146 
The South Australia?i Naturalist. 
“The Trans-Australian Wonderland.” — Every naturalist at 
least who has made the overland journey between Perth and 
Melbourne, or vice-versa, will be interested in this booklet of 
nearly one hundred pages, describing, with the aid of illustra- 
tions, some of the features of the Ooldea district. Its author, 
Mr. A. G. Bolam, station-master at Ooldea, has spent his spare 
moments profitably in jotting down what he has learned by his 
own observations, and what he has learned from the aboriginal 
inhabitants of the district about the beast, birds, reptiles, plants, 
etc., of his neighbourhood. Fishes cannot be included for the 
simple reason that Ooldea is hundreds of miles from any stream. 
Ooldea is about 425 miles west of Port Augusta, and it is situated 
just on the eastern edge of the wonderful Nullabor Plain, which 
stretches westerly for 450 miles — an almost dead level, treeless 
tract, covered by such dwarf salt-bushes and other vegetation 
which can exist on an annual rainfall of about eight inches. 
Ooldea is fortunate in being situated near a “soak,” where under- 
ground water can always be obtained, and this has made it an 
important station on the line, and also a great meeting-place for 
the natives for hundreds of miles in either direction. Among 
the animals dealt with are the Marsupial Mole, Kangaroo Mouse, 
House-building Rat, Fat-tailed Mouse, Bandicoots, &c. The 
first-named animal is a little creature of about six inches in 
length; it is without eyes or cars, but possesses legs and feet, with 
which it is enabled to disappear into the sandy soil in a twinkling. 
The House-building Rats construct a home for themselves of 
fine sticks, sometimes as large as six feet in diameter and three 
feet in height — a seemingly wonderful performance for such small 
creatures; underneath is a tunnel home. Some remarkable lizards 
are to be met with among the sand-hills, such as the Mountain 
Devil (Moloch), a formidable-looking creature, but perfectly 
harmless, living on ants, flies, &c., and, becoming quite tame, are < 
useful creatures about the house. The Frog or Barking Lizard 
is an extraordinary-looking animal, but quite harmless. The 
birds include the Wedge-tail Eagle, Wild Turkey, Cave Owl, &c. 
The latter bird lives in the caves and blow-holes of the Nullabor 
Plain. Quite a number of species of smaller birds are seen from 
time to time, while Cockatoos and Parrots often appear in large 
numbers, so that Ooldea cannot be considered quite devoid of 
interesting specimens of natural history. The vegetation is 
naturally of a kind that can withstand heat and droughts. 
Acacias, Myoporums, Cassias, Quandongs, are a few of the genera 
represented. The little volume concludes with an interesting 
description of the aboriginals of the district, both in their primi- 
tive state and since their contact with white men. 
