312 



DISCOVERY 



extraordinary divergence of accounts of the country 

 given by travellers. One man sees a pastoralist's 

 paradise, with waving prairies, abundant pools, green 

 scrub, and plentiful life ; the next a withered wilder- 

 ness filled with dust and whispers of death. It 

 accounts for the successive waves of settlement — 

 the brave and hopeful push out into the " Far North," 

 the weary and bitter return. It accounts for the 

 " gamble with nature " — the overstocking in good 

 seasons and " taking the risk." And it accounts now 

 for the somewhat selfish " ca' canny " understocking 

 and the holding of too much land unimpro\-ed. There 

 can be no security in Central Australia until the water- 

 supply is secure. 



Wbat Nature withholds with one hand she gives 

 with the other : it is to the geologist that the .\ustralian 

 turns for comfort in some of his sorest difficulties. In 

 Australia geology is a first-line national service, and 



A GcjR'.r. IX Tin; >[ACDONXEI,I.S. WESTl.RX A(>1RA1,1A 

 (By courtesy of the Hi^h Commissioner of Australia.) 



geology speaks concerning Central Australia with a 

 voice restrained, but not pessimistic. 



The ancient rocks which form the ridges of Central 

 Australia are frequently metalliferous : wide areas 

 have been proved to contain good medium-grade ore : 

 e.g., in the vicinity of Arltunga, gold and mica ; at 

 Hatches Creek, wolfram. But capital and then 

 machinery, timber, water, and white labour are 

 required to develop these deposits, and capital will 

 not come until the enormous transport costs are 

 reduced. Besides minerals, these ancient rocks gener- 

 ally provide belts of fertile soil, with a good water- 

 supply around their bases, and between the parallel 

 ridges of the Macdonnells are numerous rich, if still 

 dry and " unimproved," valleys. 



But b}' far the greater part of the area is covered 

 with soft and relatively recent formations — sandstones, 

 limestones, clays, and marls — sometimes forming wide 



alluvial plains. Undeniably there are considerable 

 waste or semi-waste areas — sand and sphiifex country 

 with \-ery poor scrub — especially in the western and 

 south-western parts. 



These soft formations have three qualities of capital 

 economic importance : 



(1) They are often extremely rich and support a 

 drought-resisting vegetation unsurpassed as fodder. 

 The horses and cattle of Central Australia are of 

 notable quality and condition. By careful selection 

 among these desert grasses and bushes, by burning 

 oft' poorer sorts (e.g., spinifex), the quality of pastoral 

 land can be greatly improved. 



(2) They are extremely responsive to climatic 

 influences. Like most desert soils — dry, long fallow, 

 sun-bathed — they are, if given water, capable of 

 astonishingly rapid productivity. "In a night " the 

 bare clay-pans fill, the grasses rush out and the sad 

 scrub shines out as bright park lands. In places, 3 in. of 

 rain at the right season are held to be sufficient for 

 a year. At Alice Springs dates, figs, grapes, oranges, 

 and green vegetables have succeeded admirably. 



(3) They store water. Even sand-hills act as 

 reservoirs and for some time after rains yield " soaks." 

 The opening up of underground water is the first 

 grand solution of Central Australian pastoral problems. 

 Conser\'ation of surface waters by means of dams, 

 catchments, underground tanks, etc., is important, 

 particularly in the Macdonnell Ranges, where large 

 " gravitation " dams can easily be constructed, and the 

 valleys thus rendered highly productive. Important 

 too is the fencing in of existing pools and " native 

 wells " and providing them with cattle ramps, for 

 this mav treble the lasting capacity of a water-hole 

 and save many cattle which otherwise get bogged 

 and die. But nearly all natural surface waters are 

 more or less evanescent ; not so subterranean supplies. 

 These, though they vary much in various localities, 

 fall into three main classes. Many quite shallow 

 wells yield almost inexhaustible supplies of pure water. 

 A second class of well is sunk to 50-150 ft., and these 

 tap the "ground water" of a district, though this 

 water is frequently hopelessly saline. Thirdly, there are 

 the true artesian supplies from depths of 400-2,000 or 

 more feet, generally highly mineralised and unfit for 

 agriculture, but good for stock. The west boundary 

 of th? great Queensland artesian basin lies not far west 

 of Oodnadatta and covers most of the east half of 

 our area, thus constituting a radical dift'erence between 

 the east and west halves. Artesian water is by far 

 the most valuable for pastoral purposes. 



A beginning has been made, but much remains to 

 be done to develop fully these underground supplies. 

 Systematic well location and construction are neces- 

 sary. The flow of artesian waters must be regulated 



