148. Wednesday, 22 September 1948. The extreme caution with which I am conducting my life and movements these last few days rather amuses me, and everybody who is with me. But I am quite determined that nothing shall bite me on this, the last bush day; I feel rather pleased that I have a lot of inside work to do, packing, disposing of excess things, getting the final payroll ready and such like. Collecting has now finished for all hands, and Len and Don have spent the day in their final preparation of specimens. Joe has started packing up kitchen gear and good and all my things are already away in the safety of formalin and naphthaline. Our evening meal was part of a little party adorned by a choco- late pudding concocted by Joe from cocoa; it followed the usual rum ration which was doubled as it was the last night. Everybody was talkative and amica- ble and our conversation wandered over many and varied fields, as the second ration began to take hold. Joe and I vowed eternal friendship and I presented him with two scalpels and a pair of scissors so that he could take up a scientif- ic career. Jack Roberts joined us during supper and seemed very glum at the prospect of our departure; it is quite understandable - we are no beauties but our visit has enlivened things for Jack and his wife and our departure leaves them with no neighbors within ten miles. Thursday, 23 September 1948. Norman Watkin called to pick us up about 8.30 this morning and the active part of the expedition is now over. As we passed, we were entertained at the Lion's Den Hotel and got in to Cooktown after incredibly dusty trip just in time to receive a hearty welcome and a hearty midday meal. George and Van are about twenty miles back along the railway line to Laura but will be in tomorrow. Otherwise everything has worked out very well; the Wandana northbound will call here either tomorrow or Saturday and we shall ship Joe and the boys away on her; Len and Don will take Monday's plane, Len to Cairns and Don to his home in Brisbane; George, Van and I, with the baggage will leave Cooktown for Cairns on the Merinda on Wednesday early morning and will be at Cairns about 4 P.M.; a letter from Dupain, of B-P, awaiting me here, informs me that our reservations at Hides Hotel have been made. Now I can relax for a couple of days as all there is to be done now is get our equipment listed and down to the wharf for loading on the Merinda. There is a movie here on Sat- urday, "How Green is my Valley", to which I shall go. I think I saw it about eight years ago but at least it is a movie. It was not necessary to send any mail out by the Shipton's Flat postman as he will not get to Cooktown until tomorrow; anyway the only was letters can get out now is by Monday's plane so I have plenty of time to finish off my correspondence, and leisure as well. The afternoon was enlivened by the arrival in town of three castaways, two men and a woman, who had started in a 28 foot boat, powered but with no sails, on a trip round the north end of Cape York to Darwin; their idea was to catch sharks and sell the skins but their ship would not be large enough to hold more than a couple or so of them. Anyway, off Port Stewart in Princess Charlotte Bay, their engine broke down and they landed, intending to walk to Cooktown. They were not bush people, forgot to take a compass and really should not have been allowed out after dark, according to reports. They were picked up on the Laura- Cooktown rail tracks in a starving condition. Apparently they did not know of the cattle road from P. Stewart to Coen and they certainly did not know what ninety miles through scrub means. They do now.