MOTOR WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 6 November 1926, Page 15

MOTOR WORLD

ACROSS AUSTRALIA

IN MOTOR TRUCK

TURTLES’ EXPEDITION. The outstanding impression ol a journey across Australia is tlio vastness ol : our Continent. Such phrases as “vast open spaces’' and “boundless resources” are heard so often that they become meaningless platitudes, but a motor tour fiom soutn to north makes thcni living truths For a month Air. Francis Dirties and party travelled from Melbourne to Darwin, more than 330 J miles, in a motor truck, and almost every mile of the journey had some special interest. The way lay through the prosperous country of Victoria. Slid South Wales to Sydney, and across the Blue Mountains through the wealthy pastoral country of .New South Wales to Dourke. New South Wales and Southwestern Queensland were enjoying rich seasons, nut farther north in Queensland the country jvas suffering from drought and conditions were very dry. Excellent roads took the truck across the Darkly tablelands to, Newcastle Waters, whence the route of the overland telegraph line was followed. From Katherine River the road can be so called only from courtesy, for it lias been untended since the railway line was built. Dut the discomforts of this section were made worth while by the scenery. The vegetation gradually became tropical until Darwin wss reached, with its pretty bay, shady trees, and a tropical atmosphere that is fascinating to the southerner. BIRD AND ANIMAL LIFE.

The overland route from -Melbourne to Darwin should attract thousands of tourists when it becomes better known, and the myths that have grown up about the Northern Territory are dispelled. There are so many kangaroos on the track that even the keenest sportsman would grow tired of shooting them, and a detour of 30 miles leads to buffalo country. The birds of the north alone would make the journey worth while. The thousands of cockatoos in Anthony’s Lagoon and a flock of pelicans wheeling in the sunset over Lake Nash were sights worth travelling many miles to see. A lover of bird and animal life would be happy at one of the sub-artesian wells in the Territory. At sunrise, the birds and animals for hundreds of miles around come in for water. The sinking dingoes, the cheerful kangaroos, the wild horses, with their queer loping gait, all make the well their Aleeca. Meanwhile the air is full of extravagant colours and excited cries as the birds come in. The birds drink in turn, but if one flock lingers too long at the trough it is driven away by another. Dowdy starlings are followed by pretty 'Java sparrows, and pompous pigeons by beautiful parrots. One type of parrot had nigger brown wings with a scarlet band and a green body. Wild turkeys strut up leisurely, and even the once sacred ibis does not disdain to wait hi® turn. Quenching the thirst , is an exciting business for wild birds, for grim tragedy may lurk in any tree. The wild cockatoos always leave two sentinels- when they descend to drink, but other birds are not so wise. Without warning comes the rush of powerful wings and the shrill cry of the hawk, and the cruel beak and talons seldom miss their prey. MOTORISTS ’ EMiBARR ASSMENT. The sub-artesian wells passed on the way were all working efficiently, and the tanks were full. These tanks are used for many purposes in the north. Scratched on them are messages from one drover to another, and aborigines use them as a canvas for crude drawings. Others use the tanks to publish their opinions of their neighbours.. A story that is amusing the Northern Territory concerns one of these tanks. There is seldom much truth in a tale of the road, hut this one was heard many times between Daly Waters and Darwin, where it received official confirmation. Two racing motorists became so hot on the run from Darwin south that they jumped into a tank. While they were in the tank they heard it motor-car below, and peeping over the edge ol the tank they were confronted by a Vice-Regal representative, who regarded them severely through a monocle. As a punishment for their thoughtless act the motorists were kept in the tank for some time, and were then severely admonished by an official who accompanied the Viee-ltegal psrty. One member of Air. Dirties’ party began to count the number of gates through which a motor lias to pass on the- way from Melbourne to Darwin, but he gave up in despair. Between Nygan and Bourke, in New South .Wales, for instance, there are 27. They vary from well-built gates with automatic locks to extraordinary home-made contraptions that fall into a tangled heap when the catch is released. It speaks well for the good temper of motorists that they bother to close such gates, for one of the conditions under which a gate is licensed is that it must be efficient and kept in good order. In some cases only a single wire is stretched across the gateway. It is difficult to see the wire at night, and in Narromine there is a young woman who still has a sear across her face from a wound inflicted by a piece of wire, which she struck while driving a. motor bicycle. ■ The best gates from the motorists’ point of view are those in Queenslsnd. A KING AND A SNAKE. I

Although it is necessary for the motorist to sleep out in the north, the weather is so mild that it is no hardship The timid southerner, however, does not immediately view with unconcern the fact that in the night a snake might glide between his blankets lor warmth, and that his boots must he left upside down so that a death adder cannot creep in. These little creatures, about 18 inches long, sud so fat that they appear harmless, are reputed to cause death within 20 minutes after they bite. A stock joke in the Northern Territory is to ask the motorist if he has met any hostile natives. The worst the aborigines do is to guide a motorist some miles out of the way rather than assist them to pass through country that is taboo to them. An aborigine, for instance, may not look at- his sister, and the country in which she lives is taboo. The party was honoured by meeting a tribal king, whose regal robes were a tattered sliirt. He and his court accepted gifts of vilelooking tobacco with more eagerness than dignity, and agreed to ride in the hack of the truck and show tlie waj'. Unfortunately, a green mango snake fell from a tree into their midst, and his majesty’s withdrawal was far from being a model of kingly deportment. TRIALS OF EARLY EXPLORERS. On the ironstone ridges of Queensland and the Northern Territory the party learned where the scorching north winds that cause so many bad liver,s and bad tempers in the south

come from. On such a day, when even the water in the water-bags was hot, the party came upon a lonely bottle. According to local tradition, every New Year’s Eve the ghosts of bucolic sundowners gather under these races with right elbows permanently bent and right feet slightly raised. The beautiful mirages on these- plains • are a severe trial to the thirsty traveller. Just- a few miles away are cool lakes studded with palm-shaded islands —but they remain always ju-st a few miles afvay. From the comparative comfort of a motor-ear it is difficult to realise the agonies that must have been suffered by the men and beasts of early exploring parties. A day spent on horseback on the plains would change criticism of the .Burke and AVills expedition to admiration and wonder. Although the explorers have been honoured by statue and story, the brave horses, trusty camels, and faithful dogs have teen forgotten. Their sufferings, especially when an expedition ran short of water,

are beyond imagining, and m the diaries of explorers there are many references to these dumb companions and servants. Some day a g.reat sculptor may pay them tribute. LEARNING TO DRIVE (Several people have recently been ordered to pay a small fine for giving motoring instruction in Richmond Parle. In one case a mam was teaching his wife to drive a motor-cycle. Another favourite place for such Jess jus is Regent’s Park. A teacher who “knows the ropes’’ is always careful to warn his pupil against looking as though he were being taught; he must sit up with an air of experience. This is not always easy, especially if ihe pupil is painfully conscious that he was not born to drive a motor-car. Considering how many are the obstacles f o a good modern education —of which, as we know', the prime branen is motoring capacity—it is wonderful that so few,

people drive as badly as the man who considers speed the only test of talent. FARM POWER, IN U.S.A. According to a report issued by the National Industrial Conference Board,, there was in 1524 in the United States of America 47,000,000 horse-power in use on farms. About (50 per cent, of all power used on farms in that year came from animals, 17 per cent, from tractors, 4 per cent, from .motor trucks, 12J per cent, from stationary engines, 1 per cent, from windmills, and 54 per .cent, from electric installations. than .3 per cent, of the farms in that country were connected with central generating stations, and less than per cent, had any electric power available. From these figures, .even assuming that all the motor tractors were used for cultural operations, it would appear that more than three-quarters of the ploughing, seeding, and harvesting work is still being done with horses in the United States.