NulMIl t^UKENSLAND BTHNOGKAPHY — ItOTM. 



Gf) 



11. North of the Palmer River, scattereil right througli the 

 Peninsula, up to oei'tainly the Embley Uiver on the Gulf (>0!i.st, 

 is to l)e seen a type of hut built on a .square framework on the 

 pi'inciple of a ridge-pole supported by two upright-forked stick.s, 

 very commonly of Pandanus, the dichotomous growth of whicli 

 lends itself admirably for tlie purpo.se. In its simplest form 

 it consists of a single ridge-pole (tig. 41rt) over whicli a sheet 

 or sheets of bark are made to rest; in May, 1902, at a spot 

 east of the telegraph line between Moreton and Macdonnell I 

 passed a native encampment made up of a series of these, fixed 

 end on end, like a huge tunnel quite thirty feet long. On the 



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41a. 



Fi-. ilb. 



Middle Palmer, the Koko-minni make use of the bark obtained 

 from one or otiier of the following timbers : — " Iron-wood " 

 {Erythrophlceum laboucherii, F.v.M.), Melaleuca sp., " Aless- 

 mate " or " Box- wood." In the next stage the hut will consist 

 of two ridge-poles similarly supporting a bark-sbeet (fig. 416). 

 Then comes the condition where short sticks are laid across the 

 lidge-poles to form a bunk upon which an individual may sleep at 

 night, and below which shade may be obtained by day. These 



Fig. 42. 



sleeping platforms ;^tig. 42) are common in the hinterland 

 of Princess Charlotte Bay, a sheet or two of bark on the cross- 

 pieces making it more comfortable to lie upon. PI. xi., tier. 2, 

 represents one from the Lower Normanby River. To the right of 

 the platform in the picture can be seen a " step " also formed of 

 a forked limb pressed against the upright at an angle with the 

 ground, while to the front will be detected the remains of a 

 fire, the smoke from which keeps the sleepers free from 

 mosquitoes ; the tire is never built immediately beneath. Such 

 a platform is built from five to .six feet high, and may accommo- 

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