170 THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD [Vol. Til. 



Carter now determined to return home to see his mother, 

 as he had promised he would do, and this seemed a suitable 

 opportunity before settling down. On his way down to 

 Carnarvon he stopped at a station for the night, and the owner 

 asked him to cut a set of stencils for him. Carter, who was 

 good at this, agreed, and this was the second turning point in 

 his life. The owner told him of the wonderful Point Cloates 

 district, which he had just been prospecting, having gone up 

 to see about some wreckage which was strewing the beach. 

 Carter pondered over this subject the next day, while stencil 

 cutting, and in the evening again approached it, getting the 

 offer of the leases, etc., if his prospect turned out favourable. 

 Carter inspected the country himself, and was so pleased with 

 it that he closed with the offer, and his proposed trip to England 

 fell through. Six months had to elapse before he could take 

 it over, so this time was employed in mail carrying and sailing 

 the port lighters, all such work more surely fitting him for his 

 self -selected task of pioneer. 



On November 1, 1889, he took delivery of his purchase 

 of stock at the Lyndon River and set out for Point Cloates, 

 which afterwards became ornithologically famous in connection 

 with its first owner. The next few months were engaged in 

 sinking wells, fixing up sheds, etc. When on his prospecting trip 

 he had noted a stranded steamer in good condition, he purchased 

 this and it served him well for fittings for his future home. 



For thirteen years he lived at Point Cloates, developing 

 the country, and all the while systematically collecting and 

 recording the bird life of this hitherto unexplored locality. 

 He had one white assistant at first, and a second soon came, 

 but was treacherously killed by the natives almost immediately. 

 Such a beginning was not encouraging, but the Yorkshire habit 

 of " slicking it " enabled Carter to overcome all difficulties, 

 such as the continual absconding of his black labourers in the 

 middle of the busy season and consequent loss of labour while 

 searching for them. Carter was continually exploring the 

 back country, partly from choice and partly from necessity, as 

 the drought made the lowlands unsuitable for the stock and 

 it was necessary to find better watered places. 



