Chapter Twelve 
AUSTRALIA 
N late November, 1934, I found myself making the dismal rail 
journey from London to Tilbury, where I boarded the S.S. 
Mongolia for Australia. 
My object in going to Australia was, of course, to collect rare 
birds, but I was also commissioned by the Zoological Society of 
London to bring back a number of mammals, such as Bennett’s 
Wallabies, Tasmanian Devils, wombats, phalangers (opossums), 
Spiny Ant-eaters and, if possible a platypus, for the London and 
Whipsnade Zoos. 
The first port-of-call after leaving Bombay was Fremantle, 
Western Australia, which gave me an opportunity to meet my 
eldest brother, whom I had not seen for twenty-one years. He had 
settled in Perth nearby, and now had three daughters aged from 
fourteen to eighteen years. 
After a brief but delightful stay in Perth, I continued on my way 
to Melbourne. The morning of our arrival was hot and sunny, 
which is what one would expect in January in the southern hemi- 
sphere, and people were sitting in the shade in the lovely parks in 
their shirt-sleeves. In the streets, under a bright blue sky and in 
stifling heat, I found most people carrying overcoats. As the day 
wore on and the thermometer rose to over 100°F. in the shade, I 
sat on a peculiar rack-rail tram and noticed many men boarding 
it carrying both jacket and greatcoat over their arms, and perspir- 
ing profusely. Within two hours a blustering wind from the south, 
bringing with it a cold blast from the antarctic, had settled upon 
the town, and as I returned to my hotel shivering and wiping dust 
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