> 24th June 1964
Take off Carnarvon, low cloud and rain (light), all roads are closed north of town. Boolathana, photo of clay pans & salt lake on Quobba country flooded, ASI 140. All country here, i.e. E of large salt lake, seemed to be spinifex in flats with ironstone sand on gravel rises with sparse mulga. Claypans here seem to be oriented approx N/S a high there is no sign of the Boologooro redhills(?), must be earlier. Minilya HS large river gums along river, spinifex in between, claypans with low rise covered with sparse (?mulga) sand. Breakaways of a low range directed by eastward flagstones. Breakaways face west and streams from there to the Western lake are very short, from there backs browner they are clay streams flowing east into the claypan system to the west of the highway. Learmonth road  .... length stream flowing into the northern end of the lakes system (Cardadia Creek). The breakaways must be the edge of the Cretaceous. Now in red Cainozoic (?) sands of Cape. E.W. road crosses river and scrubby range to our east. Flat bedded sediments exposed on western sides of range. River flowing through K. sediments, good exposures in bands, river flows from n-s +1 fence, +1 fence +1 fence +fence. Bullara Homestead (I must tell Glen. Excellent rubbish dump!) Sandhills trending SSW.

Rough Range. Breakaways along S.C. side of range (i.e. edge of a plateau), deep creeks with trees in gorges. Coming down to Learmonth Strip, leaving Learmonth Strip. Turned off road south of airstrip, truck just past creek crossing (concrete) marker in sandhill at post in east of area C, post 513.
92.4 Fence line, very slightly w of north
92.9 Corner fence lines approx nw
95.3 big circle
394.0 Corner near ....(?)
393.3 through fence at mill & back along Fu.... track
394.5 back at corner & turn straight on along the direction of the short fence to the mill 220*. Line of pegs at small barbed wire enclave, sign reads Corrosion testing, metal samples buried "Location F".
395.3 Red peg BB..R1 White pegs 1107 &1089, line of pegs due south & N.
95.5 last pegs for final clo.. - well defined track
96.2 Wide creek no pegs turned back.
96.5 Xroads just beyond our original turnoff. bery trig pt. 39*.
Pegs (300/8500 : 9400 :9300 342 in ascending value.
900  9100 Back at testing clearing - peg 11107 Al. disc in peg T5 - 1.
Lasts & surveys connect just. E/5.
400.0 Try P... ridge beams. Back at 225* Drive back along ridge to main track ie firebreak to main road. fr is cross road 400.9 between .... 7 concrete creek crossing (R... 401.01), 8404.2 Run through
408.2 Back at airstrip.

Decided to spend night at Learmonth to collect fossil, Lt. Col. Keith Murdoch MBE, Civil Commission, Exmouth, (A.J.) Lee Brunning, Jack Neal. Spent the whole afternoon with Lee Brunning looking for the line of pegs but no luck at all. Found the West Base Trig and tried to pick up the line of pegs but no luck. They should be metal fenceposts with aluminium discs attached to them (Commonwealth surveyor back at Learmonth informed me afterwards). They run in extremely rough limestone foothill country.

Cave paintings at Talgarno. C'wealth Surveyor Arthur Dawson, approx S-SE of Talgarno Tn.site, approx 35 miles : Circles, reptile, Included Hill- overhang with cave shelter. Dawson has accurate fix of spot in his survey notes. Write to Chief ...... Officer, Dept of Interior, 11-15 William St., Perth

> 25th June
Take off DC3 Learmonth. [K1]Coast south of Onslow flooded mud flats, creeks & mangroves. 13.15[2B] Onslow.

14.15 Back at Barrow [K - all the rest] of island. Found Dampier Archipelago coming up. ETA Hedland is 15.40. Have sent message to XW via DCA to inform them. We may catch them on the ground & save a night in Hedland [K8] of Dampier Archipelago and Kanasclen country and also[3B] of Northern Springs only. Remarkable silhouette.

15.10 Discovered that an ETA now 15.50 will just miss the party in Hedland by 10 mins. Pilot decided to put me down to try.

Arrived Hedland, Aerocommander still on strip at Xstrips, pilot pulled up & I jumped out & scrambled into A/C & off !! Now to get into Broome before dark !

Broome : people to contact : John Tapper & brother Edgar (medico), Peter Hinchley engineer,, Dr Des Kelly. Small footprinters(?) K.B. Spry, Broome, job prospects, letter to me in Perth making enquiries.

[K1] coastal .... at Talgarno. Very clear in lowering sun, old coastline also shows up very well.

Get address of Australian Natural History for John Tapper. Dr Bill Smith physician at Chest Hospital.

John Tapper described a possum with short ears, large eyes, scaley bare tail like a file which he caught in the cylinder box at Entrance point - clearly Wyulda [squamicaudata]. He let it go in his garden.

> 26th June
Photos of luggers (?) ; Dampier West etc. Went with John Tapper and Peter Hinchley to the new jetty & to Entrance Point. Saw the usual(?) scappy plst fossils at new jetty, then on to Entrance Point and took photo of general view . Bloodwoods, Banksia, Corktrees.

Taxi out to the take off for survey of Dampier (?) land. B7W with green filter x 2, colour at 25AsA. [K1] [B1], photos of Pindan 500ft just before Barred creek(?), Quondong Downs (?), Point Coulomb,

[2K] [2B]Cape Bertholet turned 90* along 236802 north, sandy, AS130K, 1443. Changed B&W in camera, tried 90*note 14.50. Camera now at B in 4, K in 23. Last photo before turning E some drifts of same etc at coast at Cape Bertholet. Pilot estimates about 15 mls.

The study of the ..... seems to be very dense for Pindan - there are flowering acacias, ? cadeppents & pandanus in the creeks - well integrated with creeks.

Coming up to Beagle Bay 1457 [1K] [1BW] of much more typical Pindan.[1K][1B] of mangroves at Beagle Bay looking E. close into Bay.

Pindan in flower[2K][1B] cutting across to Pender Bay. Pender Bay turned East up Kelk Creek 150 about halfway along creek[1K] +[1B] (mudflats & kadgetty) up here there seems much less like pindan. Roos [K1] Donkeys (Bill) been at500 ft all the way so far.1512 Turned new course for Derby for about centre of peninsula 158* [1K] pindan with white .......[K1] Creek at Disaster Bay [B1] Big boas in midst of pindan 1520 Valentine Island coming up [B2] of Derby.

Derby

Documents (a) Postmaster : explain ..... decision (b) Alan Ridge (c) McGregor fossils for Kainzoic library freelists 21c for John Tozer (d) Glen Cairns Native Welfare (e) Jim Coleman. Basil McQuade, note Cencil Lands (?).

> 27th June
Take off from Derby. Before takeoff [2K] [2B] of the Prison Tree and of the Royal Flying Doctor Service tablet.

Meda Homestead , Mt Hart strip (Clearskin(?) directly overhead, very rough & broken country. Headwaters of Barker River. There is an old strip there, looks very interesting country, rough as blazes. Synnot Range, very big tableland country, huge breakaways down into narrow valleys with good waters.[K1] just short of Gibb River, photo towards SSE [K1] Gibb R. sandy bed, altitude 7000. Gally forest in headwaters of Durack R. [K1], Durack R. further downstream [K1]. END OF FILM.

Breakaways to the SE of the Gut(?) [K1]

[2K] View of Wyndham [1B], Wyndham town [1B] Meatworks. [K1] Rayes(?) with Ord River between [B1] Kununurra.

> 28 June 1964
Parry's lagoon on the ground. Echidna collected in Saw Ranges nr Wyndham, Mark Nevill, 1963 / 4 Christmas.

Took Halls Creek Rd to Kununurra [K2] in hills near Parry's Creek : Eucalypts on hills, boabs, colewoods(?), cassias & other deciduous trees in valleys [K1] between hills. Here less eucalypts and more deciduous [K1] from range of hills near creek to across the plain to Kununurra, white tipped post in picture, white top about 10 in.[3K] Dunham River Bridge +[1K] Bandicoot Br, Ord R.

> 29 June 1964
0520 Climbed Kelly's Knob in order to check reported fossil in the Precambrian quartzite on the top. Not a fossil.

0800 left Kununurra. 0838 bus(?) take off Wyndham, course 185*, 120 knots

0857 [K1] [B1] Gorge ? King R. Looley West along Cockburn Ra. 0905 140 knots, course 180*, 8000 ft. Turkey Creek looking west [K1] [B1]end of film. Violet Valley Country [all Kodachromes to date are probably out of focus] This is very dry country, looks like sandstone savannah, so much for the myth that the Wyalda country is high rainfall country. Now b&w.

[B1] Taken looking west, sandstone savannah country typical of Violet Valley crossed main road immediately afterwards. Country here dissected by creeks with lines of trees. Very broken country wide NS Ranges across the river. All these streams seem to be headwaters of the Ord. There is a peculiar small portal of sediments in a formation 10* from Halls Creek, 10-20 m. appears to lie among Precambrian. Trends NS on opposite side of river to the main ranges. Good exposures[Check this] Well west of main road, circles Halls Creek[K1] [B1]of town & looking west [2K] at low level looking oast. 0953 Air strip.

Examined skeleton at police stn., Aboriginal (?male)  caves in anthill burial. Moola Bulla Skeleton, Const. Dwyer (says burial ground nr. Mt. Burnet(?). Appleby says that there is another stn. Flora Valley.

Prospecting Company. Pickards Mather & co. Industrial. George Hanna Camp manager, Donald Perkin, geologist, Sydney. C. of PM Halls Creek, Don Ealey, Project Chief. Donald Perkin is a good one with a fine collection of pickup artifacts. They collect insects for New England.

Take off for Fitzroy Crossing by road route. Country seems to be mostly flat alluvial works with the remains of an old plateau along ... ... torn bits of breakaways looks rather like Nullagine country.

Koongie Park[Aboriginal Community] claypan country, Lamboo, May River [K1] [B1] flat burnt out country with rivers & long ranges in distance. Margaret R.[K1][B4] junction of May & Margaret [K1][B1] Louisa(?) Downs on Margaret R.[K1B1], Red Bluff & Mt Frank. Spinifex plain, gently undulating with N.s..fit... wood and small eucalypts.

1350 Red Bluff[K1B1] halfway between Red Bluff & Wolaria(?) Downs> [B3K] in gorge. Hancligan(?) Cliffs. Christmas Creek[1K]taken Cooley N. way from the station. Chestnut Bore, all of the country, green spinifex pindan(?) with small trees scattered about. Nipper Creek a gaggle of eucalypts across the plain, gigantic anthills & N..... everywhere.1420 [K2] Emanuel Ra.

> 30th June 64
John Greymark, Senior Constable, Norm Newland, Const [Inspector Gallagher Browne], Joy & Jack Sandford, Mrs Newland is a Mungton (?) girl, Bath St., Dulcie (Peg) Edgington (Cec Edgington, Hardware).

(saiwon) Wangillee (jillie) =cycles "golliwog" police native. Met Jim Clarks and Directu Liverings, Ted McLarty, Luluigui, Mac, McNamara. Jubilee Duncan Boston, Noonkan. They say that Karrabul are quite common on Luluigui and Liveringa country. Rabbits have been seen towards the end of the dry season on Jubilee by McLarty, Waciots (?) appear to be quite plentiful along the river country. Saw Jeff Rose on Quanbun and went up to Aligator Dam (now Jubilee Dam) also went to the dam futen made. There is a curious white conglomerate at Aligator Dam but not in the more northern of the dams, suspect that this is the material from which fossils obtained. Collected specimens, no bore (?) : 12804 - 12805 Geological catalogue. (Added) From examining these fossils on the occasion of their accession to the collection on 22/9/66, it appears probable that the site is the same as that visited by Douglas & Kendrick on 1/7/66 this is 12 miles by road from Fitzroy Crossing Post Office & I have endorsed the labels etc accordingly numbers are 66.884 to 66.898 GWK.

> 1 July
Drove out to exposures of Fairfield beds beyond airfield on road to Derby, collected front fossils. Take off [K2] of .... inn [K1] near trig hill [B1] at about 1000ft, climbing to make light near Alexander Island, 3000 ft triodia. The [K1]B1], long ridges of ? Fairfield beds exposed, on bearing strike 230* may be old sandhills. Jubilee Homestead [K1] on bend of river, taken looking over towards Jubilee Dam on Quanbun Downs (Aligator Tank). Ht 7000 Very broken range country over on the left i.e. south of the river i.e. Permian grant Fn of St. George's Range [K1].

Quite a lot of bare fidhill country red sand, remainder particularly to the west is sand and triodia. The bare sand is fine pattern [K1][B1], 8,200.The Bowns probably listing too far open.

Breakaways [K1][B1] capped with a hard crust of greenish more friable material beneath matches Springs.

Abeam of Mowla bluff, Edgar Ranges a very broken piece of country clear of the sandhills. Headwaters of Geegully creek[K1] [B1] Woyley slightly W. of Nack, 8000 [K1][B1]looking 150* Wapet track, vegetation the same as further east, long sandhills evenly spaced, very few chains. Study about +EW. Passing to the west of the most easterly of the salt lake chain of the extinct Tilgano river. Chain dunes seem to be very stable, vegetation in the links, almosts if the dune system is beginning to break down - in fact the chains are commonest towards the ends of the dunes. Crossing the salt lake system(most northern chain)have some of the chain dunes are beginning to blow out. There is water in the lakes and also in interclinal depressions. Change course to 230*, Ht 8000. Sandhills finish. Main channel of Talga R., sandhills start again.[K1]. Dunes now cleared to coast with fine change to sandhills clear. Sandhills finish. Open triodia plain with small isolated lumps of breakaway. Very much fire damage, whole square miles denuded. We have been flying along the outer edge of the sandhills. Low features with streams and vegetation in valleys, sandhills start again but we are only crossing the western end about a mile inland. Junction of Nullagine R., De Grey and Oakover River head. Passing east of small range of broken hills at headwaters of Calleon Creek [K1][B1] along DeGrey crossing Bamboo creek, photo in angle of range at about 250*.

Marble Bar town, Mines Office, 2000ft coming into land, looking SSW approx. Marble Bar Mr. B.H. Stubbs was the person responsible for the rabbit bandicoot. Have told him that Douglas and Butler will call.

Take off for Nullagine, course 150*. Crossed the Marble Bar hills and now on a flat spinifex plain to the west of very broken country. hills on NW of Nullagine, mostly rough country with spinifex and a few trees.[K1] tributaries of Nullagine River flowing eastwards on edge of hills less than 10 m. from Nullagine.[K1][K1][B1] Nullagine township. W  illiam M. McKinnon is reputed to be mining diamonds in the conglomerate. 74 Duckland St N. Perth.

> 2nd July 1964
Nullagine takeoff course 195*. East of Bonney Downs Homestead [K1] Roy Hill beds, breakaways n. of Roy Hill to the immediate W. of the road. Good exposures 8000Ft@140K. The Fortescue here flows west along a flat plain jumped up from the breakaway to the north. Looks very much like Mulga Downs country. Roy Hill directly underneath, photo taken west [K1][K1] Mt Newman and the Ophthalmia Range looking west. Eastwards flowing Fortescue round the top of the Ophthalmia Range. Spinifex and ironstone sand country with little relief.

Booloo Downs Homestead. Headwaters of the Ashburton R. Some flat slightly rolling spinifex country with trees along creeks. [K1][B1]8000 looking west. Collier Range[K2] looking west. Abeam of 3Rivers

Homestead. Flat ironstone sand country , spinifex some mulga. At Gascoyne R flowing westwards[K1][B1] looking west. Crossing highway south of Doolgunna Homestead & just south of Robertson Range. Course changed to 210* more  or less// add to east of road.

Sherwood and Yoothapina coming in to land at Meekatharra. Mulga to the north is v. patchy and seems to be very dry in the area drained by the many tributaries of the Murchison itself seems to be more dense to the west, east & south [K1][B1] Mulga is dense to the west, east & south but this may only be on deck.(Meekatharra). Take off for Leonora course 135*[K1][B1] looking south 3000ft. Passed Hillview, 7,500 (Real 6,200) Course 135* ASI. 140. Among Montague Range a very nondescript set of low breakaways down to a lower level. There is a curious little patch of (long N.S. dunes) on top of dunes?. Lake Mason : very poor exposures. A few small breakaways a mile or so from the northern bank. Lake itself has very gently sloping margin. Airstrip abeam, coming up for Leinster Downs, red soil with scattered mulga.

Lawlers. Coming up for Wildara above the main road to Leonora, largish creeks with eucalypts, remainder still seems to be gently undulating red soil with not very dense mulga and some sort of greyish low cover. Sturt Meadows Homestead [K1][B1] 4000 ft. Clover Downs & Lake Raeside in background, poor exposures, white river gums along creeks, grey foliage of shrubs? away from river must be mulga the shadows come right down to the ground[K1].

[K1][B1] of Gwalia & Leonora : Sons of Gwalia mine. Landing. Took [K&B] of mine, end of films.

Sons of Gwalia, Mr. R.A.Barden, general manager of Mine, Has first 10 folders of correspondence 1898-1904, including correspondence of Herbert Hoover 1st Agreement & between prospectus & S. of G. Mr Barden will leave here within six months.

> 3rd July 1964
Took[K] of mulga at aerodrome [B4] [new film], of mulga, grass, sticks and solanaceous plant. Up above Leonora, course 175* straight to Kalgoorlie. Dense mulga cover, Alt.6,000 looking west ; patches of ?eucalypt beginning to come in particularly along the shallow stream washes [K1][B1] looking west. Salt lakes  crossed ? skyline a few poor exposures at Radd-Western? and otherwise mostly gently shelving banks even creeks flowing in have very poor banks.

Mulga / eucalypt mixture looking west [K1][B1] suggest grey mulga - darker eucalypt. More lakes, still mixed mulga eucalypt. Descent begins.

[K1][B1]  2500 alt., [K1] of spoil heaps at mine on deck, Alt. 0900ft.

In air on way to Perth[K1][B1] two kinds of eucalypt, 1 green, 1 grey, green with shiny leaves & brown stems, grey with whitish stems.

> 21 July 1963 (Sunday)
Beautiful morning, country in good condition. Bob Fallon at Crossing Inn, knew Blatchford, spent time in old days as his agent in 1923,4, 5 shipping fossils from the Crossing soak for him, does not recognise the ...tothere(?) . H.C. Branby is gardener at the inn, will meet him later Arthur left with truck to get back to Derby by lunchtime. Will ask Bill to send a wire first thing in morning to let me know what to do tomorrow about going out. Fallon says that Blatchford spent most of his time in this area & would not be surprised if the ..notothine(?) came from here. Mr Branby says that a large bone was found between Rundles Bore and Tuber Creek - Mr Pat McDonald Chief Dogger from Wyndham - collected the bone from a native boy who took him to the site, carried in flower pots. (South of Christmas Creek). B. says good "concrete" exposures on the "Leopold" road at 12 mile gorge. Through the gap there a number of creeks, mayor of Christmas Creek is Don Laidlaw - could be helpful. B. told me that he had picked up an "oyster" in the Erskine Ra. Showed him the labyrinthodont fossils I collected - he is not sure but thinks they are the same. Will keep his eyes open.

Eric turned up in Land Rover and we drove down to Gorge, past homestead turnoff then straight on to antcamp hills down the main road then turned left through the antcamps and on to Virgin Bore, from there S.E. about 2 miles down an abandoned fence line to camp at a low outcrop. Toombs & Ken in good order, excellent collections : a beautiful fauna(?) with Arthrodius, Antionals(?), Palaeomiscids, Dipnoi (but these are a mess and could well be something else) Goniatites, small molluscs, Eurypterids & ? (the curious undeterminable things that have puzzled me in previous collections).

Drove out to a locality nearby where there is an aboriginal stone arrangement(?). Ken has collected surface artifacts and I photographed. Went over to the "Amphitheatre" in the Emanuel Range, found a beautiful little fissure fill in a cave (collected)and then another outside (found by Ken Haigh) - this had much more phreatic banding etc. Then on way back Toombs and I had a good look at the floor of the amphitheatre and concluded that the whole is a valley fill which contains shales, conglomerates, sun cracked mudstones and the local cement bedding & inclusions (?) are of the biostromal limestones of the range as well as sandstone pebbles which look as though they could be derived from the Permian (like the hills near the homestead) - collected samples of the fill.

Ken B. collected bats Taphozous in a cave and is also having success with Sminthopsis in a creek near the camp. fat tailed - pale with interorbital(?) stripe well marked. Drove back to camp, photographed the collection of Toombs etc. and then back to the Crossing where I gave the boys dinner. Toombs will be in Perth .

> 22nd July (Monday)
Going to be a hot day.

Ken, Eric and Harry Toombs turned up and we drove out to the exposure of probable Fairfield beds some 10 miles from Fitzroy Crossing along the Derby Road. It is a pit in the topof a little rise where a bull-dozer has pushed up the surface into heaps for road metal etc. Excellent inbatelsintes(?) fossils esp. brachiopods. I found part of the tentacles of a crinoid.Brypzoa also v. common. We collected a good series and I made arrangements with Toombs for him to take the lot. Have the material sorted and send half to us. I must make sure that Errol White adds this material into our agreement.

Got back to the Crossing, found that Bill and Alex had turned up so took Toombs & Eric up for a flight to have a look at Gogo - Bill went with Ken to collect some more fossils from Fairfield Beds (Brachiopods, coral ?). Had lunch at the Crossing then got aboard for flight to Kununurra.

Filmed some Gogo country, Leopolds not as rough as I could have expected, Durack Range very sparse savannah. Filmed Geikie Gorge and surrounding country then nothing until North of Pompey's Pillar from 9,000 ft. Coming into the Ord, fantastic rough country. Some stills taken, wrong height to take cine, still very open savannah, extremely broken rock piles (1545 over main road) Took a lot of film and photos of Pompeys Pillar area Kodachrome II-18, Film no.2 - 60 ft. Argyle Downs turning down over Ord River, still taken looking south, photos of gullying at Ord. Arrived at Club and got accommodation, not good - in undercroft.

> 23rd July (Tuesday)
Kununurra 0800 hrs take-off for Wyndham, some film at S of Ord soon after take-off - co..ing (?) a metre but at 32 frames at f8. Exposed the last five feet coming into Wyndham. Have decided - if not too rough - stick to 32 frames exposing us for 1/80 sec.

Wyndham. Take-off 09.15 hrs, bearing 335* for Cape Ruthieres, The patch of Trop. David Woodland at Crater(?) Valley is densely differentiated from the air. Trees are spaced as in savannah but there seems to be little cover between them. Few steep valley bottoms are densely wooded, particularly in the northern slopes.

09.45 Abreast Buckle Head coming up for Mt. Casuarina will turn over Berkeley River (full of water) for photography.

09.55 back to Casuarina on coast again.Photography with all cameras: Kodachrome II finished cue 3 18ft., - Photos of Cape Ruthieres Ektachrome 16. King George River - also deep gorge10.05 hrs. Le Sueur Island has a reef with breakers on eastern side about 1 island's width off shore. 1010 SE of Cape Londonderry v. dry sparse woodland, deep river gorges with dense woodland along foot of breakaways. Ektachrome S. into one of the inlets E. of C. Londonderry, 3 bays east of C. Londonderry excellent mangroves. Photo Stewart Islands, coming in over Pago Mission, photography Ekta & Cue 10.25. 10.35 on ground at Kalumburu, photography with Ektachrome on way.

Father : Sang
Father : Rasendo (or Rosendo)
Brother: Augustine - Brother Andrew ?

Says that Athol's material was collected from 2 main localities : from the rocky hills near the camp and the rest from the deciduous woodland and the airstrip which I photographed on the way in.

Went for a walk with the Father Superior, drove out W. past the airstrip into "Sandstone Country" where he says that the "ringtail" lives in the rocks [short tail as big as a cat] other animals are Squirrel [flying possum].  large grey kangaroo, little rock wallaby, larger rock wallaby & porcupine. The larger masses of sandstone blocks look identical with the Alligator River situation found by Dahl. the Black Pigeon with white wings is very common also. cf. Dahl. The little rock wallaby comes down to the "parent" country - seats v. common in like country. Marsden Creek in this country poorly vegetated (see photos of the "island"). Walked back to Mission then through it onto the black soil of the "Basalt" country. This is typified by good grasses growing right up to the roots of the trees, big trees, no Cypress pine. He says that the most characteristic animal of this country is the large red kangaroo (probably antilopine?).

15.35 Take off. cine 25, Kodachrome III 13 timed over basin of filmed area to give good pictures of sandstone country, then on to junction of Carson and King Edward rivers, filmed there. Up to Mt. Connelly, basalt savannah well spaced trees, entered reserve area, did some filming on way in but kept b&w in reserve - finished b&w. Turned west at Banjo Creek and then made a swift run back to the Ord. Finished the cine film with a shot of the high cliffs on the far side of the Pentecost(?) across the Forrest River. Kodak II of Wyndham from above the Leake Hills. 16.45 Shot of the hills KII last on film between W. & IC. In to land 17.05 hrs.

> 24th July 63 (Wed)
8.00 hrs Kununurra take off due west for Parry Creek where it crosses the Turkey Creek Rd in order to get photographs of Rogers loc.

New films in all cameras, took 3 b&w, 7 Kodachrome IIof the point where P. Creek crosses the old road. Sandstone country, trees fairly widely spaced except along the creek itself, a bit of a gorge but no real rock piles.

Wyndham. Photo of town coming in of Ken High - of town from Warf.

Take off for Prince Regent Rd. :10.30 b&w 4 Kodachrome II 11, cine none taken. have decided to expose B&W at 500th on the metre for the rest of the trip.

11.00 Junction of Gibb & Drysdale Rds, trees well separated, well watered with creeks but sparse vegetation along banks. Mt Hann area: E. of Mt Hann, entered Prince Regent River area about

11.30 and flew down the river, filming all the way. Because of the sun it was necessary to turn up river for each sequence. There were three major ones:
   (1) in headwaters
   (2) about  mid-river
   (3) tidal sandbanks area with ...ment of mangroves (4) final sequences at mouth of river. These were taken on the beginning of reel[5]. In all cases I changed films in the course of the river. Flew over Kuri Bay system settlement

12.15, took B&W. 12.25 flew over Montgomery Islands, very different in climate from the others which are rocky with woodland or savannah, they have low topography with no rocks, grasslands and mangroves. Over Koolan Is, filmed over Watjulin(?)

12.45 photos & film. All the country here is quartzite hills with sparse tree cover river valleys with mangroves. At higher levels the ..ion valleys seem to become fairly ......ble woodlands. Entrance to King Sound v. sudden vegetation transition S. of Saddle Hill filmed, and also edge of Stokes Bay,

13.05 Point Torment, the centre of Point Torment very different scrub steppe.

13.10 Derby. Had luck in Derby team found that the fuel leads to the starboard engine was worn through where it passed through the main span and a bad petrol leak had developed. New part from Perth needed to go into Broome by B..... truck.

> 25th July 1963 (Thursday)
Our wedding anniversary, sent a telegram to Margaret & letters to her and the children. Drove out to Lighthouse Point to try to see the dinosaur tracks but sea too high, Brown sandstone at lower levels & exposures of flint bedded sandstones with fine cross-bedding at higher levels but strata are horizontal [sketch], on top of this are some channel deposits full of rubbish obviously eroded into the sandstone. This rubbish appears to be solifluxion debris. Above this is a complex ..... with some plant fossils which seems to be heavily ferruginized with fine recognizable sandstones(?). Plant fossils collected from the upper horizons of the of the unferruginous Brown sandstone. Above the base of the uppermost channel deposits and also 1 spec from the ferruginized horizon [sketch].

Alex arrived at approx 11.30, Take off Broome 12.30 hrs, over airfield 12.32 1500ft., 138*, 12.38 over coast. Firestreaks very visible in the Pindan (classified in A.A.R. as Scleropoly(?) 1 serufs(?) several). 12.50 Sandhills coming in but still reasonable vegetation, tracks out here. Excellent E/W track 12.55. Low E/w sandhills of low white(?) parallel, 1300 hrs. clipe(?) ornne(?). Sandhills about 200* apart.

1300-1310 hrs photography in circ. 90/ft, all cameras(?) used / taken at about 3-400 ft. 13.25 flew between 2 series of salt lakes or clay pans. Probably Cudmalgarra clay pan and Chingal Mudduge spring in the Eastern side, no-name on the west. These are interdural , still due some sparse vegetation.

 Photo of chain sandhills 13.30 at 4,900 ft.

Crossing Cardy Biddy springs at 13.40 this is clearly an old river system II to the Fitzroy and De Grey, outcrops numerous. From what I have seen on this flight I suspect that the thinness of the vegetation on the southern edge of the Basin is due to the fires. Where fire streaks are present clues are blown out but not otherwise. In bed of Cardy Biddy R. quite dense patches of sturdy timber - looks a bit like Callitris from the air.

13.45 Sandhills now over vegetation badly fire streaked for some reason this is scored as Sclerophyll low tree savannah but it looks the same as the other.

13.55 Slightly bigger trees coming into the picture between the scrub.

13.58 Creeks with denser vegetation along their banks but hardly nack(?)west

14.00 Cross telegraph line took colour & b&w of creeks (b&w too flat, did not come out)

14.05 peneplain with breakway and dense "eucalypt" cover in valleys, presumably the Jurassic means you can see across the De Grey & Oakover.

14.10 Photos / colour of the De Grey. 1 at campsite (Carlindie(?) Creek) passing over Carlindie Stn strip. Photo of the De Grey from 5000. Finished off cine on it as well, end of reel.

14.22 photos coloured and b&w of Bamboo Creek. Country here is crossed with ranges which seem to be Oglaes(?) All around essentially trimodia steppe with vegetation in the creeks & washes(?).

14.35 Flying Marble Bar area, photos, colour & b&w of river and town. Searched for the "Marble bar" & found it upstream from the town in the edge of the hills.

14.45 set course for Wittenoom, rough range country with rounded spinifex covered hills, vegetated creeks in the larger valley bottoms. Very rough but essentially an old surface with little in the way of Breakaways.

14.50 Shaw R.. Hamersleys in sight in the distance. From Marble Bar onwards there is not really very much essential change in the country.

15.03 Turner River in Abydos Airstrip to the west of us. The granites are clearly visible and rise isolated out of the flat plain,Photographs from 6000ft, colour & b&w. The plain of the Turner R. is a wide arc and separates the Marble Bar hills from the foothills of the Hamersleys but they seem to run together to the east of our track.15.10 Coming up into the spinifex covered hills of the edge of the tableland. Tableland is savannah.

15.20 Swamps in Mulga Downs filled.15.25 Landed Wittenoom. Const. Tom Marshall correspondent of Glen Storr. Snakes. : Jack Flood Health Dept.; Bill Flynn, Tom McLeod, councillors, and town clerk Frank Shehan.

Went up into W. Gorge past old mine workings to rock falls around the Eastern Wall after Gorge branched off to West. Found various concretions and ripple marks but no fossils I could recognize. Photographed 2 lots & collected a small ancredin (?) to bring back to show to Neville and Dorothy Beeck to check whether it was these that they had seen. Tom Marshall drove Alex, Ken and myself up. Spent the evening with the council talking about Town & Reserve Planning.

> 26th July 1963 (Friday)
Ready for take-off at 08.00 hrs for Millstream & then Barlee Ra. Route: Swamps over Mulga Downs, film - Millstream via Karijinji(?) film - Mt Hubert area, then Mt Flora & due south to the ...., then direct course to Carnarvon.>  

Take off 09.25 hrs : Start of new reel : filmed range then the vegetation about the Mulga Downs swamps. Over Coolawanyah homestead at 10.55 hrs. Much of the flood plain of the river is bone crusted((?) sand with spinifex and sparse trees. Large patches of snakewood distributed in it. To the east of Coolawanyah the country becomes more broken with low rounded hills & minor breakaways. These hills have well vegetated valleys. 10.00hrs. Fortescue bearing much one district - still reticulated in a flood plain but this is much more restricted. Karijeanje Creek and homestead now visible ahead. Crossed over Karijinji homestead and coming up for Millstream. Local flying at Millstream, filmed and stills b&w & colour. Interesting how local & small the cajeput(?) forest is when flown over as compared with the impression of vastness which one gets clearing or .... through it.

10.35 Centre of Hamersley S.C., Silver Grass Peak. Film, & b&w & KII.

10.40 District creeks flowing S. i.e. now in watershed of Ashburton.

10.45 Country below ironstone sand gently rolling with isolated minor changes, vegetation patchy spinifex. 10.50 Stuart homestead with Boolaloo homestead in distance. Ashburton coming up. Very green, full of water, good trees along its course that spread out at intervals to form patches of woodland. S. of Ashburton across the river from the homestead several Depuch type hills, black, should be v. important for Rock wallabies & Aborignal carvings. 10.58 Mt. Florrie in distance 1 colour photo of rusty(?) lumpy(?) red hills. 11.05 - 10 Flew straight down Koolchabinna Creek through gorge Filmed - 50 ft. then took b&w & colour stills, started new cassette. Bearing throughout approx S, country largely spinifex s laffe(?) with some scattered trees, and concentrating along watercourses very rough terrain with scree slopes.

11.20 Maroonah homestead. We seem to have crossed the transition   between Sclerophyll shrubs savannah with Sclerophyll hammock grassland and Sclerophyll shrubs savannah with arid scrub - patches of which I take to be mulga seem to have become quite common but nowhere near enough to be called mulga country.

11.30 Williambury Homestead mulga thicker, photos c. & b&w. colour was a claypinit(?), b&w by homestead.

11.38 Crossing Minilya river sth branch, great line of circular clay pans filled with water, breakaways of Permian marine(?) series.

11.40 Breakaway of lighter colour in front, probably the beginning of the Cretaceous Peneplain with good onteritized tops(?).

11.48 Sand dunes (fixed) trending N.W./S.E. Photo KII, high clouds, also b&w, approx from Watermelon Creek, vicinity of Mardathuna H.S. Out of the port side we can see the change in direction of the sand hills to E/W in the vicinity of Binthalya H.S. The whole country is studded with clay pans filled with water, mulga now the dominant vegetation.

11.55 Film of this. 12.00 Flying parallel to Gascoyne enormous areas of flooded claypans on either side of the river. All this makes me suspect that a slight rise in rainfall in W.A. would fill great areas of marshes. Carnarvon visible on the horizon through cumulus. 12.05 Descended through cloud,

12.06 Crossing main road just north of Gascoyne Bridge, landed Carnarvon.

13.58 Take off for Bernier. 11 goats south of hisp, at least 1 kid, 25, 5, 13, 1+1, 1, 20, 20, 5, 20, 35, 5, 20, 35, total estimate 130, very rough estimate kids about 1 in 12. Flew total length of Dorre, no goats seen. Dead whale with blue marker south of Castle point. 14.35 Dirk Hartog Cape Inscription, vegetation down to large bloomt (?) on W. coast essentially as in B & D. Some small animal tracks seen, no sheep yet.

14.40 Goat or sheep seen, sheep and a well in the middle of the island

14.43 Sheep 14.48 Extensive sand drifts threatened(?).

14.53 over south passage, Edel Land peninsula, fixed sandhills of the B & D kind of vegetation, similar low scrub. Filmed & took Kodachrome just north of extensive sand drifts.... are crossed at

15.00 Tall scrub in valleys

15.04 Finished with shot of cliffs of Edel Land. Climb to 1500 & set course for mouth of Murchison

15.34 Descending to Murchison  mouth. Flew around, filmed until film ran out. Can't help feeling disappointed with it - so small after Prince Regent ![nature reserve] Kodachromes and last two of (1) Kalbarri town site (2 ) Rocky beach just south of the mouth. Hill River district - all swamps are filled and abundant water, one can easily .... & show a favourable ... could be created here for R. fisciges(?).

17.22 Alkimos hard aground, waves breaking against here too. Wanneroo area extensive lakes, rain squalls over Perth. 1730 Landed Perth.
 

Ashburton River, conical hills with quite coloured breakaways, could be like Oakover Beds. Cine shots of edge of Hamersley country. [Photographic numbers seem to refer to Bolex footage, few records of 35mm shots]. At this point there are notes: shots with all cameras Mount Bruce, northern end of Hamersley country [shots] past over Tambrey and down off the tableland. Black rock piles. Sherlock River and coastal plain, Depuch ahead, flew over Balla Balla and stooged over the island looking at landmarks etc.[fascinating to fly over Depuch and see the old sites and localities we worked in.] Took much film and photos.

Yule River seconds what it took a whole day to cover on foot. Hunters pool full of water, muddy brown in colour. Ken had a good look at it all. Photographed Balla Balla. Landed at Port Hedland and took photo of coastal plain as we came in and a lot of the town.

Various people in town: John R. of Papingara, Athol Loseley(?) of MMR.

> 18th July 1963.
Breakfast at 8, then to Main Roads offices. Telegram for Helen. "K.T.Richards, Kununnurra, E.F. Maxwell Derby. Map sent to Eric. Went out to Ted Roberts who took me out to the 2 mile camp and I had a look at the small reserve for native carvings - very disappointing in both quality and "presentation", Nothing nearly as spectacular or exciting as Depuch. Went out to the 12 mile & met Maury Tom and other old men then out to the sacred boards.

Time for takeoff, photos of town. Steady flight bearing at 60*, 80* over land, steady at 9000ft, 75* over DeGrey River, Wallal homestead & strip(?).

The roads of Quaternary sands at Wallal are striking. It looks very much as though the sands are an infill in an older topography possibly to the ?5 metre line. The large"lake" extends well inland and seems to be an old river flowing between DeGrey and Fitzroy Rivers.

Anna Plains, Talgano strip. Peninsula of Jurassic emerges out to the sea - could be exposures at its tip. Quaternary Bay just north on it again. Beyond the second peninsula there is another which goes inland and Frazier Downs Homestead is in its southern edge 4 or 5 miles from the sea. There is timber here and I suspect that this is the beginning of the Pindan. Patches of red show through here. Over La Grange, bearing changed to 70*. Flying in a straight line for Derby - abreast of Roebuck Bay. Ground beneath covered with a tree savannah (classified as a shrub savannah), presumably Pindar, very patchy, generally good cover but throughout the area are scattered islands of greater density of trees. Can see no sign of the G. S. Desert! Here the islands appear to be areas of lower density not higher i.e. general density here much higher.

Commencing descent Fitzroy in sight. Edgar Range visible to the east of us. Might be a good place to send Harry Butler.

As we lose height the p o called trees are seen to be shrubs with bigger trees scattered among them, presumably boabs and acacia. Mt Anderson and Grant Range visible on horizon, white gums along river beds. Landed at Derby. Met Bernie, Jim Coleman who lent us a Hammer (?) for Alex for tomorrow.

> 19th July.
Drove out to Erskine Range with Alex and driver Arthur... in Bedford 30cwt, very comfortable ride, nice in the sun at the range with the wind blowing. Spent morning searching the Brachyopid location in the Blina Shale, no success at all. Afternoon v. hot with clied (?) searched Ken McKenzie's skull loc. & found a number of good plates of Labyrinthodont  sutures, bones etc.

Filmed view from range & of Range, returned to Derby, tried to get into a/o so that Bernie  & wife could have a flight but keys with window repair people - no luck. Had long session with Maxwell about Albert. Albert keen to go with Crawford (remembers his father)  will find us our replacement but needs reassureance that his job will not suffer. - I gave Maxwell this and told him that he should tell the Dept. this, he agrees. Met Ridge Shire Clerk, he is keen on museum project & I must write to him giving him the statement (?) that we will lend but can do nothing else under our present Act. He will take this up with Court - Minister for North West - a good man keen and efficient & has promises of much material for locals. Wants to know what happened to rifle which killed pigeons (?), supposedly a police weapon.

Wrote to Margaret.

> 20th July (Continued in separate notebook - Part 2)