The South Australian Naturalist. 49 



The life histories of the dragonfly and antlion were told, and 

 members had an instructive and pleasant outing:. 



Excursion, March 25-28, 1921. — Under the leadership of 

 Mr. T. P. Bellehambers, a party spent several enjoyable days 

 touring the Murray River in a motor boat. Native burial 

 grounds along the route were investigated, and it was noted 

 that large stones had been placed over the graves to prevent 

 disturbance of the corpses by dogs. Skeletons were found at 

 places where the surface was literally covered with fragments 

 of Union shells, and the leader remarke dthat this occurrence 

 represents two periods of time. The aboriginal does not inter 

 his dead at kitchen middens, and such localities were therefore 

 primarily used as burial grounds, but later generations unknow- 

 ingly feasted over the graves of their ancestors. Many of the 

 gum trees along the banks bear the long scars which remain 

 when canoes, shields, or food vessels have been^ cut from the 

 bark. The remains of echinoderms, molluscs, and protozoans 

 commonly occur in the marine strata, but the so-called 

 "Nouree" fossil, exposed on a cliff near Bowhill, appears to 

 differ from other known forms obtainable. This large specimen 

 projects from a sheer face of rock, and is situated about 30 ft. 

 above the level of the river. Vandals have damaged it with 

 rifle bullets, but the naturalists lacked the apparatus necessary 

 for its removal to safer quarters. This fossil is of additional 

 importance, in that it figures in the aboriginal legend of the 

 creation of the river. Angling was carried on whenever oppor- 

 tunity offered, and the fish most commonly caught was the 

 Tcheri (Therapon ellipticus). The Murray cod (Oligorus mac- 

 quariensis) is becoming increasingly scarce. Some time Avas 

 spent at Wongulla, where many fossils were collected and iden- 

 tified, and photographs obtained of the native carvings in the 

 soft rock. During their investigations near a small cave, some 

 members disturbed a nest of paper- wasps, and an ignominious 

 retreat ensued. At the end of each day discussions were held 

 concerning the material obtained. During the whole course of 

 the trip the weather was uniformly fine. Nothing could be 

 more delightful than to drift in the moonlight over the placid 

 waters of the Murray. Scarce a ripple disturbs the surface, 

 save when a leaping fish scatters a thousand silvery reflections. 

 The call of the night-loving boobook owl echoes across the 

 river; soft noises of the night whisper in the trees along the 

 banks, and one feels at peace with all the world. On such an 

 evening it is easy to imagine the distant monotonous chant of 

 a ghostly corroboree, reminiscent of a once happy and prosper- 

 ous people, whose country has been usurped by the white man. 



