WILD ANIMALS.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 October 1923, Page 4

WILD ANIMALS.

SEARCHING AUSTEALIA. SYDNEY, Oct. il. The York Peninsula, the northern point of Eastern Australia, had. up to the time of writing his last letter, proved disappointing to Captain Wilkins, the famous Australian airman and explorer, and his party, tvho are travelling through the wildest parts of Australia in an endeavour to make a complete collection of Australian fauna for the British fWuseum. Captain Wilkins’s party includes brilliant voting scientists, and carries complete equipment for treating and preserving ti:o animals and birds a- they arc caught. Alter scouring Western Queensland the party returned to Ijiisbane. and then took steamer for Thursday Island, where they transferred themselves and their paraphernalia to a specially char! on A motorkmmli. and were soon crowing along the cos■ i of the peninsula end rambling about the Elands and mainland. • All hands." says Captain Wilkins, ‘ eagerly 'canned the sandy beaches for birds or signs of turtle. At liird Islam! w e v. cut e-boro, hut were just too late to capture a 'mall green turtle that paddl"d its way through the s.uow-v. Idle sand and out through the wot !•> hey.nui tile reef. The island v.i's the lies! real coral island iDui o’lie cl its had vi'itad. A few dwarfed ji:di<i■. were s'-attervd bene. ili t!:.* taller i lb: I v.eie fc tootled with ferns ;;•'■! i iv‘i | or-, 'the I'ohagi not overhead. cl;-ening not only i inMat, hut <vd,si was more nnpoi taut to li'-ihe lord-, that sai on the upperliuisj liralienes. frnnl our view. “Near the centre oi l!:e e-land, in a little glade surrounded with the i'erulaee.d trees, w<: found a native ‘gunyidi,’ and the wreckage of a white man’s caniji. Skeletons of turtle were strewn about, and a single drying rack, like a huge ‘griddle’"--used lor drying '•eche-de-mer—was still in good order. Some wandering fishermen had been there lveently. for their tracks were found on the opposite beach, and, following the wriggly markings of a turtle, the footprints on the sand disclosed a lain of kikto-sl’ul hunting. The birds we saw were shy and iliiiicult to shoot, and only a few were taken. At Cape Grenville, a seepage from the hillside as aired a constant supply of water near at hand. We found many such seepages on lids part of York Benin-ula, and water mnv lie obtained

every few miles, even in the driest ~easnii. Il is a d so with regard to food. In order to lighten our load we had brought very link- food with us, expecting lo live fur t !ii* most part on. if-- bod!--- <i, i he game .- m n red. >n\;iig: liie -kins for specimens. Our friend.' t i n I In* l.i 1 !!!.' h ret uriicd i n Thursday ; Island, am! we were li ft on the beach j MiiTi.nnd -tl with boxes ol collecting | gear, guns. I iuniuui-k', and blankets, ! and Hour. Pa. and sugar, enough ioj la I fur two months. Y.V i;ii 1 exm-efed j to find. d. c.-e tr.ipieal jungle, with wild life in ahuiid.ince. We hunted villi iudiiferent viiccess for a fortnight. One large wallaby was seen and a few tracks of a smaller variety. A native < at invest mated nm of mir trap.-., bub 1

it- was too sharp in action for the mechanism, and left only its whiskers to tell us of its visit. Eisli could be caught lay drawing a net in a small bight near the cape, and oysters were in abundance on the rocks uncovered by tiie tide, which falls about- eight feet at times. This place was impossible as a collecting camp, so we set out in our small boat across the strait to Hicks Island, where -Mr TurnbuT has established a plantation in which cotton and tropical fruits grow luxuriously. There the first natives visited our c-amp. They brought us crabs in ic-lurn for Hour, tea, and sugar, and .Tidiiinio—one of the men who had at one time accompanied a survey party for a time—volunteered to conic with us to Temple May and show us where •plenty too much wallaby he walk about.’ ”