2 March 1933

FINDING WATER IN THE DESERT

Little Known Hints Which May Save Lives

Even the experienced bushmen who have spent their lives in constant combat with the relentless dry regions of Australia, do not always know they are within reach of water sometimes when none seems to be about. The article following tells how sometimes the precious fluid may be discovered.

FROM time to time reports have come to hand of white men dying of thirst in the waterless regions of Central Australia. In many cases they have lain down under a tree and died a dreadful death, not knowing the water they needed so much was only a few inches under the sand and within easy reach of their clawing fingers!

The blacks roam over these deserts with safety, because they have learned from childhood to find water where to all appearances none exists. When the explorer, Eyre, was passing over desert country he observed how natives obtained water from roots of trees. One got about a quart of water in half an hour from the roots of a coolybah. The coolybah (a species of mallee) is shallow rooted, its roots usually being only 3 to 9 inches below the surface. They are about 8 ft. in length and full of sap. A full grown coolybah tree will yield enough moisture to quench the thirst of ten men.

The natives try the ground at a distance of about 4 ft. from the main stem and when they find a root it is only a minute's labor to pull it up and break it into short lengths. These pieces are propped upright and the moisture drains out into some receptacle, or straight into the mouth if need be. These trees are capable of holding this supply of sap through long droughts. It is in the heat of summer that the sap flows the easiest.

Among these 'water trees' of the desert are the needlebush, currajong, mulga, and some of the acacias. When Eyre was on his historic walk around the coast to Western Australia he was able to put his knowledge to good use and doubtless saved his life by it.

John McDougall Stuart, another explorer, said that in very dry regions he put a lot of faith in birds as being sure guides to water. In his diary he records that whenever he and his party saw diamond birds it was certain that water was near. Pigeons he also regarded as sure 'water-finders.' At sundown they invariably fly in the direction where water is available. Their flight when making towards the water is swift; when flying away, heavy and slow. By noting carefully the mode of flight a traveller can tell in which direction the water lies.

The blacks obtain a supply of water from hollows in the desert oak. In the fork of this tree a cavity forms which goes on down into the trunk, and when rain falls, it filters through the small opening until several gallons of good fresh water are stored away. The blacks insert long hollow grass stems into the hole and suck the water from the cavity. To the ordinary, casual passer by there is no indication of the hidden water supply.

In the desert regions a heavy dew falls during the night and with the aid of a ball of dried grass used like a sponge it is possible to collect a pint or so of water from grass and leaves in the early morning. The sandalwood tree, in particular, yields a wonderful amount of dew from its leaves.— 'R.V.H.,' Yeelanna.

Bushmen's Utopia.

— About two decades before there was permanent settlement in the Kimba district, the country was covered with thick pine and mallee scrub, relieved with grassy plains and billabongs. It was over run by kangaroos, wallabies, and dingoes.

In periods of drought in the partially settled district of Franklin Harbor, the farmers would gather their cattle and horses and travel them to Katinga— as the country near where Kimba now stands was known. There were many hard nuts of bushmen about Franklin Harbor at that time, and a considerable amount of cattle duffing was carried on.

One Sunday morning a Wesleyan missionary called at the home of one of these 'bushies,' and was holding prayer with the master of the house, when suddenly his sons burst in on them yelling, 'Father! Father! The brand's hot, the blanket wet, and the cattle are in the yard.' Their method was to gather up the beasts and drive them into a roughly built yard, and here, having a branding iron red hot and a piece of wet flannel, they would quickly erase the original brand and imprint their own.

All the country outside the county of Jervois was unsurveyed, unpoliced, and no tax was imposed upon the graziers. No cattle duffers were ever brought to justice.

Wandering over these lands were a mob of wild horses, their chief haunt being Wild Horse Plains because of the more bountiful sheaoak and grasses. These outlaw steeds were led by a fiery stallion who resented the invasion of his domain by domesticated animals. He wrought considerable damage among the settlers' horses, and the farmers swore vengeance.

Waiting for summer to dry up the billabongs, the bushmen placed a guard over each spring and soak. For three weeks the cunning horse eluded them, till one day he was seen feeding on a grassy knoll and in fine condition. As all the known spring waters had been watched, the men decided to track the steed to find out from whence he was obtaining water. The horse eventually led them to a creek of running water amid sandhills and whipstick mallee. It is now known as Carpie Puntha. — 'Dad Way back,' Cowell.

It Looked Like Washing Day.

— In 1883 I shipped as fireman on the steamer Mundoo, which was towing the barge Duck on the Murray to Wilcannia.

We had as cargo about eight tons of drapery, rugs, blankets, prints, and miles of calico. The latter was generally used by the wool scourers for sheets to dry the wool on.

There were also eight trunks of dresses, belonging to the wife of the then leading man in Wilcannia, who had just returned from England.

After leaving Morgan all went well until we had about reached Bookmark station. About 3 o'clock in the morning the steamer stepped, and this awakened me. I got up to see what had happened. Out on deck a big Irish runaway sailor was yelling, "So help me, God, skipper, the barge is sinking." There was no doubt about it; she was down to the deck.

My father, who was engineer and owner, ran her on a sand spit, but she sank in 12 ft. of water. While waiting for the arrival of the underwriters, we got the cargo on the bank. We opened all the cases and dried the drapery. Amongst the cargo were 50 coils of small rope, and these we stretched from tree to tree. We hung all the rugs, blankets, and the lady's personal effects on these lines, until the place looked like a general washing day in the bush.

We unrolled the calico and ran it out in full lengths. There were acres and acres of it, and it was a wonderful sight; hundreds of blankets, red, white, and blue, and rugs of all the colors. There were prints by the mile.

When all the stuff was dry we folded it up and took it on board again. The rugs and blankets alone made a pile 12 ft. x 12 ft. x 9 ft. high. When we arrived at Wilcannia the husband of the woman who owned the luggage came on board.

I have never heard one man make such a row. He was going to punch all hands, and make mincemeat of the skipper, for touching his wife's luggage. He said he would sooner anything than have had his wife's luggage exposed. He left the steamer declaring he would issue a writ against the skipper. But we never heard any more about it, and for several trips after the whole of our load belonged to this man, who gave us preference over every other steamer.— E. H. Dodd, Goolwa.

Pioneer Priests and Churches.

— In 1867, the Rev. Father S. J. Hinteroecker, of Adelaide, who was a naturalist as well as a priest, made an expedition to the Gawler Ranges in the cause of science. On his return journey he spent some time at the settlements about Port Lincoln. He was so impressed with the future possibilities of the place that on his return to Adelaide he persuaded the Bishop to sanction the building of a little church and presbytery there.

The Bishop came over from Adelaide to lay the foundation-stone. Owing to an oversight, no foundation-stone had been provided, and this fact was not discovered until after the ceremony had started.

A man hurried to Kirton Point, to where a Baptist church was to have been built, and there he found a foundation-stone. With this he hastened across to the other church, where it was well and truly 'laid' by Bishop Shields. Next night it was quietly returned to its original place. No one knows what finally became of it.

About ten years later the discovery was made that the church had been built on a Government reserve instead of on the allotment that had been purchased for it. In 1879, as a result of negotiations, an Act of Parliament was passed which permitted the Government to sell the reserve to the church.

The priest in charge travelled many thousand miles visiting settlers in the back country. From Port Lincoln trips were made to Franklin Harbor, Port Augusta, and Blinman mine. Then back through the Gawler Ranges to Streaky Bay and up as far as Fowler's Bay. On the return journey all the central districts then inhabited would be visited.

These trips were the more remarkable owing to the fact that they were made with horse-drawn vehicles. It was necessary to take supplies of food for long stages, but fresh water was obtained from rock holes here and there along the track. — 'R.V.H.,' Yeelanna.

Golden Goblet Club.

— One of the strangest clubs I have heard of is the Golden Goblet Club, whose headquarters are at Macclesfield. The members meet every New Year's Eve.

Some of the official positions are keg deliverer, keg retainer, keg returner, keeper of the peace, listener in, and torch bearers.

The proceedings commence at 8 p.m. with a procession down the main street. A bell-ringer leads the way, followed by the "Golden Goblet" (a keg of beer) wheeled in a decorated wheelbarrow, by an official of the club. Members carrying lighted torches form a guard of honor on each side of the "Goblet," followed by the "lookers on" (public).

A halt is called at each of the business places en route, whilst cheers are given for the proprietors. The final stopping place is a flat on the outskirts of the township used as a sports oval. The members using a motor lorry for a stage call a halt.

One of the 'officials,' addressing the public, declares a continental open. A programme is given consisting of songs, elocution, and violin solos. Each contributor is rewarded by a drink from the goblet. The drinking vessel is a pint pannikin decorated with a huge green bow of ribbon. The same pannikin has been used every year since the first meeting of the club.

The Golden Goblet Club celebrated its thirteenth anniversary last New Year's Eve. At the first meeting one of the officials opened the programme by singing "Bell Brandon," and every New Year's Eve since for thirteen years the same official opens the programme by singing "Bell Brandon." The entertainment concludes at midnight, when all present join hands and sing "Auld Lang Syne" around the "goblet," or what is left of it.— 'M.J.B.,' Macclesfield.

Real Life Stories Of South Australia (1933, March 2). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 17. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90894016