son being that they did not want to work on Sundays. They were Robert Massey and Bob McDonald, old Moreton remaining with us. He is a wise old bird and got the week-end off by saying that he would go to Cowal Creek and get some friends of his to take over the vacant jobs. Len seems to doubt if even Moreton will be willing to make the whole trip with us and if when we get to Portland Roads we have to get new boys from the Lockhart River Mission, there will again have to be the probationary period. The pillows I invested in, old automobile are rests, work out very well but are hot. I solved the difficulty by stuffing mine into a snake bag, which makes a very comfortable pillow-case, holds the pillows together and cools it off. Sunday, 2 May 1948. Presumably the happy event for the Holland family is over for Tom arrived back at Lockerbie late last night. His wife and the new infant were not with him. This morning we received a half-sack of onions and a kerosene pump, which I had ordered from Burns-Philp, T.I., a few days ago. Tom had brought them over with him. We also received a little mail, mainly Australian, and it is such that we really must make definite plans now. The schedule of the John Burke steamers has been changed again and there is one south-bound, leaving T.I. on the 28th of this month. We cannot wait any longer than that so tomorrow I shall go over to the cable station in the afternoon, get through to T.I. from there and make reservations for us on that ship, the Alagna, we believe. Tomorrow seems to be quite an interesting day for us as Moreton is due back and may possibly, if he comes himself, bring some other boys to take the places of Robert and Bob. The day has been run-of-the-mill, nothing particularly exciting happening to anybody. Collecting goes on without respite, day and some of the night; it is my turn to go out again tonight so I am writing this entry early. Dick Holland tells us there is a mail boat due in on Thursday so there is a chance of getting mail out; as that is the day we are supposed to move over to the east coast, I cannot say what the chances of incoming mail are. My watch is completely exasperating; if left on its face, with the back cover off, it will go, but when one turns it over to find out what time it is, the blamed thing stops. George's watch has also cracked up and Van's did before mine. Len's is the only one now operating so I am ordering an alarm clock to be sent in from B-P. Mosquitoes are getting a bit thicker as the weather becomes drier (I don't know if there is any connection there) and, being Sunday, I have taken my weekly dose of atebrine. The others are all taking preventatives of some kind. Monday, 3 May 1948. This will be a very brief entry, firstly because there is nothing to say and secondly because I have to get the paper out of the machine in order to write a reply to the letter from the Lochiel crew before I start out to the relay station to make my telephone calls. I think, most likely, as this is May Day, another Australian holiday, that I shall spend the night at the station, make my calls tomorrow morning and return to camp then. It would not be much use trying today to find anybody in his office at T.I. today. Len and I cycled over to the Larradeinya Creek this morning; got very hot but not many specimens.