Sixty-six 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST 
June, 1955 
An Excursion to the Gawler Ranges 
by A. R. R. Higgins on , Port Augusta 
Mr. A. J. Gray, officer-in-Charge 
of the Victorian State Forestry 
Commission’s nursery at Wail, 
who is an accepted authority on 
raising and propagating our native 
flora and who has done much to 
encourage the planting of shade 
and shelter trees in the Victorian 
Wimmera, had been on a visit to 
Port Augusta. In consequence 
every endeavour was made to let 
him see as much of our district as 
time would permit. 
Mr. Gray had made some profit- 
able trips into the Flinders Range 
and it was thought that by way of 
contrast he should also visit the 
Gawler Range. These are less than 
25 miles distant from, and run- 
ning roughly parallel to the 
Flinders Range, but carry an en- 
tirely different flora, due no doubt 
to the difference in rainfall. The 
Gawler Range receiving about 10 
inches per year against more than 
15 inches for the Flinders Range. 
It was mentioned to Mr. Gray 
that the plants of the area West 
of the Flinders Range and from a 
point south of Port Augusta and 
extending into the interior fell 
largely within two family groups, 
namely, the Chenopodiaceae and 
Leguminosae, the former provide 
ground cover and the latter most 
of the arboreal specimens. It was 
with the intention of checking this 
rather uncommon occurrence that 
Mr. A J. Gray, Mr. Roy Gray of 
Dept, of Works Arboretum and 
myself set out along the Why all a 
Road on Saturday morning. 
While proceeding along the 
road it was noticed that there 
were large numbers of caterpillars 
crossing the road, all travelling 
from North to South. One won- 
dered what urge was driving them 
southward as there did not appear 
to be any lack of herbage in any 
direction. 
Our first stop was made at a 
field where it was known that the 
red flowered Swainsona (S. stipu- 
laris) usually occurs; we found the 
plant growing in large numbers 
but as they had been recently 
grazed, they did not provide the 
magnificent sight that they usually 
do.' 
The open country between the 
gulf and the range is the home of 
that most elusive little bird, the 
Rufus Field Wren. One seldom 
sees them as they seldom rise above 
the top of the blue bush and salt 
bush which grows here very 
thickly, but one is always aware 
of their presence by their twitter- 
ing call which seems to keep a 
constant distance and in front. 
Our next stop was at a dry 
watercourse where the usual Red 
Gum trees ( Eucalyptus carnal dnl- 
ensis) is replaced by River Box 
(F. intertext a). This is the only 
place in South Australia from 
which this tree is recorded and 
it is an everlasting puzzle as to 
why this tree should occur in this 
one creek only. There is no other 
of its species within 500 miles and 
it is probably a survivor of a much 
earlier period. 
From this point we diverged 
from our main route to let Mr. 
Gray see a large patch of the 
