August, 1946 The Queensland Naturalist 
33 
S. B. J. Skertchly, J. Douglas Ogilby, Dr. John Shirley 
and Dr. A. J. Turner. 
Front the outset the Club made a strong feature of 
field excursions. In those days places of interest were 
more easily accessible than they are to-day. People wan- 
dering about the country in an endeavour to enlarge their 
knowledge of nature’s secrets seemed to be regarded as 
“cranks” and it may be that their behaviour at times 
to some extent encouraged this belief. One such instance 
comes to mind. During an excursion to Mt. Coot-tha a 
known entomologist went down on his knees beside the 
track and commenced scratching the earth with his fin- 
gers. Two young girls who were walking along the track 
suddenly caught sight of him. One clutched the other by 
the arm and said: “I’M not going past him.” Bird ob- 
servers, too, have a habit of creeping stealthily forward 
in order to watch an unsuspecting bird, but as they usually 
carry out such observations in the more lonely spots, they 
do not excite so much interest. But imagine the effect ou 
the mind of the uninitiated at the sight of a venerable 
gentleman like the late W. R. Colledge solemnly raking a 
pool of water with a tiny net and glass tube, and appar- 
ently getting nothing ! 
The first extended excursion was held at Toowoomba 
in 1907, during which public attention was drawn to in- 
teresting extinct volcanic craters in the local quarry. 
Early in the following year a Field Naturalists’ Club was 
established in Toowoomba under the presidency of Dr. R. 
Hamlyn-Harris. As a result of the efforts of botli Clubs, 
the Toowoomba City Council agreed to preserve the unique 
geological features in the quarry. 
Extended excursions were also held at Gympie and 
Buderim Mountain in 1907 ; Bulwer (Moreton Island) 
and Caloundra, 1908; and Glass House Mountains, 1909. 
This policy of holding extended excursions and camps has 
been adopted with marked success ever since. 
At Gympie, Prof. Skertchly was billed to deliver a 
lecture in the local School of Arts on “Gold : its History 
and Natural History” — a most attractive title for a gold 
mining communily. Th.e hall was crowed to excess, but 
the lecturer did not worry about the advertised title. With 
pockets bulging with paleolithic implements and flint 
arrow-heads, which he produced from time to time like a 
conjuror, he enjoyed himself thoroughly by discoursing for 
two hours upon his favourite subject of paleontology. The 
