SATELLITES AND NEIGHBOURS 37 



birds, are the pleasant odours which spring from the 

 jungle as coolness prevails, and the flaming west gives a 

 weird tint of red to the outlines of the trees, and of purple 

 to the drowsy sea. 



Of entirely different character is the last of the satellites 

 to be mentioned, Wooln-garin. Lying 300 yards off 

 the south-western end of Dunk Island, across a swift 

 and deep channel, it is naught but a confused mass of 

 weather-beaten rocks, the loftiest not being more than 

 50 feet above high-water. A few pandanus palms, hardy 

 shrubs and trailers, and mangroves, spring from sheltered 

 crevices, but for the most part the rocks are bare. The 

 incessant assaults of the sea have cut deep but narrow 

 clefts in the granite, worn out sounding hollows, and 

 smoothed away angularities. Here a few terns rear theif 

 young, and succeeding generations of the sooty oyster- 

 catcher lay their eggs just out of the reach of high-tide. 

 A never-ending procession of fish passes up and down 

 the channel, according as the tide flows and ebbs, though 

 they do not at all times take serious heed of bait. To 

 one who generally fishes for a definite purpose, it is 

 tantalising to peep down into the clear depths and watch 

 the lazy fish come and go, ignoring the presence of that 

 which at other times is greedily snapped at. Turtle, and 

 occasionally dugong, favour the vicinity of Wooln-garin' 

 which on account of its distinctive character is one of the 

 most frequented of the satellites. 



The neighbouring islands include Timana, 2 J miles from 

 the sand-spit of Dunk Island and ij mile from Kumboola. 

 Bedarra lies a little to the southward ; Tool-ghar three- 

 quarters of a mile from Bedarra ; Coomboo half a mile 

 from Tool - ghar ; and the group of three — Bud - joo, 

 Kurrambah and Coolah — still further to the south-east. 

 These comprise the Family Islands of the chart. 



On Timana are gigantic milkwood trees {Alstonia 

 scholaris) which need great flying buttresses to support 

 their immense height, their roots being mainly superficial. 

 For many generations two ospreys have had their eyrie in 



