The South Australian Naturalist. 
103 
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the squall. Men and women were huddled together, the stronger 
sex endeavouring to act as a shield to the ladies. Bin a new spirit 
of good cheer and philosophical submission was maintained that 
even rose to ready jest and good humoured bantei. Variety is the 
spice of life, and the pleasures of a change to warm clothing and 
a hot supper near a cosy fire were heightened by the remembrance 
of the hardships passed through. 
: o : 
excursion to sir william SOWDEN^S, may 15, 1926: 
tnu!; 
At the invitation of Sir William Sowden, a large number of 
! members visited his home — “Castlemaine’’’ — at Glen Osmond. A 
stroll through the extensive grounds provided occasion for an 
interesting talk on the many native and acclimatized trees and 
slirubs which flourish side by side there. The host related many 
■ ' interesting historical facts about Glen Osmond, which was the 
' site of the first mining venture in South Australia, if not in the 
Commonw^ealth. The “White Chimney, near one of the shafts, 
was a haunt familiar to the boys of 50 years ago, as the 
goal of many of their wanderings in the hills. From the verandah 
n of “the hut’’ at Castlemaine a magnificent view is obtained of 
;o: Adelaide and suburbs, framed by the gulf and hills. In “the hut” 
i: Sir William has assembled a varied and interesting collection of ob~ 
t: jeets obtained in his travels through Egypt, the Hol)^ Land, India, 
and Japan. Another rare object was a fiower panel, composed of 
e ivory, which was fashioned under boiling water by means of spec- 
ially adapted implements. Among weapons on view, a vicious-look- 
ing “kukri,” a double-edged scimitar, was unsheathed. Beautifully 
chased brassware from the bazaars of Benares was greatly admir- 
ed, as was also an exquisite model of the Taj Mahal at Agra. After 
having viewed numerous other curiosities, the visitors inspected 
photographs and portraits of journalists and legislators of times 
past. The party were entertained at afternoon tea, and selected 
music was provided. 
