82 



Land Magnetic Observations, 1911-13 



The stations occupied were as follows : 



Table 8. 



Vergemont cattle station was reached in the evening of September 16 after a good day's 

 run of about 100 miles. I observed there the following day, and left the next morning for 

 Mayne Junction Hotel, near the junction of the Diamantina River with its tributary, the 

 Mayne. The track was very rough, especially over some low, red ranges, and the crossing 

 over the bed of the Mayne River was exceptionally bad. No motors had previously 

 attempted to get through, so that our car was the first to penetrate past Vergemont. After 

 observing at Mayne Junction, I left for Boulia, which was reached the same night. 



Next morning I set out for Bedourie, a small isolated township in the sandhill country. 

 Some rocky, bare plains made traveling very slow, and the sand hills stopped us several 

 times, the car having to be dug out. We managed to get around the sand hills, and by a 

 piece of good luck we struck a very faint track which seemed to lead in the required direc- 

 tion. By following this we at last reached Bedourie late that night, one solitary light in 

 the darkness marking the position of the township. As we were the first motorists through, 

 the natives fled screaming from "the debil debil with the two bright eyes," as they termed 

 the motor. I established a station next day, and, while observing, a small whirlwind sud- 

 denly struck the tent, the pegs were pulled out, as they were in loose sand, and the tent 

 wrapped itself round both observer and instrument. No damage, however, was done, 

 except the breaking of the suspension fiber. Bedourie is a township of 12 people and con- 

 sists of a hotel, a store, and a police station, with one house and a few sheds. 



On the return journey to Boulia, we were able to miss the worst parts of the road and 

 so made a fairly quick journej'. After observing at Boulia, I left for Urandangi, which 

 was reached after almost a 2-days' run. Rain fell, delaying the observations for half a day, 

 and then another 2-days' run took us to Camooweal, near the border of Queensland. After 

 establishing a magnetic station here, I left for the Northern Territoiy. A few miles 

 from Camooweal is the rabbit-proof fence which forms the boundary between Queensland 

 and the Territory. A run of 120 miles took us to Alexandria cattle station and, after 

 observing there, I left for Anthony Lagoon Police Station, the end of my outward journey. 

 The lagoon is a fine, large, and deep waterhole, and it is a meeting-place for large flocks of 

 parrots and cockatoos, and the home of ducks, geese, and other waterfowl. The work 

 having been completed at Anthony Lagoon, I followed our tracks back to Camooweal, after 

 observing at Brunette cattle station, between Anthony Lagoon and Alexandria. The 

 country was not very interesting, large stony plains alternating with patches of the so-called 

 "desert country," which was sandy and had gum timber and scrub. This contained kang- 

 aroos, emus, and wild turkeys, which were quite numerous in parts. No bush blacks, nor wild 

 blacks, were seen, their camps being away from the trail and farther inland. Water was very 

 scarce, and all cattle on the runs were round the bores, sub-artesian water being obtained. 

 As the road between Camooweal and Cloncurry is very rough and hilly, and from all 

 accounts impracticable for motors, it was necessary to return to Urandangi and thence to 



