15 September 1932

SECRET OF A CAVE

Mystery In The South-East

An unknown cave; a man in search of guano; a gruesome find— these are the chief constituents of a South-Eastern mystery which has never been solved.

Unsolved Mystery Of The South East.

— In the early eighties many of the small but numerous caves in the Rendelsham district, near Millicent, contained rich deposits of guano. Residents used to visit these caves and collect this fertiliser.

On one occasion Mr. F., of Rendelsham, happened upon a hitherto unknown cave. Unable to enter without assistance, he returned home and, gathering the necessary equipment, returned with his father. On reaching the cave Mr. F. and his father deemed it unsafe to effect an entrance by the small deep hole found at first. On further exploring another entrance was found where the ground had caved away. Without further ado Mr. F. cleared away a mass of debris and went in. Imagine his horror instead of finding rich guano deposits, to be confronted by the skeleton of a man.

Mr. F. began to look around for something that would lead to identification of the skeleton. Stepping further into the gloom he came upon the complete skeleton of a horse and the moulding remains of a saddle. Finding nothing else of importance, Mr. F. and his father left and notified the police at Millicent.

Enquiries were made, but no definite light could be thrown upon the mystery. The only theory was that Mr. X., who owned Myurra Station, had many years before lost a boundary rider, of whom no trace could be found. Nothing definite was ever proved, and the case remains one of the unsolved mysteries of the South-East. — 'Latimer,' Millicent

Earl's Cave.

— To the east of Allandale, on the road leading to the Glenelg River, travellers may notice a cave enclosed by a post and rail fence. This is known as Earl's Cave. The purpose of this story is to relate how it obtained its name. If one had the misfortune to fall down this cave, the chance of saving himself would be remote. The walls slope inwards, affording no chance of escape.

Many years ago the ranger for the District Council of Port MacDonnell was Mr. Charles Earl. He was greatly disliked by the people of Allandale because of his strict devotion to duty. Trespassing cattle were impounded, no matter to whom they belonged. Keeping cows was one of the means of livelihood of many families, who had no place on which to pasture them except the roads. This kept the ranger very busy.

The ranger kept some very good horses, and, to be revenged on him for impounding their stock, some men decided to disfigure them. One morning on going to feed them, Mr. Earl was shocked to discover that the horses' hair had been clipped quite close to the skin. The poor animals were shivering with the cold.

To make matters worse, the word 'Bunyip' had been painted across their sides. This outrage made little difference to the conscientious ranger, who continued to do his duty.

Some time later several men went round Allandale East with a petition to the Port MacDonnell Council, requesting the removal of Mr. Earl from the position of ranger. This request was not granted.

Some people had become so incensed against the ranger that his horses were made to suffer another diabolical outrage. They were taken from Mr. Earl's paddock one night and led to the cave mentioned where, after being coupled together, they were backed into the cave and left to struggle until they became exhausted and eventually drowned.

For some time the ranger searched for his horses without result among the thick timber. They were afterwards discovered in the cave which, from that day to this, has been known as Earl's Cave. The perpetrators of this vile act were never brought to justice. — 'Interested,' Allandale East.

Shiver And Shakes.

— During a drought when feed was scarce a butcher from Kimber brought a mob of cattle to Verran for agistment. He paid a chap called Jack to look after them. Jack was to camp at the tank, known as Sheoak Hill. When he had got his 70 odd cattle quietly feeding, put up his tent, and settled down for the night, he saw something white appearing out of the scrub. At first he thought it was a dog. He shouted at it, but it took no notice. After watching for a while Jack got the wind up. He grabbed his rifle and blazed away for about 10 minutes. He stopped shooting when he saw it had no effect. By now he had a cold sweat up. One gets strange ideas alone in the bush, and he thought it was a ghost. Unable to bear the thing any longer, he made a rush for his tent, jumped into bed, and covered his head with the bedclothes. He lay there in a cold sweat till day light. Then he jumped on his horse and went for his life, not stopping to look round. If he had he would have seen his 'ghost' of the night was only an old nanny goat. — 'Egg Shell,' Verran

Why Johnny Gave Up Work.

— Many years ago, when I was a girl, an old aboriginal used to come to our place to cut wood for a supply of 'tucker,' of which he never had enough. One morning 'Johnny Hawker,' as he was called, arrived and started on the woodheap. But he soon became tired of swinging the axe, and thought he would try the saw, as it might be easier. After a few minutes he stopped and asked for some fat to rub on the saw, 'to make him go,' as he put it. My sister procured the first bit of fat she could find, some rather ancient bacon fat, and gave it to Johnny. Next thing we saw Johnny sitting on a log with a grin on his lace. He had rubbed the fat on his head, the hair of which had not been cut since he was a piccaninny, and he was combing it out with a few inches of broken comb. For the rest of the day Johnny did not do anything but comb his hair, and we had to cut the wood ourselves. —'Danny,' Millicent.

Dream That Came True.

— Some years ago my late husband, Mr. Mclndoe Robertson, of 'Appakaldree,' Normanville, bred and kept horses on a fairly large scale. I was often told how, when show day came round, a string of horses, mares, and foals would be taken down to the show with their coats shining and manes and tails all in traditional form, and how they would return with prizes each time champions, firsts, and seconds.

'The Dad,' as Mr. Robertson was always called by the family, had turned out some of the young stock for a spell at Tonquililla station, then owned by us.

Among the horses was a particularly promising colt. One day, when the 'boys' went to see how the animals were getting on, they could not find the colt. They enquired among the neighboring landowners, but no trace of him could be found. Weeks went by and the mystery remained unsolved.

Then my brother-in-law, Alex Robertson, one night had a dream. He distinctly saw the colt lying dead on the side of a hill up the creek, where it had evidently fallen or slipped, while feeding from above. The dream so impressed him that he got some of the boys to go with him to the spot. There, sure enough, they found the colt, lying with his neck broken, exactly where Mr. Robertson had dreamt he was. — E. Roebuck Wise, Normanville.

Poonindie Mission.

— Standing in a reserve of 4-1/2 acres of land about 10 miles from Port Lincoln is a little country church of great historic interest. Built in 1857, it was then the centre of the Poonindie Native Mission Station.

This mission was established in 1850 by Archdeacon Hale, who had come out from England a few years previously. He had intended to make his abode on Boston Island, but he and his helpers were unable to find any permanent fresh water there, so they decided to make the headquarters of the mission on the mainland.

The Government granted a large native reserve, and Archdeacon Hale also purchased a sheep run of some 12 square miles, carrying over 3,000 sheep. Mr. George Wollaston was employed as overseer. Land was tilled, and grain planted. Within a few years a yield of 700 bushels of wheat was returned for their labor. Wells were sunk, huts and other dwellings erected, and fencing was put up. About 19 natives were sent over from Adelaide at the start. They assisted with the work, and received for their labor 6d. a day.

It is interesting to note that the surveying of the Poonindie Mission Station was carried out by John McDouall Stuart, who afterwards became famous as the explorer.

There was much sickness amongst the natives, and many deaths occurred in the next few years, so many that the mission became a place of dread to the wild blacks outside. They avoided it for a long time. Archdeacon Hale, with his family, lived on the floor above the church, hence the need of a fireplace and chimney, it is one of the few churches in South Australia that can boast a chimney.

In spite of setbacks at the start, the station prospered until the property was finally subdivided and sold to various owners. A reserve of 4-1/2 acres was left around the church. Services are still conducted by the Anglican denomination in the old building. — 'R.V.H.,' Yeelanna.

Stolen Fruit Not Always The Sweetest.

— Years ago, when the boats used to brave the dangers of the Murray Mouth, and there were many wrecks, it was the custom to patrol the beach, and to take charge of all wreckage washed up. There was very severe punishment for anyone caught pilfering, though for all the care taken, many things were spirited away. The blacks were the worst source of trouble, but on one occasion they made a sad mistake.

They found a case which had been washed ashore, and after a lot of trouble managed to get it into their camp. They decided to have a feast. The case was full of gorgeous yellow bats— 'butter' the blackfellows thought. They ate as much as they could, and after much frothing at the mouth were taken out desperately ill. Great was the moaning in the camp for several days until the dire effects of the soap (for soap it was) passed away. — 'Pansy,' Milang.