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-THE SYDNEY BUSHWALKER
+=====The Sydney Bushwalker=====
-A monthly Bulletin devoted to matters of interest to The Sydney Bushwalkers, 5-Hamilton Stret, Sydney
-No.121  J.LNIT.,Y, 1945 Price 6d.
+A monthly Bulletin devoted to matters of interest to The Sydney Bushwalkers, 5-Hamilton Street, Sydney
- EDITOR: Clare Kinsella PRODUCTION: Yvonne Rolfe
- ASST. Grace Jolly ASSIST. Alice Wyborn
+====No.121  January, 1945 Price 6d.====
- BUS.MAN. John Johnson SALTS & SUBS. Betty Dickenson,
-CONTENTS
+|**Editor**|Clare Kinsella|
-Something About Our Snakes D. Stead Page
+|**Assistant Editor**|Grace Jolly|
+|**Business Manager**|John Johnson|
-Climbing Snowden  I. Butler 4
+|**Production**|Yvonne Rolfe|
-Snakes Alive It  M. McGregor 5
+|**Production Assistant**|Alice Wyborn|
-BushFire Fighting Abores Australis 6
+|**Sales & Subscriptions**|Betty Dickenson|
-Notice re Monthly Meeting   8
-Notice re Request for Annu I  8
+=====Contents=====
-Notice re Map of HawkesburyR.  6
-About People 4 a. 0  9
+| | |Page|
-Letters from Lads o  10
+|Something About Our Snakes|D. Stead Page| 2|
-Federation Report   12
+|Climbing Snowden|I. Butler| 4|
-THE JACARANDA
+|Snakes Alive|M. McGregor| 5|
-Douglas Stewart,
+|BushFire Fighting|Abores Australis| 6|
-There is some sweetness not to be seen in air, Not to be tralped in rain, not to be found
+|Notice re Monthly Meeting| | 8|
-In earth, that made this sky of blossoms flare
+|Notice re Request for Annual| | 8|
-In blue and sparkling daylight out of the ground;
+|Notice re Map of Hawkesbury River| | 6|
-Some struggle of more than earth is in triumph here. It that gesture of joy and fulfilment lifted on high Where, dancing with pale blue fire, the branches rear
+|About People| | 9|
-And the dark twigs hold the sky up to the sky. There was a day when the mountain lories came
+|Letters from Lads| |10|
-Through the creekside gums in such a red flash of grace That a whole mountainside was turned to flame; I have seen the glory glow white in a woman's face;
+|Federation Report| |12|
-But nev,,.r more clearly than here on the delicate -Pyre Where the petals fall as the flames of sacrifice climb Have I seen that manifold Presence, that triumph of fire That flashes from nowhere down into space and time
-....11..m.....M.,
+=====The Jacaranda=====
-,
-SOMETHING ABOUT OUR SNAKES
+Douglas Stewart.
+There is some sweetness not to be seen in air,\\
+Not to be trapped in rain, not to be found\\
+In earth, that made this sky of blossoms flare\\
+In blue and sparkling daylight out of the ground;\\
+Some struggle of more than earth is in triumph here.\\
+It that gesture of joy and fulfilment lifted on high\\
+Where, dancing with pale blue fire, the branches rear\\
+And the dark twigs hold the sky up to the sky.
+There was a day when the mountain lories came\\
+Through the creekside gums in such a red flash of grace\\
+That a whole mountainside was turned to flame;\\
+I have seen the glory glow white in a woman's face;\\
+But never more clearly than here on the delicate pyre\\
+Where the petals fall as the flames of sacrifice climb\\
+Have I seen that manifold Presence, that triumph of fire\\
+That flashes from nowhere down into space and time.
+=====Something About Our Snakes=====
 By David D. Stead.
-*What famous bushwalker was it who said that the death adder is sum
+What famous bushwalker was it who said that the death adder is sum
 snake? Probably the one that discovered that one of the main differences
-between snakes and lizards is that a snake has no eyelids - it sees out of its snaked eyes Should a snake bite you while you are on a trip on no
+between snakes and lizards is that a snake has no eyelids - it sees out of its snaked eye! Should a snake bite you while you are on a trip on no account bite it back ac most Australian snakes are poisonous.
-account bite it back ac most Australian'snakes are poisonous, 7
-But to bo a more Pe:fiow, a:if? might Eay of the average person's
+But to be a  little more serious, one might say of the average person's knowledge of snakes that it isn't the things they don't know that matter,
-kmowlede cf sna;:ez; that It is it'; Clacy don't know that matter,
+it is the things they do know that aren't true.
-it is the things they do know that ak:'ent true.
-Quite a large volume could be filled with populary but erroneous beliefs about snakes, but at the moment it is merely proposed to deal with a few of the commoner fallacies and mention some points of interest regarding snakes, finishing up with a brief descrintion of some of our commonest local snakes,
+Quite a large volume could be filled with popular, but erroneous beliefs about snakes, but at the moment it is merely proposed to deal with a few of the commoner fallacies and mention some points of interest regarding snakes, finishing up with a brief description of some of our commonest local snakes.
-The most elementary Inlowletdge of anatomy would show the impossibility of many of the acts credited to snakes by credulous humans including, I am afraid, far too many mombers of the S.B.W.
-While it is obvious that buehwalkers should be moderately careful where snakes, particularly large ones, are concerned, it should be remembered that snakes have no desire to encounter humans and almost invariably make themselves very scarce long before they are seen, The death adder is a nossible exception, and on account of its dirty drab colouring frequently prefers to risk being stepped on than to make itself more obvious by wriggling away and this brings us to our first fallacy.-
+The most elementary knowledge of anatomy would show the impossibility of many of the acts credited to snakes by credulous humans including, I am afraid, far too many members of the S.B.W.
-L, Th,? death adder does not sting with its tail. It does not ne-d to -
+While it is obvious that buehwalkers should be moderately careful where snakes, particularly large ones, are concerned, it should be remembered that snakes have no desire to encounter humans and almost invariably make themselves very scarce long before they are seen. The death adder is a possible exception, and on account of its dirty drab colouring frequently prefers to risk being stepped on than to make itself more obvious by wriggling away and this brings us to our first fallacy.
+. The death adder does not sting with its tail. It does not need to - its business end is its head and is sufficiently deadly not to require any assistance from a stinging tail. The spine at the end of the tail is used as an anchor in soft sand or soil to increase leverage and so assist the numerous belly plates or scales on which all snakes travel. Each of these plates is, of course, attached to a pair of ribs and the harmonious movement of these ribs backwards and forwards which cants the scales so that the rear edge catches on almost microscopic irregularities of surface, is only one of the many wonderful ways in which living things have adapted themselves to their environment over a long period.
+, The fangs of a snake are not to be confused with its tongue which it darts in and out of its mouth continually; this is so obvious that I hesitate to mention it but I have heard bushwalkers speak of the fangs when referring to the tongue. The tongue is used as a sensory organ and possibly assists a combined sense of taste and smell by carrying back into the mouth microscopic odorous particles. The fangs are a pair of hollow or grooved teeth through which the vemom is injected into the victim.
+. Snakes do not swallow their young when danger threatens and disgorge them afterwards. Despite the accounts of otherwise reliable witnesses this feat is quite impossible. Large snakes frequently consume small ones, possibly their own offspring, but the digestive processes of reptiles are very rapid and after even a brief period in the stomach, the contents would be very dead, and snakes have no special compartment between the mouth and the stomach in which to conceal young snakes until danger passes. Some of our snakes, notably the black and the tiger, bear living young, and many times an adult female must have been killed and cut open and a number of fully developed living young found in the oviducts which to an ignorant person might have been mistaken for the stomach.
+. If you kill a snake, (be careful it is not one of the harmless species) its mate will not follow you to your next campsite and bite you during the night.
+. The fabulous ring or hoop snakes which have been described from time to time are as mentioned - fabulous. These are supposed to take their tail in their mouth when in a real hurry, form their body into a ring or hoop and go bowling along at a terrific speed. I will not comment.
+. In a number of cases in our dairying country, carpet and diamond snakes - non venomous and quite harmless - have been accused of milking cows. While these snakes must frequently have been found in and around cow bails and possibly near cows which had gone dry, it would be quite impossible for a snake to milk a cow. Snakes are unable to suck, their teeth are severely recurved in the mouth so that once they fastened onto a cow's teat it would be impossible, or almost so, for them to let go of their own accord, and finally even a large snake could only hold quite a small quantity of milk or any other liquid.
+. An even more fantastic idea, held by some bushmen regarding snakes, is that a ring of rope laid around the camp will protect those within the ring from visitations by snakes. Snakes have frequently been found asleep on coils of rope or across one or more strands of rope in many places on the coast and in any case it would take much more than a strand of rope to prevent a snake from travelling to its destination wherever it happened to be.
+. We will finish up with the old one about a snake killed during the day not dying till sunset. This idea has resulted from the contraction of certain muscles in a snake which has been killed or severely injured and which is caused by reflex action. It is not by any means an invariable rule and many of you must have seen snakes which are quite "dead" within a very short time of being bashed several times by some intrepid bushwalker.
+====Notes On Our Local Snakes====
+I will take the commonest snakes only and group them into harmless and dangerous. The harmless ones include the Carpet, the Diamond and the Green and Brown Tree snakes.
+The Carpet snake reaches a length of 14 feet, but is freqUently found from 8 to 10 feet in length. The ground colour is pale brown with irregular darker markings which give it its name. It is a very handsome reptile and should not be killed. It is a tree snake and in common with the diamond and green and brown tree snakes, is equipped with two leg like spurs which are the rudiments of hind legs, these spurs assisting in climbing. Found in all the coastal mountain districts from the South Coast of New South Wales right up into tropical Queensland.
+A variety of the same species is the Diamond Snake which differs from the carpet in having a dark blue to black back with diamond shaped clusters of yellow dots. These snakes are true pythons and kill their prey by crushing. They lay eggs which they incubate by lying in a coil above them to keep them moist.
+The Green and the Brown Tree snakes are also harmless. They grow to about 6 feet in length, are very slender, and are exceedingly graceful as they glide among the trees in the rain forests of the coastal mountains where they live. The Green Tree snake varies in shade of green and is hard to see amongst the green foliage. The brown of the Brown Tree snake matches the bark of many of the trees perfectly. Both of them lay egg which are hatched out by the parent in a similar manner to that used by the pythons.
+(My allotted space has run out but next month I hope to deal briefly with the dangerous snakes and perhaps write a few notes on some very different reptiles, the Crocodiles and the Turtles).
+=====Climbing Snowden=====
+Ira Butler.
+I have been very busy working nearly every day and night either in Wales or in London. Have managed to see a fair bit of the country however, and during most of last week we had a tour of some of the agricultural country around Birmingham.
+Must tell you about the only day we had off while we were in Wales. I climbed Snowden after all - and mists don't look much better from the top of Mt. Snowden than from the top of any other mountain. The rain and the fine hail and the cold wind, however, were a bit exceptional, and I don't quite remember an occasion when the edges of my ears and my eyebrows, the top part of my cheek and to a lesser extent the whole windward side of my face felt quite so painful - somewhat like my feet felt the last time I crossed the Cox in winter time.
+We set out from Colwyn Bay at the early hour of 7.10 a.m. and caught a train from Llandudno to Bettws-y-coed (pronounced Bettoos-ee-coid). There round the hours of 9 to 10 we wandered up and down amongst the various hostelries looking for some breakfast. No one wanted to give us any and we began to be very impressed with the efficiency of British food rationing and the shortage of
+domestic staff when we found a shop selling some rather miserable but very acceptable apples. Shortly afterwards we found a place which agreed to provide
+a meal and produced some quite good bacon and eggs (dried - scrambled), and toast and marmalade.
+We then caught a bus to some unpronouncable Welsh village and then hitch-hiked on a R.A.F. transport to some other equally unpronouncable village. We walked a short distance along a road and then took the Pig track to Snowden.
+The Welsh mountain country is grand - a real Bushwalkers' paradise. Treeless country with high knife-edge ridges, little mountain streams cascading down, lakes scattered all about and Welsh long-tailed sheep grazing around. The only country I've seen anything like it in Australia is the Cradle Mt. country in Tasmania.
+We soon ran into showers and these became more frequent as we neared Snowden. Before we entered the cloud area we were thoroughly wet.
+Emerging on the other side of the cloud we found a crofter's cottage where we were able to relax to tho accompaniment of a cup of tea and a bread and cheese sandwich. Went past more streams and lakes and so down to a bus and train home through Carnarvon.
+Shall have to write you a lyric on the English pub - its easily the best of all the English Institutions even though the beer is weak compared with pre-war.
+Have not been worried by buzz-bombs, although as you may have read there are still a few about.
 ,
-its business end is its head and is sufficiently deadly not to require
-any assistance from a stinging tail. The spine at the end of the tail is
-used as an anchor in soft sand or soil to increase leverage and so assist the numerous belly plates-or scales on which all snakes travel, Each of
-these plates is, of course, attached to a pair of ribs and the harmonious
-movement of these ribs backwards and forwards which cants the scales so that the rear edge catches on almost microscopic irregularities of surface, is only one of the many wonderful ways in which living things have adapted themselves to their environment oirer a long period,
-, The fangs of a snake are notjto be confused with its tongue which it
-darts in and out of its mouth continually; this is so obvious that I hesitate to mention it but I have heard bushwalkers speak of the fangs when
-referring to the tongue. The tongue is used as a sensory organ and possibly
-asic*a R combined sense of taste and smell by carrying be ck into the mouth
-mi:Drr:sr;opic odorous particles, The fangs are a pair of hollow or grooved toeth 1l=r3ugh which the vemom is injected into the victim,
-f,rake2 do not swallow their young when danger threatens and disgorge
-tin :treards, Despite the accounts of otherwise reliable witnosses this
-feat is quite imloosPible. Large snakes frequently consu3rn
-,7,--).1)171- their own offspring, but the digestive proceoses of reptiles are very rapid and after even a brief period in the stomach, the contents
-.
-would be very dead, and snakes have no special comnartment between the mouth and the stomach in which to conceal young snakes until danger passes. Some of our -snakes, notably the black and the tiger, bear living young, and many times an adult female must have been killed and cut open and a number of fully developed liVing young. found in the oviducts which to an ignorant person might have been mistaken for the stomach.
-. If you kill a snake, (be careful it is not one of the herelless species) its mate will not follow you to your next campsite and bite you during the night.
-. The fabulous ring or hoop snakes which have been described from time to time are as mentioned - fabulous, These are eutrosed to take their tail in their mouth when in a real hurry, form their body into a ring or hoop and go bowling along at a terrific speed. I will not comment,
-. In a number of crlses in our dairying country, cerpet and diemond snakes - non venomous and quite harmlese - have been accused of milking cows. While these snakes must frequently have been found in and around cow bails and possibly near cows which had gone dry, it would be quite impossible for a snake to milk a cow. Snakes are unable to suck, their teeth are severely recurved in the mouth so that once they fastened onto a cow/e teat it would be impossible, or almost so, for them to let go of their own accord, and finally even a large snake could only hold quite a small quantity of milk or any other liquid.
-" An even more fantastic idea, held by some bushmen regarding snakes,
-is that a ring of rope laid around the camp will protect those within the ring from visitations by snakes. Snakes have frequently been found asleep on coils ol rope or across one or more strands of rope in many places on the coast and in any case it would take much more than a strand of rope to prevent a snake from travelling to its 4estination wherever it happened to be.
-. We will finish up with the old one about a snake killed during the day not dying till sunset. This idea has resulted from the contraction of certain muscles in a :snake which has been killed or severely injured and which is caused by reflex action. It is not by any means an invariable rule and many of you must have seen snakes which are quite "dead" within a very short time of being bashed several times by some intrepid buehwalker.
-NOTES ON OUR LOCAL SNAKES. I will take tha commonest snakes only and group them into harmless and dangerous. The harmless ones include the 'Carpet, the Diamond and the Green and Brown Tree snakes.
-The Carpet snake reaches a length of 14 feet, but is freqUently found from 8 to 10 feet in length, The ground colour is tale brown with irregular darker markings which give it its name. It is a very handsome reptile and should not be killed. It is a tree snake and in common with the diamond and green and brown tree snakes, is equirped with two leg like spurs which are the rudiments of hind legs, these spurs assisting in climbing, Found in all the coastal mountain districts from the South Coast of New South Wales right up into tropical Queensland.
-A variety of the same species is the Diamond Snake which differs from the carpet in having a dark blue to bl-ck back with diamond shaped clusters of yellow dots. These snakes are true pythons and kill their prey
-v crush th ine. Thee lay es which they incubate by lying in a coil above them
-to leeet ta moist. creo
-The Green and the Brown Tree snakes are also harmless. They grow to about 6 feet in length, are very slender, and are exceedingly graceful as they glide among the trees in the rain forests ef the coastal mountains where they live, The Green Tree snake varies in shade of green and is hard to see amomgst the green foliage, The brown of the Brawn Tree smalc,e matches the bark of many of the trees perfectly. toth of them lay egg: which are hatched out by the parent in a similar manner to that used by the pythons,
-VMy allotted space has run out but next month I hope to deal briefly with the dangerous snakes and perhaps Wtite a few not on some very , different reptiles, the Crocodilee and the Turtles),
- ------
-CLIMBING SNOWDEN - ' Iret Ble!aer.
-I have be'en very busy werkinE nearly e7nry dny and night either in ,Wales'or'in Londo;:1,; Heve managed to see a fair bit of the' ccUntry however,and during most of last week wo had a tour of some of tlie agricultural country around Birmingham, :
-Must tell you about the only day we had off while we were in Wales,
-I climbed Snowaon af,ter alJ - and mi sts don't look'much better from the top of ,Mt,Snowdon than :tcy (z v.D the to 1:1 of any other mountain. The rain and the fine 'hail and the cold wted, however, were a bit exceptional, and I.dontt quite remember an ocoasion Mien the edges of my 'ears and my eyebrows, the top part of my Cheek and to a,loser extent the Whole windward side of my face felt quite
-HO somevhat like my feet felt the last time I crossed the Cox in winter time.
-We set out from Colwyn ,Bay at the early'hou'r ,of 7.10 a,me and caue;ht a ,train from Llandudno to Bettis-y-coed(proh,Bettoosee-coid),There round the 1au:e8 of' 9 to 10 we wandexed Ivo and down amongst the various hostelries looking far'seme breakfast, No one wanted to give us any and we began to be very impresred with the efficiency of British food rationing and the short-ze of
-domestto staff when ire found a shop selling some rather'iniserable but very acceptable apples. Shortly afterwards we found a place which agreed to provide
-a meal and produced-some quite good bacon and eggs (dried,- scrambled)land toast and Marmalade,
-We then caught 'a bus to some unpronouncable Welsh village and then hitch-hiked on a RA.F,transport to some other eqUally unpronouncable village, We walked a short distance along a road and then took the Pig track to Snowdon.
-The Welsh mountain country is grand - a real Bushwalkerst paradise. Treeless country with high knife-edge ridge-little mountain streams cscading down, lakes scattered all about and Welsh long-tailed sheep grazing around, The only. country I've seen anything like it in Australia is the Cradle Mt country in Tasmania, '
-We spron ran into ahowera and these became more frequent as we,neared Snowdon,, Wore we entered 'the cloud area we were thoroughly wet.
-EMerging on the other. side of the cloud we found a crofter's cottage
-Csplo to relax to bho acQompaniment of a cn1) of ti and a bIed and (jyYne safidw:lch. Went past more streams and lakes and so down to a bus and trc.130 through Carnaevon,
-have to write you a lyric on the Enr-1.1.sh pub - its easily the bee-!. eC Li he English Institutions even though the beer is weal:. ceirec,rc:d With 2,o-4-L.r,
-Ela,u not been worried by buzz-bombs, although as you may have read there are etill a few 1bo'ut,
 SNAKES ALIVE - by M McGreeor
 "Look out.'" It was a rather belated cry because half the party had already walked over the black snake which was coiled in some grass on the track. The snake itself didn't seem to be worried at all by our presence for now quite a few people were gathered about it, watching, But, Hark the cry is David, And lo the scrub divides (with apologies), "A 'snake, where is it?" shouted he president pounding up to the group, but apparently tbe serpent had also heard that the doubty snake catcher was coming, so he beat a hasty retreat and successfully defeated all attempts to find him again,