Packed up the rest of the party, said goodbye to Roebourne, drove to Hedland, paid off Merrilee. Drove to Pippingarra deposited Bob, drove on to the Manganese roads to Braeside and camped 25m.

> 20th June 1962 Wednesday
Drove on to Warrawagine along the Manganese road, very well marked, Coppin Gap an excellent landmark. Met manager(?) Ron Johnson, a good chap, he had the head of a python for identification, possibly Children's, very vicious, attacked without provocation. Johnson said that there was a large fossil bone in the homestead but had been thrown out, he would look for it for us. He told us of the meteorite strike locality at a coell (?) S.W. of Braeside house where 3 faces meet (North of Pulgorah Cone). He says that there are now 2 strikes on theback of a hill. He says that the skull was probably found by Prospector Sam Kennedy - Mrs Cotton at Yarri knows address. Was picked up on bank of Oakover he thinks 3 miles downstream below the homestead at Braeside. Drove to Braeside, made camp S.W. of the homestead on a flat with mesquite. Drove over to meteorite strike, v. poss. find it easily, hill c.100 ft + above the plain -mesas of Oakover beds. There is a scar on the hillside with a number of big blocks of opaline material broken off and a hole below it. No sign of any meteoritic material or even convincing signs of a strike. Suggest that the scars are produced by rockfall due to weathering. Camped for night.

> 21st June Thursday 1962
Drove across the river at the homestead and examined the beds of the river and Tanguin Creek, most unsatisfactory. The bed consists of red earth banks in the centre with long banks of stones, some signs of root fills in a red sandstone, collected one of these. Drove over to the Oakover at the homestead, photographed the river crossing & also a shot downstream. Walked the bank and found no likely looking places at all. banks here are topped with red earth, fine powdery claylike soil with Eriachne and Triodia etc certain strata of these while may be in lenses(?). There are banded jasperlites, sandstones, opaline rocks, ? tillites, conglomerates. Exposures very poor, collected specimens and photographed from bottom of river, then climbed back and took shot across landrover (with Glen in picture) towards the mesas of the Oakover beds. Back to road and then 3 miles south of homestead (13.6-16.6) along road to where mesas approach road, turned towards river and went down to where river cuts banks through residuals of Oakover beds, nothing there, pool of water. Glen collected fish, 2 Rhaggada collected. Collected sample of chalcedony from high bluff south of pool, capped by opaline material then clays v. poorly consolidated sandstones. Whole area much channeled and complex stra..(?) of recent alluvium. Took 2 photos : 1 back to river to show residuals & channels, stone for scale, 1 back to mesas of Oakover Beds, landrover for scale. Drove on to the Sisters, photographed them and then drove down road to Carawine Gorge. Decided to return to camp and then to drive down to Warrawagine for petrol next day. Decided to drive to Hedland via Nullagine and Carawine Gorge. Saw and photographed c. 30 donkeys, 2 main groups of about 1 doz., 1/2 doz. cattle - almost certainly cleanskins.

> 22nd June Friday 1962
Drove over to Warrawagine, saw Ron Johnson about petrol and bone. They could not find it but found a piece of "bone"which turned out to be a concretin (?). Johnson says that Dr Clapp(?) geologist in early part of this century "Somewhere in the 1900s" picked up whalebones in the top of Hills on Braeside (i e Oakover Beds).

Antechinoings (?) said to be common all the year round while foxes come up for a couple of months at a time. Drove to Carawine Gorge, collected rock specimens from black bedded hills v. similar to Gregory Range alongside the road s. of Braeside appears to be an altered sandstone with seams of silica (photos). Went into the Gorge, climbed and photographed an eroded mesa, collected specimens. Capped by opaline material, underneath this is a reddish earth with marly(?) bands, collected ? pollen. No fossils evident but it might pay to walk out. The eroded material (slump)? seems to contain forming pisolites ? laterization in progress.

  2 yellow dingos, male, dead on roadside.
  Contrasted shales - photographed
  Skull Springs Oakover River manganese workings.
  Glen shot Blue doe. Mulga with ironstone (?) sand plains
  [WR 102] female, no joey, pouch empty, teats short HF 28.5, E 14, total length 156 cms.
  Red female, joey at heel
  Windmill Road going to south from ours (presumably to Mt Cooke)
  EuroRoad to aerodrome branches off to right, sign, aerodrome 2 m. & State Battery 15 m.           
  Signpost pointing back along our track. Mt Cooke 35 m.
  Nullagine, stopped for meal.
  Small mammal alive on road, bushy tail, feeding on dead euro - Satarellis like.
  Camped for night . spinifex & rocky hills.

> 23rd June Saturday 1962
Drove to Hedland, arrived  approx midday. Moseley, K. A. c/o MMA Hedland. All that is known about the threadfin "Salmon", Cooktown Salmon", Winterfish. Caught M.M.A. Focker back to Perth.

> 1963

> 31st January Boyagin Rock and Pingelly Area
Weekend Camp. Ride & Merrilees family parties !
Rides: David, Margaret, Jimmy, Seddy(Edison), Peter, Susan (Katherine left at home) Merrilees: Duncan, Katherine, Margaret, (Elizabeth left home to milk goat)!!

> 31st Jan. 1963 Thursday.
6 Florence Rd Nedlands (Holden) Went down Albany Highway to Nth Bannister (where we tried to get water with Charles Camp on a previous occasion). Brush dead on road 2m. before turnoff.

Turn off York Williams road at Boyagin sign, turn left at fence line immediately before Boyagin Creek. Reached Rock, no mileage taken, drove back to well for water, v. cloudy & bitter.
Camp.
Collected gecko from firewood, collected flying insect  (?) at light.

> 1st Feb 1963 Friday
Start to Pingelly, turn left at entrance to reserve, left at T junction signposted Pingelly, Boyagin etc, right at T junction into bitumin main Brookton Narrogin Rd, turn marked by shed, 109 mile post, Pingelly P. O.

Directions from Pingelly: 5 miles up Brookton Rd. to 109 milepost, take first turn on left(dirt road - good-1/2 mile beyond milepost) 4.6 miles - turn right, signposted Boyagin. 5.2 miles turn up dirt road (track) alongside fenceline (Rock very clearly visible well before this at a rt lt s. bend in road).

Set traps in evening with composite bait as per Aus. Ins. Nat. Hist.:
10 live traps for Pat Woolley set in pairs, 2 in lavaty(?) creek, 2 at creek crossing, 1 in granite, 1 at blackboy, 3 pairs of 2 in scrub at foot of granite each pair marked by a dragged log across track.

Set breakbacks in 3s: 1st trio at S.E. corner immediately following in after lines, then up to boulders in S.E. corner at crest. 3 breakbacks. Crossed over hill to N. side opposite the boulders & 3 more set on the S. side of the deep valley, moved around the cirt(?) back towards cap & set 3 more in the edge of the surrounding scrub - on the E side Bandicoot scrapes.

Went spotlighting along the Boyagin Rd. as far as the York/Williams  road, then back. Rabbits patchy along road verges, 1080 signs up, landowners here are doing a lot of vermin netting.

Possum only marsupial seen, on ground at base of Wandoo/Casuarina scrub, sat up like a wallabyfor a few seconds to get a good look at the car. End of tail white, no other animals - small 1/2 moon. Saw Podargus on road, landed in tree - good look at him. Children v. tired.

> 2nd Feb 1963
Went round traps at first light. No box traps sprung, several rat breakbacks off, suspect misfires, collected Ezemia(?) in the first of the 1st trio of rats.Walked over the rocks with Duncan discussing theories of the part played by Granite rocks in the accumulation of fossil bone. Found Gnamma hole, will hold about 10 gals, cleaned out sand. The hole was filled very nearly to the top but sand took up most of the space, fitted a new lid and will return. Showed Gnamma hole to M. and children. Drove over to the E. Pingelly reserve, had lunch near Dhu's drove down but not at home. Drove over to Woyerling to show the children the old well, windlass, trough etc, talked about Shortridge.

Back to Pingelly and then to Boyagin Rock again. Visited traps and replaced baits, the squares of gauze hold the bait very well indeed. Must tell W.H.B.

Bat flies over at late twilight - dusk. Talked until 10.20.

> 3rd Feb 1963 Sunday
Visited traps at first light, collected all. Nothing & no signs of small mammals, very dry & no surface water, saw signs that trees in deep valley between the rocks had been barked by small mammals - could be tammar but saw no droppings except rabbits - 1080 poisoning in the district. Went up onto rock with boys to collect a pair of Amphibolurus for Storr. Shot them.

Returned to Perth via Dale Road/ York Williams Road, signposted Williams....