Vol. XVIII. 



1919 



] White, Ornithological Trips to Nullabor Plains. 1 89 



Four Ornithological Trips to the Nullabor 

 Plains. 



By (Capt.) S. a. White, C.M.B.O.U., Past President R.A.O.U. 



The Nullabor Plains and the country in between the plains and 

 Port Augusta had a very strong calling for the writer for many 

 years, because I was of the opinion that it must hold many orni- 

 thological surprises. My wife and I had almost penetrated the 

 great plains when we went beyond the Gawler Ranges, and I 

 had outflanked them from the north when on the North-Western 

 expedition. It remains now, after visiting several times the 

 district in question, to record my disappointments. It may be 

 as well, before proceeding with the narrative of my trips to the 

 Nullabor Plains and surrounding districts, to say a few words 

 about the formation of the country. After leaving Port Augusta 

 stony table-lands are met with (same as pertain many hundreds 

 of miles to the north), then myall and salt-bush flats. Before 

 reaching Tarcoola more sandy conditions prevail, when mulga 

 {Acacia aneura) and black oak {Casuarina, sp. ?) and other shrubs 

 are seen. Less than a hundred miles from Tarcoola brings us to 

 the edge of the great sand-hills, which extend for another hundred 

 miles. The sand-hills run almost parallel to north of west and 

 south of east ; they are formed by the wind, and only have a few 

 hundred yards of flat country in between each ridge. They are 

 covered in a fairly dense scrub, acacias predominating. These 

 sand-hills stop abruptly near Ooldea native veil, and a vast level 

 limestone area covered in salt-bush and blue-bush stretches out 

 as far as the eye can reach, and hundreds of miles beyond. Here 

 and there, miles apart, a stunted bush may be seen, chiefly " dead 

 finish " {Acacia rigens), but not a tree for many hundreds of miles. 

 The effect is monotonous in the extreme, especially during dry 

 seasons, which, I am sorry to say, predominate. I had the 

 pleasure to see the plain like a wheat-field of waving spear-grass, 

 but, like the central regions, it soon dries up and becomes a 

 parched and desolate country. There is some controversy about 

 the correct spelling of the name of these wonderful plains. Some 

 say it is " Nullarbor," from the Latin " null-arbor," meaning 

 " treeless." I do not put any reliance on this statement, for it 

 is far more likely that it is derived from a native name : the 

 aboriginals use the term "nulla" very much. 



The great table-land or plain, which is between 500 and 600 feet 

 above the sea-level, was once below it, when a great bay or gulf 

 extended almost into the centre of the continent. The very 

 numerous casts of marine hfe which Hved on the sea-bed in those 

 times have been gradually raised to the present level, and clearly 

 show us the age of the great hmestone deposit. One of the most 

 remarkable features of this region is the total absence of any 

 rivers or creeks, or even a rivulet ; the whole country is hke a 

 sieve, and when rain faUs — which is seldom — it soaks right away. 



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