176 PROCEEDIXGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND. 



fish (perch and catfish) floating down the Brisbane River. Mr. 

 C. Booker reported that during the same months a widespread 

 mortahty had occurred among the fish in Wide Bay Creek and 

 Mary River. 



In the September number of the " Scientific Australian'' 

 (1917, p. 17) there appeared the following paragrajjh : — 



■■ Mr. C. A. Baker writes from Kapunda that the proposed 

 trip from Adelaide to the Gulf (of Carpentaria), which was to 

 start on 17th of this month, has now been postponed until the 

 end of March next year for the following reasons : — 



" Mr. Kidman has been advised by some of his back- 

 station managers that a most extraordinary and unique fish 

 epidemic has occurred in the follo\\ing rivers : — Diamantina, 

 BuUoo, Cooper's Creek, and Wilson Creek. The fish have died 

 in such quantities that the water in these rivers has become 

 so polluted that it is not only unfit for human consumption 

 but also for stock. The most extraordinary tiling about the 

 death of the fish in these rivers is that the epidemic has occurred 

 in rivers, the headquarters of which are remote from each 

 other and have different sheds and exits." 



THOMSON RIVER, COOPER'S CREEK SYSTEM OF 

 DRAINAGE. 



Information regarding the earlier outbreak at Longroach 

 (1917) is contained in the previous report (Johnston, 1917). 



Early in April 1918 a letter, dated 30th March 1918, was 

 received from IVIr. F. Mills stating that fish were again dying 

 in the Thomson River in the neighbourhood of that town. 

 The following notes are taken from his letter : — ■ 



The river Avas in high flood during the months of January 

 and February of this year and large numbers of fish were to be 

 seen after the floods, apparently in a healthy condition but 

 seemed to have a most voracious appetite as plenty were 

 caught with the least of trouble. The river was still running 

 strong and there was no stagnant water in this locality^ as was 

 the case during the previous epidemic. The fish principally 

 aflfected were what are commonly loiown as yellow-belly, 

 black bream, bony bream, and perch. They came to the 

 surface of the water in an inert state, suddenly appeared to 



1 Italics ours. 



