“LAKE PARADISE”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 371, 4 June 1928, Page 14

“LAKE PARADISE”

CONSTABLE’S FIND IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA UNDISTURBED BEAUTY SPOT As far back as July, 1922, the Australian Home and Territories Department received from a mounted constable at Arthunga station, Northern Territory, a report concerning the discovery of a large, hitherto-un-mapped lake in Central Australia, says the Melbourne “Herald.” From blacks’ stories, the existence of some such stretch of water had been suspected, but it had never previously been located officially, nor has anyone since reported having seen it. The report is interesting. “This lake,” says the trooper, “is about 177 miles from Mr. R. Stafford’s station, named Coniston. I respectfully advise, and suggest that this lake be named Lake Paradise or Surprise, as at the time we were there, in June, 1922, it looked a perfect picture of nature and beauty undisturbed only by our police party, as not a native of the bush was even camped there. “The waters of this lake were a moving mass of ducks of all descriptions and sizes, and all through the water of this lake at nice intervals and outside of its water for some considerable distance are those big white trunk shady spreading box trees, and out from edge of the water of the lake for about 15 to 20 feet, is a pure white sandy beach, then out again front this beach are all kinds of green grasses of many kinds and wild native rice. The distance at present around the waters of the lake is about 10 miles. On each side of the lake are big red sandhills, and on one side they go up almost perpendicular, just out from the water edge, to a height from 70 to 100 feet, more or less. Perfect Nature Picture

“There are several islands of different shapes in about the middle of lake, and covered with nice green grass. This also goes to improve this perfect nature picture, and is easily the best and prettiest I have seen up to date in the Northern Territory. This lake was far from being full of water when we saw it, and could be about 20 miles around water when full. At the present time, it would make a fine fattening depot for stock, or an ideal dairy farm for someone with cows or stud stock for sale, etc.

“But, best of all, with a railway, it would make an ideal sanatorium for sick and suffering people with lung trouble or sickness of any kind. It has a splendid dry climate, no mosquitoes seem to be there, nor any sign of them could we see, the widest stretch of water across lake from side to side would be about three miles; we needed a boat to go out to test the depth of water in lake and by the look of the trees, I should say it does not go dry, if so it is only once in a while.”

Michael Terry, who is leading a prospecting expedition into Central Australia, intends to try to find and photograph this lake.