26. Thursday, 4 March 1948. Again heavy rain all last night and much of the morning but oddly enough, in spite of the intense heat, we are all putting on a great deal of weight. Len looks plump, Van aerated. George has added 10 lbs. and I am over 200. Probably a month or so of field conditions will make a great difference in all of us. I don't quite know where the time goes to; Len and I seem to do very little and yet the day passes with amazing rapidity. This morning I got in the last of my February outstanding bills and am happy to say that we are still solvent, though this strike is making severe inroads on our balance. This afternoon I visited Burns, Philp to pay our bill to date, called at the museum and had a yarn with Wilson and Old Tom Baird, and here it is practically 5 o'clock. A number of flying men, stationed in New Guinea for the last six months, have arrived here and are they disgusted with the strike. No been available. The excessive perspiring seems to have washed or bleached out all my rich dark red complexion. That too should return before very long. Absolutely nothing new in the way of the strike ending; last night Len and I strolled along the wharf and there was S.S. Bedelia, still unloaded, although it is six days since the tied up there. Doubtless, if people get hungry the strike will be broken by force and now the paper reports great shortage of bread in Townsville, next town to Cairns. Cairns itself seems to have good stocks of all commodities, except cigarettes and tobacco. In the evening we were driven out by a Mr. Harvey to see another man, Mr. Hansen, who has some unique knowledge about Mt. Finnegan, a point which we shall cover from our last base at Cooktown. It is a table-topped mount- ain, usually under clouds or mist, and the working of it will require a few days of extreme discomfort. Friday, 5 March 1948. Rain most of the night and during the morning, which seems to be the regular times. No suggestion of an ending of the strike yet and the weather may bring George and Van back al- most any time. It is a little cooler, however. There is so much to be done, once we can get hold of our gear, that it is utterly exasperating to have it so near and yet so far away. It still is at "ackay, just two ports away from us, and if only it could be got to Townsville, we would personally interview the local Labor board and tell them the conditions. Such things as grinding of the machetes and axes, splitting of collecting equipment, distribution of ammunition, will all take time, though we certainly should be able to get those things done before the arrival of the next north-bound ship, once we can start. I have noted with interest that the Australians all seem to have a sort of morbid pride in their venomous snakes; they do not tell their stories for our benefit at all, but sooner or later in any conversation the subject will arise. All have had, or claim to have had, hair-breadth escapes, which still have a morbid fascination for them. There are also the stories of the abori- gines, on whose lowly position in human life, the white Australian loves to dwell. The Cape black seems to be herded onto reservations rub by the Mis- sions as much as possible but they are all a nomad crowd and will not stay. At certain times of the year the urge comes and they simply pack up their little belongings and go "walk-about". There may be a few dangerous ones lying around here and there but we anticipate no trouble from that source at all. We hope to get two or three to join us at Rhurday Island and make the complete trip with us, procided the walk-about urge does not take them away from us.