EYRE'S PENINSULA 



128 



the camp was close to permanent water, and within 

 easy reach of the railway line. Two rows of tents, 

 shaded by Sugar Gums [Eucalyptus'] formed a plea- 

 sant avenue, at the head of which floated the Union 

 Jack, tied to a bough. A special train conveyed us 

 from Port Lincoln. It stopped, not at a station, but 

 in the wilderness, and the truck-load of baggage was 

 dumped beside the rails. The wisdom of selecting 



SUGAR GUM CAMP. 



a camping ground near the railway now became ap- 

 parent. Tents, boxes, portmanteaux, cameras, and 

 all the other miscellaneous goods had to be trans- 

 ported by human labour alone; there was not even a 

 wheelbarrow to lighten the work, and our backs and 

 arms ached after a dozen journeys to and from the 

 camp and the railway. It was fatigue duty in 

 earnest, and afterwards came tent-pitching. How- 

 ever, the camp was shipshape by 9 p.m., when we 

 rested, weary but happy. 



It was a night of stars, and some of us strolled 

 a mile or two from camp to smoke a pipe in peace. 



