Thursday Dec.27: The drought continues. Heat somewhat lessened by a SE breeze which still further dries out the ground. Got a good start with the main packing job. Most of the black boxes are filled and ready for crating. Womersley radioed that he has issued permit for the export of the botanical collection to Holland and the United States. There is no word about a permit for the zoological collection,for which I applied Christmas Eve. Placed with the ADO this morning a request for export of the anthropological items --55 in all, not including some personal items from earlier expeditions which I sent up from Australia in March. Rus ran true to form to the end. I had to pack his traps, which I found unsorted in three different places in the godown, his dugong skull, etc. A cream can containing a dugong fetus, which, in charge of Lionel, went out to someone to be soldered on Christmas Eve, is missing. I have urged Rus to try and trace it tonight. He leaves for Milne Bay and Carsair at 3 am. A big shark hunt today, in which Lionel took part, resulted in the capture, by line, of a brute about 9 feet in length. Friday Dec. 28: Weather as yesterday. The breeze at last does something to cut down the heat in Bunting's godown, where our packing is being done. Lionel worked with me all day, doing most of the carpentry, and we made very good progress with the packing and crating. A full day tomorrow should about see the end of the job. Packed my typewriter and have borrowed the portable from Dusty's office. The shark fishing continued last night, and a ten-footer was caught and killed. Lionel says he was out most of the night. I hear that a big 60,000 gal. concrete rainwater tank at the wharf, which is shipping an emergency supply for the town, is dry and Government is being appealed to for assistance in bringing water to the island. Saturday Dec. 29: Slight change in the weather: rain clouds over Normanby Island, showers over Loani on the mainland, a few drops of rain in Samarai. Worked all day at the crating job and still have about half a day's work to do. Have to make two crates, and that takes time. Four big packing cases, containing 59 bundles of herbarium specimens, are ready to go to the Rijksherbarium at Leiden. Another eleven bundles and all the bryophytes and sundry packets of plant materials will go to the Museum in field boxes and from there be sent on to Leiden. This afternoon began a 3½ day holiday weekend for Samarai. There will be a cricket match between Samarai and Port Moresby, a Catalina having arrived this afternoon with 30 players and friends from Moresby.