WANDERLUST.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 15 September 1924, Page 8

WANDERLUST.

ROMANTIC JOUR KEYS.

UNDERTAKEN' BY GOVERNORS.

SYDNEY, Sept. 4. Wanderlust seems to have seized hold of Australia’s Vice-Regal personages. While Admiral Dudley De Chair still contents himself with penetrating the far-west of his domains in New South Wales and turning up in remote townships where a Governor has never been seen before, longer residence has encouraged Victoria’s Governor, Lord Stradbroke. to go further' afield, and he has just completed; ah. overland journey with the Countess, of' Stradbroke and a few others through the heart of the continent from-Adelaide to Darwin, S whilst the Governor-General, with the spirit of adventure born of still longer residence here,* has gone off to New Guinea. A picturesque description of the overland trip, and the experience with blacks and others en route, was given by the Countess of Stradbroke on the arrival of the party at Darwin.

“We have,-’ she told the interviewer, “very much enjoyed our trip through your land of eternal sunshine. We have indeed enjoyed a glorious sunbath after the cold weather experienced s in the south.;- I know of lots of women who would enjoy this experience. It is the sort of life I love, and then your wobderful, country is oyerflowing with reil hospitality. We roughed it a bit, Alepi^ i on-tIiA-''ground every night, and rose six every morning, sometimes earlier. There were lovely moonlight nights, and we sat at -water-holes for hours at night watching for dingoes and .wild horses. The stillness of the nights was profound, and we could hear the footsteps of horses more than a mile distant, but the horses instinctively ayoided us. Not so . the dingoes, which frequently came right up to our camp, and one big fierce animal came up within a. yard rif ns, hut he did not attack.

“I would recommend this journey to the most delicate woman. We had no cook, but the pleasure - of the journey made up for this and other little deficiencies. We stayed at' Alice Springs a week waiting for the Egirl. Despite the absence of telegraph conamupication the everywhere werA qiiite conversant with our movements by means of aboriginal smoke,, signals. Earl Stradbroke was not surprised- at that, for during the late war he was in East Africa* and the natives told .him long before he was - advised by telegram of the defeat of the Germansr in West Africa, probably a thousand miles away. From: Alice Springs north, the smoke signals followed regularly, and occasionally aboriginals assembled, in force along the route; gaily decked with corroboree’ war paint. Evidently the smoke man had given us a, good character to his'brothers ahead, i One native said he Had received af message that the ‘big , feller Guhment come along.’ The corrobioree,at Alice Springs was a gorgeous spectacular affair, iri which, a real fight took place between two. natives. The hospital at Alice Springs is only half erected. I think the building should he completed and equipped with a nursing staff and medicines immediately. “I was. astounded to learn that between Alice Springs and Ooodhadatta, a distance of hundreds of miles, there is no such thing as medical aid, and no means of getting it. There are a lot of women and children in that vast region. They are thoroughly happy and enjoy the best of health, but picture the misery of a woman seriously ill being compelled to travel 500 miles on the back of a camel to* get medical assistance. People there get their supplies once a year. They are happy people, and said they would like to see a railway or some quicker means of communication, but there was never a grumble heard. I sincerely hop© that such fine people will immediately receive some substantial encouragement to continue their pioneering work. I would .like to see a motor service run to Alice- Springs once a month, with preference to women desiring medical aid.’.’