TRYING ORDEAL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17947, 26 November 1932, Page 4

TRYING ORDEAL

WOMEN’S PLIGHT MOTORING IN AUSTRALIA AUTHOR TO THE RESCUE Tim store oi the rescue by Air. William Hatfield, Australian author and journalist, of two woman who were in distress after a trying ordeal on their ICCO miles journey from Darwin to .Alice Springs is told in the Sydney Sun. Miss Aivra AVorgan (daughter of a Northern Territory mining warden, who was drowned recently), and Airs. Hall, of Darwin, engaged Air. AVare to drive them from Darwin to Alice Springs, where they intended to take the train south. They took a native house boy. They deviated 47 miles from the road to an isolated buffalo camp, and. retraced their tracks. Then the radiator leaked, and they had tyre trouble. Leaving Daly Waters on a Friday last month, the driver showed symptoms of violent gastric fever. The party, carrying only a small water bag and vacuum flask, reached AlcGory’s Bore, to find the troughs dry. Afiss AVorgan, who

was the lightest weight, climbed to the top of the windmill tank, and, with difficulty, replenished the water bag and emptied a petrol tin into the car tank and filled the tin with water. They went 20 miles to the next bore, Milner’s, and then the car broke down completely. The tyres were fiat and the pump broken, and the driver, through increasing illness, was unable to make repairs. They camped on the roadside a day and a night. The water in the petrol tin was undrinkable, and their stores were short. They had then only sweat biscuits and tinned foods. The women sent the black boy on to fill the waterbag, with a note to give to the first white man he met. TRAVELLER BASSET) BY

After three hours the native returned from Alilner’s Bore, where he found a white woman, Airs. McCarthy, alone. He brought water and a note saying .that if possible they should walk the distance. The native had no idea of the mileage, and the women could only judge the distance by his time, and double it in their ease. Leaving the driver to the care of the native, the women walked nearly 10 miles, arriving at dusk. They remained two days, awaiting passing help, and frantically anxious lost AVare should die or wander. On the Sunday afternoon, Air. Hatfield, hurrying across the continent from Alt. Isa to Kimberley per motor car, passed bv to the northward without hearing the shrieking and whistling of the three women. Air. Hatfield had expected the house to be nil tenanted, as it was the time he passed. NATIVE AVENT BUSH Ten miles further on Air. Hatfield stopped at the stationary car, beside which he saw Ware, under nets. •Frightened at finding himself in the strange tribal territory, the native had gone bush, leaving Ware alone and ill for two days, with no supplies except a tin of sardines and a bottle of olives, which were untouched. Ware’s first words were, “Where are the women?” and lie then collapsed, thinking they had left the road and perished. Leaving supplies, Afr. Hatfield immediately returned to Milner’s Bore and found the women safe. He went back to the sick man lata that night, and brought him to Mrs McCarthy, in whose care lie soon became, appreciably better.

Air. Hatfield kindly abandoned bis plans, dumped all his camping gear, amt brought the women, on a- special trio 600 miles south to Alice Springs. I hoy arrived on the Wednesday nn'F.t, beating the mailman’s time bv a day.