^"'l iP'] White, Trip to Northern End of Fiinders Ranges. 153 



his transcontinental trip. Co})per l:)eing discovered abont that 

 time, near the head station, the hrst owner, the late John 

 Chambers, sold out for ;^2o,ooo, and some time later Mr. W. B. 

 Rounsevell sold for £50,000, and so the 'property has changed 

 hands down to the present owner. " Moolooloo " is the native 

 name for " sliding rock " or " slipping stone." This is well illus- 

 trated in the surrounding country, for in many places the cracking 

 and disintegrating of the rock is very noticeable, and great 

 quantities slide down the steep hills from time to time. 



On the day after our arrival an excursion was made to Fourth 

 Water. Some members of the party went round by the track 

 in a four-horse conveyance, which also took the lunch for all ; 

 the remainder of the party set out on foot across country. One 

 or two rugged hills had to be climbed. The scenery was fine, 

 but several of the party who had never been so far north before 

 did not dwell upon the scenery, as the day was warm and the flies 

 rather troublesome. There were not many birds in these hills. 

 The Victorian Grey Shrike-Thrush {Colluricincla harmonica 

 victorice) was found breeding, and a number of Eremophila bushes 

 in full blossom had attracted the Singing Honey-eater {Meliphaga 

 sonora). Fine trees of the quandong, or native peach {Fusanus 

 acuminatus) were breaking down under burdens of crimson fruit, 

 and large bushes of Pittosponim, sp., enlivened the scene with bright 

 orange berries. Oratunga Creek was struck near Third Water, 

 and we followed the dry bed for a while till we came to the rocks 

 bearing aboriginal carvings or chippings. Many examples of 

 native art are to be found through the Flinders Ranges. They 

 are supposed by some to be of great antiquity, as a reddish film 

 covers the rocks and carvings, and resembles that upon the 

 Pyramids of Egypt. There were many crude tracings. Emu tracks 

 and eggs being prominent in the designs. Some were on the line 

 with the sandy bed of the creek, which must have been much 

 lower when the tracings were executed. Invariably these examples 

 of aboriginal art are near a water-hole, and. if one can judge by 

 the habits of natives of the present time, they were done while 

 the artists were idling away the hottest hours of the day. 



The Oratunga Creek, like all the creeks in the north, was lined 

 on either side by fine river red gums {Eucalyptus rostrata), which 

 in many instances grow in the sandy beds of the creeks. Some 

 land shells were taken here in the crevices of the rocks — a species 

 which, it is believed, has never before been taken with the hving 

 animals. After the photographers had spent some time upon 

 the native tracings, a move was made up the sandy and rocky 

 creek until we came to the trap and four hobbled horses. From 

 here we turned up a tributary of the Oratunga Creek, and soon 

 found the camp, where our hostess had prepared a lunch under 

 a wide-spreading gum-tree close to a series of rock-holes. After 

 lunch some time was spent in hunting for natural history speci- 

 mens around the camp, and late in the afternoon we returned to 

 the drag. The horses were harnessed, and some of the party 



