SCIENTISTS ON TOUR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 70, 13 September 1911, Page 3

SCIENTISTS ON TOUR

THE NORTHERN TERRITORY. INTERESTING EXPERIENCES IN A I LONELY LAND. Crocodiles, bnll'aloes, aborigines, and a great sense of loneliness are among the things which impressed Professors ■Spencer ami Gilruth. members of the scientific expedition to the Northern Territory, .who returned lo Sydney by the si earner Matanun recently. They met a station manager who looked astonished at the half-dozen white men in the party, made them very welcome, and said he had not seen so many whites together since three t vears beore. when lie was in Darwin. He was living on a cattle station 3000 square miles in area, which lie worked with the aid of the natives. For days and days as the party journeyed across the I Territory thev saw no one.

Now and then the blacks put in an appearance, though in some cases they were too shy to be approached. "We were struck bv the stature and physique of the natives," said Professor (Spencer. Some of them were 'big, strong fellows, and in the case of those who were working on stations we were favorably impressed with their intelligence. In the Northern Territory, as in other parts of Central Australia, the assistance of the aborigines is of the utmost value in working the stations. When travelling through the country they are invaluable as guides." Professor Gilruth gave an instance of the capacity of a native to find the way through the bush. For 3-2 miles the black led them through dense timber, where they could not see twenty yards ahead, and he brought them out within two miles of the station they were making for. Me had never been over the ground before. The expedition called at the Roper river mission, with the progress of which Professors Spencer and Gil ruth say they were much impressed. BUFFALO AND CROCODILE. A visit was made to Melville Island, where, as on the mainland, buffaloes roam at will, anil get shot for the sake of their hides. One R. ,1. Cooper is the [ sole white inhabitant, though the island is approaching a million acres in extent. His method of killing, the .beasts struck Professor Gilruth as being very interesting. The natives hunt round till they find a bullalo, and the hunter then gallops after it on horseback. lie overtakes the buffalo, and riding with the reins in one hand shoots his quarry with a ritle held in the other. Occasionally the biill'nlo turns on the horse, but a good bullalo hoise is as lively as a polo pony, and when the buffalo turns he turns also—only quicker. The skins are) worth about ,CI each. Up to forty- I seven buffaloes have been shot in one I da y. /

ill the Roper river Die explorers met crocodiles, plenty of them. Professor Spencer says lliev are lint, alligators as usually called. They are of two kinds — the small ones, which grow to about Oft loiiff, and the big ones, which go up to 30ft. The little ones (sjtvs Professor Si>cnccr) are not dangerous—that is, they would not attack a human being as long as a way of escape was available. Their hahitat is the northern rivers, where alone they are found. The ones, lie says, are the true Indian crocodile. They go <lown the rivers into the sea, and are found all round the coast and rhrht across the islands round to India. They will take a goat, cow, horse, or man if opportunity affords. Jleni.bcrs of the expedition were rather disappointed about the crocodiles. Thjy could see them swimming round with just their noses and heads showing, but as sonn as a shot was fired the crocodile, would dive, and, if killed, would sink to the bottom. THE F.XPLOTTERS' MISSION.

The object of the expedition was to make preliminary investigations into the conditions of the Northern Territory at regards the prevalence of tropieal diseases anions both white and natives, also regarding the conditions of live slock, and (n make investigations from the geological. and more particularly the minora logical point of view. Professor Oilmth. who is professor of veterinary science at Melbourne University, was concerned with stock and the lower animals, and he said he found the cattle extremely healthy. He carefully searched the bodies of several buffalo for ticks, and found none. Professor Spencer (biology, Melbourne University) was in charge of the biological and ethnological seel ion of the inquiry. Professor Wooln'ough. of the University of Sydney, wns making the geological anil mineralogical inquiries, and Dr. Tireinl (director of the School of Tropical Medicines at Townsvijlc) was concerned with the diseases peculiar to the climate.

Starfing from Darwin, they visited Melville Island and the country round the .Adelaide river. Then they passed through the mining townships between Darwin and Vn'e Creek—a distance of about 1-10 miles. Following the telegraph line, they came to the Catherine river, and then travelled east along the Roper river to the Gulf of Carpentaria, where tile gunboat Oaynndah met them and took them to Thursday Island. Dr. Woolnough did not accompany the party back to Sydney, but is making a jouraev to Camooweal in continuation of his inquiries. Dr. Breinl stayed behind in Queensland.

The expedition depended on packhorses and buekboards to carry their stores. Professors Spencer and G'ilruth say they are very much impressed with the country they saw. They found it, 011 the whole, well watered, with a rainfall of from 25 to 01) points a year. During the winter they found the climate all that, could be desired. Professor Oilruth says they were agreeably surprised to find beautiful, cool nights all along the road into the interior, although they were well within the tropical belt, and at no time did the altitude exceed 500 feet. They think that the people living on the coast will take advantage of the interior of the Northern Territory as a holiday resort, on account of its recuperative and invigorating climate. The scientists are preparing reports for the Federal Government.