground rises
all round Olga covered with Mulga. In WH are numerous holes
dug out by Blacks in search of honey ants. Blacks in camp
near Olga had ‘Whirlies”. 2 good ?Chyriosis with 2 rat tails’
one at each side at top. Small ‘baskets’ about 1 ft. long
3” broad + deep made of possum skin wound round with string
(of Possom hair) with emu feathers + containing flints +
necklet of rat-tails belonging to Lubra Emu
Possum
Yam stick with flint at end stuck in with resin from Triodia.
Good spears + ? Pidjico.
Camped at Felix Springs. Very small & apparently not permanent
under two marked trees of ? Tietkins.
JUNE 19, MONDAY. Photd. gorge before sunrise. Very windy during
night with short sharp showers

548785.jpg

Hast Bluff E.Pt. 3,690 Scarped Top 467 FT.
= Quartzite + Sandstone
Escarpemnt 3,233 Base of
Middle ? 4,oo9 Mt Zeil (? Herkli) 4,786
W. Pt. 4,646 Mt. Zeil 4,040
(Razor Back)
Mt.Souder 4,497

During evening. Bright moonlight down ravine.
Left camp 8 a.m. Stopped at Blacks’ camp & got few things.
Basket, amongst others with Emu pattern used by man at Corrobborree
times + rat tail ornament of his Lubra (used ditto). Flints
must be carried some distance as none nearer to Olga than Gills
Range. The shouting made by our 2 Black fellows to bring them
i.e. Blacks down from Olga was something remarkable, the whole
body being brought into use to force out a volume of very high-
pitched sounds.
(Ventilago Virninalis – Drooping Tree with long lanceolate
leaves – near lunching place at gorge with S. MacDonells &
along valley to Finke. Erin Sturtii – stouter leaves.)
[In margin:] See later on June 30
Blacks very frightened at first but were reassured by Johnny
Cakes, fat, sugar + few lucifers. Gave Black my sheath knife for his gear – chignons + ‘basket’. Latter evidently
precious. Dense Mulga scrub again.
Left Blacks’ camp after 45 mins. 4 Blacks following

548786.jpg

us to Ayers Rock. Kept up whole way with us 21-22 miles
running & walking. Stopped to photo Olga at 10.25 on sandy
rise looking over plain with desert oak & Mulga. Took Olga
from E. side on 2 plates. Low lying ridge away to N. of us.
Mts. away to S. Sandy ridges in succession to Ayers Rock.
Oaks Mulga, Porcupine, Ptilotus Codonocarpus, Pituri.
Few E. Gamophylla. Near Ayres Rock a Salicina purple blue plum
(Sanatalum Lanceolatum) ripe at Olga. Aalso Whalenbergia
Gracilis with red bugs on it. At camp at Ayres found that
lubras had collected some 54 sugar ants + 2 scorpions. Went
out with Watt to copy native drawings on hollows at base of &
amongst fallen rocks + round Ayers Rock. Got yellow
flowering shrub with beetles on – up to 8 ft. sticky leaves.
Stem at thickest 2½-3 in. on side of rock. Found Blacks had
2 kangaroos shot by Larry (see sketch book). Watched them
extract 2 sinews from each leg by means of

548787.jpg

cutting with stone at end of woomera through skin. Then took
hitch with yam stick round sinew & pulled with foot against
rump. Then stretched sinew with teeth & cut off with woomera.
Sinew twisted up & put into waist string. Small opening made
into abdominal wall – intestines pulled out & hole stitched
up with short stick sharpened to point by teeth.
Limb dislocated.
Tail cut off to stump. With fur on
Laid in shallow depression in ground in which fire previously
made & embers scattered over but by no means covering whole body.
So cooked for about 1 hr. Ribs cut through with yam stick.
Tail severed from sacrum & latter from front part of vertebral
column. Liver, heart, etc. taken out & eaten. Black doing the
cutting up into joints kept helping himself during process to
dainty morsels such as kidneys. Using his teeth also to tear
skin off. Then meat eaten by all. If desired to be further
cooked – rolled in ashes.

548788.jpg

& cooked further therein to suit taste of eater. Considerable
amount of same & ashes eaten. Esp. with entraials which are
well rubbed in them. When actually cutting into joints the
whole beast was laid on branches of acacia with leaves on.
The whole was a filthy greasy sight & the joints anything but
artistic.

TUESDAY, JUNE 30

[There are a number of empty pages following]

548789.jpg

548790.jpg

TUESDAY, JUNE 26. Left camp about 8. Travelled over to N. side of
S. MacDonnells till struck Crk. (Davenport) flowing between the
N. & S. range of hills forming the S. MacDonnells. Turned W.
& then retraced tracks (small WH in crk.) to gorge leading
through to small plain onto Glen Helen Station which was
reached just as camel train did. Found that Keartland had got
15 Princess Alexandrine parrots. On at base of MacDonells
E. from Razorback (Ziel) to camp at Redbank Crk. close to foot of
Mt. Souder. Very disappointing & barren.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27. To gorge in morning. Fine sight. Great red rocks.
rising directly from deep pool. WH ran through range only some
6 ft. across – quite impassable.
Fish in pools – Bream – gold spotted large & small. Form with
bright golden bands (as at Tempe Downs). Transversely black
striped form (? trumpets out of water) Cat fish. No sign of
frogs. Scutigera.

548791.jpg

Water beetles. Few beetles under stone but scarcely trace of
life.
[In margin:] Peragale Lagotis
Marsupial (white & grey diprotodont) in gin trap.
Way to gorge over limestone low hills ( to S. of Redbank.)
Souder of quartzite. Small outcrops of Gneiss near base.
Aft. arranging specimens.
THURSDAY, JUNE 28 – Day in camp. Took camel & camera to gorge.
Fossicked about but got very little. Hadra + Angillus.
Pupa Stenegyra. Fish as before. Errinoph Christophora
on limestone hills. New Claytonia in crk. bed. with all pink
flower. Aft. in & about camp arranging specimens, going over
course to Ayers with Winnecke, changing slides etc. Face bad.
Kangaroos, black cockatoos, Crane.
FRIDAY, JUNE 29. Left camp 9. Taylor shot marsupial.
Lagorchestes (?) Back towards Glen Helen Station then through
gorge with rocks dipping slightly S. (on N. side of Davenport
slightly N.) so that Davenport really to S. of Razorback &

548792.jpg

to S. of Razorback & Sonder Is hollowed out of an anticline – the lower beds being
limestone. Lunched just at entrance to gorge leading along Crk.
Through N. hills of S. MacDonnells. Got ?clumps of red & black
bugs in colonies in debris from flood. Coccinclid Beetle.
[In margin:] + white ants
T Mitchell
(Cockroach from top of Souder up wh. Porcupine goes. Plenty
of Old Man Porcupine in limestone hills to S. of Redbank Crk.)
Through gorge & then turned E. along valley directly contiguous
to W. with ? Merime Valley. Plenty of Mulga – Cassia –
varying forms of Erimophylla) Ptilotis – (Erimophylla ? Vervista
on Missionary Plains.) Kept crossing crk. runnig E. to
Finke Gorge. Watershed two or three miles to E. of gorge
through wh. we passed after lunch. Plenty of small green
Parrakeets flyig about. High escarpment to S. of us with
blocks of rocks falling down & lying on one another so as to give
appearance of horizontal stratification. Camped after sundown
amongst mulga & A.Salicina Farnesiana Tetragonophilla & Cassias.
Distance 20 miles.

Razorback

Davenport

548793.jpg

SATURDAY, JUNE 30. On for ½ miles to Finke Gorge – River running
& brackish. Fresh spring – very small holding about 1 bucket.
Full of water on rocks to W. of Gorge below camp. River cuts
right from N. to S. through succession of ranges forming the
S Macdonnells. Went in aft. up to Big Gorge N. end.
Completely blocked by water hole very deep – Rocks rising
precipitously – one end. With wall-like ridges standing out.
Tried dynamite in W.H. Small Therapon & Bream. Harry went over
hill & got new Swainsonia for Tate. Few Blacks along with 2
Whites after cattle camped near gorge – chewing Pituri. Blacks
brought in few mice & lizards, Cockrooach, Hadras, Stenogyra
Scolopendra. Evening writing up notes. Bad night.
SUNDAY, JULY 1. Day in camap. In morning skinned snake (Spilotis Sp.)
Kept skull & skin. No parasites. Took out reprod. organ of
o possum (Petrogale Lateralis?) Young one in pouch. 4 teats.

548794.jpg

Went down gorge to S. collecting snails etc. Got Oniscus.
Plentiful under stones on hillside where earth damp. Pupa.
Flattened Hadra. Scorpion. Scolopendra. One or two beetles.
Cockroaches.
After dinner out to gorge again. Good succession of W.H.
surrounded by reeds. Running water. No sign of molluscs.
Chara (& same form of ?Characeous plant as at Illara W.H. +
running waters etc. No frogs to be seen or heard.
[In margin:] ? Naias Major
Rocks red sandstone + strata nearly perpendicular. Dynamite
in pools – little result. Striped ‘Trumpeter’ Therapon
cat
spotted & longit. Golden striped forms. Bream mud fish seen
but not got.
[In margin:] Acanthodrilus Eremius
Dug with Pritchard for worms. Got some in damp earth on
hillside – apparently same form as at Police Camp. Small beetles
in earth along with worm but somewhat nearer surface. Cocoons
with every distinct ‘tags’ at both ends. Two or three rock
wallabies (Petrogale Lateralis?) brought in. Mail came in during
day. Letters from French & L ... Afterwards wrapped up all
specimens & in evening wrote up diary & let off fireworks for
benefit of Blacks.

548795.jpg

MONDAY, JULY 2 . Left camp 9.30. Went through Finke Gorge to S.
Rocks dipping to S. conglomerate for some distance. W.H. in
plenty but all brackish & very little life about. Black
cockaktoos & brown shouldered & Blue Malurus. Followed bed of
Finke then bank to old shed by W.H. where lunched. On all aft.
across Missionary Plains with scrub – Cassia. Eremophylla
Acacia. Aneura Salicina etc. Few gamophyllas as neared
Mission Station. View of Mt. Giles & Sonder to N. of us with
small rolling hills forming the S. Macdonnells. Reached station near to Finke about 4.30 Mr. Heidenreich gave us welcome.
Had tea with him. Whole place looking more or less deserted.
Garden with date palms growing in it & good vegetables. Whole
country very dry, uninteresting & very devoid of life.
TUESDAY, JULY 3. Early morning in camp at Hermannsburg. Left about
11 a.m. Went down Finke which short way from Station Finke

548796.jpg

turns sharply E. & enters Krichauf Range. Deep gorge with
high picturesque red cliffs – sandstone & conglomerate,
Cassias. Ermophyllas. Eucalypts. Grevillia Agrifolia.
After 8 or 9 miles along gorge came to palms. Finke takes
sharp bend to E. & then S. again. Gorge very fine with
pinnacled cliffs up sides of crk. Rocks broken up into
great red horizontal masses & the whole piled up most
picturesquely. Aft. lunch down gorge & spent till dusk
searching for shells. Got fews Liparus under fig tree in
debris.
[In margin: Liparus Spenceri
Scorpii. Mice. Skink Lizard. ?Forficula. ? Symnea in
pools. ? Melania. Water Beetles. Cricket on sand by side
of pools. Aft. Stirling & Heidenreich came up & went on to
Glen of Palms in morning.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4. Tate & self went out collecting again & got same
things.
[In margin:] Sialis Burtoni
Arate got Delma (?) Stirling & Heidenreich came back from
Glen of Palms & reported it worth camping up there so in aft.
packed up & went. Very fine gorge, with waterholes in flat
rocky bed surrounded by phragmites. Cassia Artemisioides &
Erinophylla beautifully.

548797.jpg

in flower.
[In margin:] Indigofera very abundant along Finke.
White grey leaves with red purple flowers.
Big sweep of red cliffs about 2½ miles up overgrown with
cycads & one or two solitary palms in bed of crk. on rocks.
A little waty beyond this crk. turns W. & cliffs open out
before closing in again where is real Glen of Palms. Camped
on small open sandy flat. Went out collecting. Big live
Hadra ? Pernoflata & flattened form & also banded form.
THURSDAY, JULY 5. Day in camp. All day out collecting. Photo in
morning also cut down palm – 21 years at least (Livistona
Mariae) – Tallest must be about 100 ft. Very like Cabbage
Palm. Young ones in clefts in rocks in bed of valley
growing plentifully. Red leaves. Also young of Cycad
(Encepalaratos = Macrozamia Macdonnelli). Got 3 or 4 sp.
of beetles. Scolopendra. Millipedes. Scutigera.
Cockroaches abundant. Water holes with long Bream 2 sp.
Golden ? ... form “Catfish” Dytiscu Ostracods. Spiders
Chara. ? Potaringeton. In palm only cockroach & bug.

548798.jpg

Collecting in debris & under stones. Plentiful supply of
snails. ? Syrunga in water. Hadra per Inflata. 2 new sp.
Hadra. Pupa. Bulimulus Stenogyra. Bats at night.
Crow with series of calls in diff. keys.
FRIDAY, JULY 6. Day in camp. Collecting all time. Morning up
crk. Beetles, cockroaches, snails, lizards. Went to
‘Limestone’ spring with plenty of small stalagmites &
stalactites forming. ? Syrunca in small pools with Dytisicus
& small beetles. Searched under stones long time.
Scorpions, snails, abundant supply of Hadra Perinflata with
flattened form. Stoney debris of water overflow is being
formed with conglomerate by deposit of limestone. Tate got
flowering specimens of water plant found at Running Waters &
Illara – Naias Major allied to Potamgeton. But very
different in form – spiny leaves. Lizards - ?Egenia - ? Scincolos
Gramatophora. Frogs in sand & Hyla
[In margin:] Large small beetles
In aft. Tate & self up crk. getting snails. ? Chelifex –
One under bank of Melaleuca (in morning), another in debris
under fig tree. One or two carabs, brown coccinclid under
debris at root of Melaleuca. Oviscus forms plentiful under
stones.
[In margin:] This applies to July 5.
[In margin:] Aft. getting fish ? Homocercal Tail ..
Surface dark colour with lighter transverse bands.
Brown spotted dorsal fins. Also Bream black banded form, longit. Gold banded Galaxias ? + gold spotted Galax.
No Cat Fish seen. Fish in many but by no means all pools.

548799.jpg

SATURDAY, JULY 7. Day in camp.In morning down crk. to Cycad Gorge.
Naias Majaor in water. Acacia Pyrifolia with very handsome
spheres of flowers. Spent while there turning over stones.
Small beetles – Carabs. Bourbador Beetles. Spiders,
Cockroaches, Hyla (specimens) Banded Cockroaches.
Plenty of ?Syrunca ? spills. ? Melania in water,. Very
few fish in lower pools. Bed of river of flat rocks.
Cycads all up precipitous sides of gorge. All along crk.
Cycads & palms almost confined to N. bank.
(Hibbertia ? Glabessina on Palm Crk.) In aft. went with Tate.
? Glaberrina
Up hillside on S. of Crk. searched for snails under fig.
Capparis growing in fig with banded fruit. Scincoid lizard
in Old Man Porcupine. Burnt Pupa. ?Bulin ulus. As usual
Eremophylla. Freelingi (blue) ? Latroli (red) Mulga &
Callitris on all hill tops & sides. Solitary ant with banded
abdomen under stones in crk. bed.
SUNDAY, JULY 8. Left camp about 9.30. Travelled back along Palm Crk.
Cassia. Artemesioides in

548800.jpg

full flower. Comparatively few pods & most of what there were
contained ill-formed seeds. Flowers either ? omemophilus
or if as most likely ? entomophilous must be suffering from
lack of insect life. Never found an insect in flowers of Cassia.
Too cold at nights & often biting S.E. wind during daytime.
Tea tree scrub thick along Finke. Saw flock of 69 duck & teal
mixed on big W.H. Erimophylla Elderi (Blue & much like
E. Goodwini) in flower. A. Farnesiana in bed. Camp about 3
& spent all rest of day in labelling & packing away till late
in evening. Good many Hapalotis mice had been brought in.
Also Antechinomys 2 males.
MONDAY, JULY 9. Left camp 9.30. Travelled E. all day over Missionary
Plains. Gamophylla Mulga & Cassia & Erimophylla scrub.
(E Longifolia often in big patches). Acacia Salicina – fine
trees with leaves of some very pendanat leaving twigs bare above
like weeping willow – in others not nearly so pendant.
? not vernio
A. Dictyophleba in flower. Yellow Helichrysia. Old Man Porcupine
& Triodia Uritans. (Few Desert Oaks)

548801.jpg

Ellery Crk. at 12 running S. into Kirchauff where is a very
big W.H. Few straggling W.H.’s along plain. Bettonugia.
Porcupine bird. Wedgetailed Eagle. Multi-coloured Parrot.
Port Lincoln Cockatoo Parrots. Wedge Bill (heard from early
morning to late night). Malurus. Good views back to W.&
Gosse’s Range. Mts. Sonder & Giles & S. MacDonnells.
Paisley’s Bluff to N.E. by E. Camp 5. Decided in
evening to go off to Paisley’s Bluff & so to Alice. Stirling
going on via Owen Springs with team. Distance 20 miles.
Travelling nearly W. all day towards Waterhouse Range which runs
somewhat to the S. to be continuous with the E. end
of the Erichauff Range. A few cocoons of Social Caterpillars
on Cassia shrub with web leading to base of shrub.
Thermometer 17 at night.
TUESDAY, JULY 10. Winnecke, Belt, Tate & self left camp about 9
leaving Stirling & Keartland to go on with the train at Owen
Springs & so to the Alice. Turned N. over undulating plain
with scrub &

548802.jpg

Porcupine Grass. Mulga. Salicina. Gamophylla.
Cassias. E.Longifolia. Very few flowers. Traverting at
intervals & stoney flats. Lunched in Crk. (Harris Crk.)
Branch of Hugh. On in aft. ground undulating with Porcupine
Hills & thick Mulga scrub. Hard work for camels. Kept
getting nearer to MacDonnells with views of Paisley & Brinkley’s
Bluff to N. Cassia Artemisioides in full flower. E Latroli
& patches of E. Viscida in flower. Ptilotis Exaltus. Nobilis &
Ellipticoides (small reddish) Incanis. During day saw plenty
of wedgetailed Eagles close to – varied in colour from very dark
to light brown. Kangaroos – red & grey. Got into jumble on
hills to S. of MacDonnells – all rounded with Porcupine & composed
of gravels. Found spring of water in hill just before sunset –
coming out of gully & held in conglomerate. Camped by Tea-Tree
Crk. Zygophyllum in flower. Distance (in straight line)
17 miles. Height of camp
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11. Left camp 8 a.m. Went up gully between Porcupine
round topped hills to spring water. Warm where issuing from
conglomerate. Not

548803.jpg

black & red & black. On to E. to base of Mt. Conway then back
as no way over. Travelled up Hugh from camping ground.
Pretty tough. Mulga scrub. Followed crk. up into undulating
plain through gorge with Gneissic cliffs – up to near Paisley’s
Bluff. Camped at good W.H. amongst mountains. Brinkley’s
Bluff to E. of us, showing above hills at head of valley.
Got beetles usual under stones & 6 hylas (sp ?) Latter (see
sketch) with yellow on under surface of legs & arm & sidea of
body in axil of legs Hibbertia ? Glaberrima. Decided to spell
at least half a day at this camp. Distance 15½ miles.
Camped soon after 4.30. Height 2168.
THURSDAY, JULY 12. Day in camp. In morning photod for short timwe then
went up valley to gorge to W. of Paisley’s Bluff. Cycads
growing in it. Cassia, Glutinosa. Callitris. E. Rostrata –
Vesselaris. Few small W.H. 19 Hyla under one stone. Beetles
in same position as usual. 2 scolopendras, good sized
cockroaches. Very little life about. Grevillea Agrifolia in
flower. Tate got brown banded snail.

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Got solitary black ant under stone as before. Also what appears
to be a small kind of honey ant golden brown colour – under stone.
Curculis (?sp) on flower of cassia glutinosa.
In aft. went into mulga scrub after ants. Mound like crater with
mulga leaves radially arranged. Burrows in mound and beneath
about 1 in. diameter. Few large black ants (see specimen)
Also opened mound with slit & grass seeds on it. Large black
ants somewhat similar to crater mound. Opened white ant nest
(mound 1’6” high 9” diameter. ? Scithyera under log very
few beasts under stones. Back to camp & labelled specimens.

Thick deposit on leaves of mulga.
all arranged radially. Crater on top
leads down to central opening from wh.
burrows go out & downwards in slanting
direction amongst stony ground beneath.
Harry brought in 5 Rock Wallabies (Petrogale Lateralis)
Length from snout to tail 23” Tail ditto. 3 young ‘Joeys’
in 3 females (1 in each pouch). Saw no fish in W.H.’s.
Went up hillside.

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2185 2136

Near camp Cycad. E. viscida. Black ants. Under quartzite
stone with 1 winged (brown one) in nest. Plenty of white
ants on top of hill under stones. Yellow insect under A
(Lycopodi Folia ?) on top of hill. Coccus on same plant.
FRIDAY, JULY 13. Left camp about 8.30 Followed up Hugh through
plain amongst Mts. with gorge at camp. Then about ¼ mile
through another.


Paisley Bluff
[In margin:] Brinkley’s Bluff



Then crk. turns to E. again & then N.
through gorge a little to W. of
Brinkley’s bluff. All gorges cut through
metamaorphic rocks. Fine view of
Brinkley’s Bluff to E. of last gorge.
Out into Jumble of hills to N. or main range.
Few cassias in flower & E. ‘viscida & ? Freelinghi
& “Lateroli (red) with A. sentis. Tetragonaphylla
& mulga. Lunched.

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at small W.H. 3 sp. Chaara Bulinus. (Newcumbei?) alive under stone
with particles of damp earth filling up opening. Along with this
Dytiscus. Great number of black & red staphylinidis under stones
& usual small beetles. Banded Hadra in debris close by crk.
On amongst hills over watershed then some 6 miles – very rough
travelling. Patches of Indigofera – Melaleuca bordering streams.
Latter running N. Kangaroo in flats & Petrogale lateralis on
hills. Final very stiff climb for camels up Gueissii hill –
down to Burt Plains. Flock of more than 50 Black Cockatoo.
Cmped in bed of small crk. distance 16½ miles. Height 2185 Ft.
SATURDAY,JULY 14. Left camp 8.45. Travelled E. for 13¼ miles to
? Painta Spring. Well. Date palm. Banded Hadra &
[In margin:] Mt. Solitaire
reversed ? Bulimulus amongst debris under fig leaves. After
lunch straight on along base of hills. Mulga scrub.
Tesselaris Cassia. Erimophylla ? Freelinghi

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Painted Lady. Exippus & 1 white butterfly. Turned S. when
struck Telegraph Line & went for mile or two towards Alice
Springs. Saw escarpment – continuation of ? Merine Bluff.
Camped in sand bed of crk. with Gueiss rocks. Distance 27
miles. Height 2135 ft. Quail Hawks ? Cat birds, Procupine
bird, Kangaroo. Plenty of Santalum – Good many Capparis.
At well Painta Crk. got Dytiscus with golden spots. Along
with this larger & smaller Dytiscus. One or two beetles &
cockroach.
[In margin:] ? Nympanocyptus Lincatus.
Tate got lizard like Densis but more spiny. (See Mites).
SUNDAY, JULY 15. Left camp 8.30. Travelled in along Telegraph Line
to A.S. Halted for a few minutes at the station and then went
on to the camp at the Heavitree Gorge. Through the township
of Stewart. Creek – sandy red. Few W.H.’s. Quite dry at
Gap. In aft. went back to A.S. with Stirling, Tate, Watt &
Gillen intending to return to camp next morning.
MONDAY, JULY 16. Morning at A.S. Aft. ? Field. Drove

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Tate & self to ? Conlain Lagoon in search of a big ? Phyllopod
of which we heard. Got the Curapace (dead) for field &
? S. Grin. None to be seen. Got big spider said to ‘Boo’ or
bark but this is a myth. Phrictis Crassipes.
TUESDAY, JULY 17. Day about A.S.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18. Main party left for S. Watt remained to go to the
gold & ruby fields & at Gillen’s invitation I stayed to get beasts
ESR the new rat like form one of wh. had been given to us by South.
Ph. Macdonnellensis).
THURSDAY, JULY 19 – Sunday Aug. 5. Stayed with Gillen – working all the
time at beasts brought in by the Blacks. Taking colour sketches
etc. Spent a night out with Besley – 2 miles to the E. of the
Heavi Tree Gap in a vain attempt to hear the Spiders ‘Boo’. There
is no doubt that this noise is made by quail. It is heard always
in time when & places where quails are about. At the same time
the spider can make by rubbing the basal joint of its Peri on the
? jaws a kind of low whistling sound,. (Phricitus crassipes).

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1. Native well known as Kamarand’s Well. Native name Urnturpătă
[In margin:] Copy sent to E.C.S. Dec. 23/95
Belongs in Horn Diary commencing May 3, 1894. A. West
This is situated on a flat amongst sand hills between Winnall’s Ridge
(a very short distance to the S. of this) & Lake Amadeus.
It is a deep hole in a deposit of travertine about eight to ten feet
in diameter at the top & narrowing down to 4 or 5 feet at the
bottom where there is a pool of water perhaps a foot or at most
2 feet deep. The surface of the water is some 14 feet below that
of the ground. At the time of our visit it contained the bodies
of 5 dead dingoes which had ventured into it in search of water
but had been unable to clamber out owing to the precipitous sides.

2. Native well known as Coulthard’s Well. Native name Kurtïtïna.
Situated on a flat amongst sand hills about 10 miles S of Lake Amadeus
It is a deep hole in a deposit of travertine but much smaller than in
the case of Kamarand’s Well. It starts with a diameter

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of perhaps
3 feet at most & goes down somewhat slantingly for 10 feet where
there is just room for one person to turn round. From the base of
the main hole a smaller one runs off sideways, going down about
2 feet more. In this is black damp mud which after having been
scooped out, water trickled in very slowly. After about 12 hours
some 3 quarts were secured.
Drawing of same as follows:-










Section of Section of
Kamarand’s Coulthard’s
Well Well.

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