CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1930, Page 13

CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

NOT A SANDY DESERT

DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSPORT. Mr. Donald Mackay, leader of flic recent aerial expedition to Central Australia, in. an address to members of the Millions Club ’in Sydney, denied that Central Australia, was a sandy desert, but admitted that the difficulties of settlement there were almost insuperable. When rain came, Mr. hlackay said, there was an exuberance of vegetation. Grass grew rapidly, and among it a wealth of wild flowers, that gave the landscape a beautiful appearance. But in periods of drought the vegetation all disappeared except the saltbush, spinifex and mulga. These were the standbys of the cattle farmer.

At present the settlers there were passing through trying times. Some of the herds that numbered a few years ago from 5900 to 10,000 were now reduced from 800 to 500. But when the wet seasons camo and vegetation was available theso herds would soon be built up again to normal proportions. At-one time the settlers got cattle land at Cd per square mile, but that had been increased to 3s—why, Mr. Mackay said, be had never been able to find out.

Dealing with the mineral possibilities of Central Australia Mr. Mackay said these were distinctly promising, but there was great difficulty in prospecting. The ideal way was a combination of aeroplane and camel transport. The aeroplane could be used for the exploration cf probable routes for the camels over tho country to be prospected, while the camels could carry the heavy tools •and food. The difficulty with aeroplanes alone was the possibility of a forced landing in an area where there would be difficulty in getting sufficient spac< for an adequate runway to take off again. With camels alone the difficulty" was the slow progress—about three miles an hour. He realised that the prospectors bad a hard time before them in tha't area. Mr. Mackay said that the natives in Central Australia were favourable to visitors when they were treated properly. The main point was never to let the native regard himself as superior to the white man and never to allow him or his gins into the tent of the white men. .The natives were very helpful in his expedition. * They assisted them in every way and led them to water. At night the tools and food of the parly were left unprotected alongside the area where the blacks were camped and not a thing was touched. They could not have done the same thing in or around Sydney. Answering a question, Mr. Mackay said there was very little game to be seen in Central Australia. They saw one or two kangaroos in the distance and there were some mountain wallabies, but they were a mere handful. There were plenty of goldfinches, but the only other birds he saw on the trip were a crow, a hawk and two wagtails. He was told that at one time there were,thousands of rabbits bl. the area that lie explored, but the recent drought had killed most of them. They would come again when the food supply increased.