widgee which has clumps of hooked 
fruits. 
Mr. T. North showed "Remarkable 
Rocks" on Kangaroo Island. Most of 
the island is sandstone and limestone, but 
there is granite on one end, and on it 
these remarkable rocks showing stark 
irregular angles and curves like giant bites 
having been taken out of them. 
Miss P. Carolan spoke of a trip to 
Central Australia, and showed a view 
of the Alice Springs Lake and young 
river red gums {Eucalyptus camaldulen- 
sis) in three stages of growth after three 
good seasons of rain — one stage 2 ft. 
high, a second stage a inches high, and 
tiny purplish newly germinated ones in 
thousands in Trephina Gorge. Another 
picture showed the shapely bellfruit tree 
(Codonocarpus) which is growing "like 
weeds" in Central Australia. It is short 
lived and bowed down with the weight 
of its fruits on top. 
A beautiful slide of a desert oak 
showed a thick carpet of wild flowers 
under it. 
A pet baby dingo was considered by 
the owners to "be alright because they 
had no chooks". 
Semi tame pied butcher birds, bower 
bird and bower, aborigine ochre pits of 
soft rock for the yellow and red draw- 
ings, some horizontal and vertical parallel 
line drawings in Emily Gap, and other 
kinds showing nicks out of the rock 
probably indicating direction signs near 
Ross River, were all illustrated by fine 
color slides. 
Mrs. North described an aborigine 
cave near Myrtleford which she saw 
while passing through a farm (with per- 
mission) about five or six miles N.W. 
of Myrtleford to the edge of the State 
forest. The cave was found about 10 
years ago. It is a granite rock overhung 
and shows human figures and birds' feet. 
Mr. Eric Allan showed pictures of 
Phillip Island, of the area — The Nit — 
where there had been a proposal to build 
a hotel motel, and which would have in- 
volved the destruction of the mangrove 
swamp which is a fine breeding place for 
water birds. The Rhyll Swamp breeding 
ground is protected by the Fisheries and 
Wildhfe Dept. and is surrounded by 
a dog-proof fence. 
He showed other pictures taken at 
the Nobbies including sea hares, one a 
dark one with a light one attached to it, 
a mutton fish (Haliotis), a rock with 
February, 1969 
sea elephants, sea stars, tube worms and 
sea urchins, and a brittle star. A slide of 
seal rocks showed a great population of 
seals where six Fisheries and Wildlife 
officers are studying them. 
Miss Jean Woollard spoke on "It is 
1969". She stressed the need to preserve 
trees and vegetation generally and their 
connection with the essential oxygen 
supply. Fine pictures included snow 
gums, Aciphylla with insects. Rocky 
Valley Dam in autumn, Candlebark 
trees, shrubs on the Anglesea Coast, fern 
gullies, trees at Bulga Park, the entrance 
of the Darby River and the Tongue Point 
at the Promontory. 
Mr. Ian Morrison showed excellent 
spider pictures including a jumping 
spider eating a housefly, the golden 
orb web spider and web, and a wolf 
spider for which he drilled a hole in his 
lawn. The spider took possession and 
made a silky lining and then a mat of 
gossamer outside the hole and on it laid 
40 or 50 eggs and rolled it around to 
make a sac which she periodically held 
up to the sun. 
Mr. A. E. Brooks described with 
beautiful slides the W.A, Christmas bush 
— a partly parasitic tree, the roots of 
which pigs dig up to get the milky sap. 
Red kangaroo paws at Esperance, a 
red flowering gum. The Christmas bush 
at Tanjil Bren, and snow daisies 4000 ft. 
on Mt. Baw Baw. Brighter pink Trigger 
plants and orange billy buttons were 
characteristic of the heights. 
Miss May Moon brought slides of 
the wattle at the Whipstick, plover's 
eggs camouflaged on the ground, Umbe- 
rumberka river gums, Mulga ants' nest 
between the Olgas and Ayers Rock, Sun- 
dew devouring moths in the water on 
rocks at Katherine Gorge, rock paintings 
at Katherine Gorge, and a Gannet sanc- 
tuary at Cape Kidnappers, Hawkes Bay, 
N.Z., with 4000 nests. At sixteen weeks 
of age, they set off for Australia. They 
have been found in Australia eight days 
after banding in N.Z. — a journey of 
1500 miles. She also showed a beautiful 
Rhododendron locliae in her garden, and 
a messmate with the glow of sunset in 
its upper branches. 
Eckberg's Nursery has asked if any- 
one in the club has raised ferns from 
spores. 
Exhibits 
Mrs. North — Polished Beach Stones from 
N.S.W. near Newcastle. 
57 
