Wages are high. Have arranged to employ two mainland abos at 2/5/- per week, and a Torres Strait islander at £20 a month. Will give these natives a month's trial, and if they work out well will sign them on for the rest of the trip. Saturday, February 7 - Sunday, February 8 Trip to the mainland with Jim Cadzow, the butcher. Left T.I. at 1 AM and arrived Red Island Point about 5 o'clock. Cadzow takes his launch across about once a week to get beef slaughtered by Stan Holland and his partner "David" McDowall. Ours was a hot trip. Cadzow's launch is a cargo carrier, with no cabin or awning. The sun poured down from a cloudless sky and the little breeze there was was behind us, from the NW. Trying to pick places which had not been painted by seagulls, we sat on the rails and sweltered. There were four white passengers besides myself, and up forward, about ten abo men, women and kids (two of the latter white half castes) from Cowal Creek Mission. Dave Evans, one of our passengers, is an old Telegraph man who was mentioned by Hector Macquarrie in the book "We and the Baby". Dave married a native woman; is now retired from government tservice and living on the Tip. Ia being given injections at T.I. hospital for a vitamin deficiency condition. Our route across was between Horn Island and Prince of Wales Island, to the east end of Entrance Island (three big islands, dry, hilly and with some rain-forest on their slopes), then across Endeavour Strait, between Low Woody and Barn Islands. Rain-forested hills con- spicuous on the mainland, and they look higher than 200-300 ft. which is the height given for them on the map. Red Island Point is an attractive place with a clean sandy beach and big shady green trees. It was the landing place for Higgins Field during the war. The wharf is falling into disrepair, and it and the space behind it are littered with scraps of war surplus equipment. The whole place could do with a clean-up, which it will not get now it is in civilian hands. Stan Holland lives here with his wife, small daughter Kathleen (or Katherine), and baby girl. Tom Holland and wife and two children are at the sawmill in the rain-forest near Lockerbie. Others of the Holland clan Pearl (about 20) and Dick (about 16), who live with their parents at Lockerbie Homestead. Old Dick Holland ("Ginger Dick the Bastard") has been on the Tip 35 years. Was head stockman for Frank Jardine of the original pioneer family. An educated man, wearin g rimless glasses and looking more like abanker on vacation than a cattle man and bush worker. I gather that Old Dick has not been a very consistently hard workers His sons are fine physical types and are [illegible] reputed to be enormous toilers. Certainly there was plenty of movement when we arrived at RIP. First, Stan climbed into his jeep and drove two police constables and myself to Higgins Field. The ten mile drive was done in about twenty minutes, on a well made road built by U.S. Negro engineers. Road of red lateritic soil, leading through tall savanna forest of messmate and bloodwood, and skirting patches of rain-forest in the first five miles. Grass 2-3 ft. high in the savanna-forest; green and fresh. Trees 60-80 ft. tall and up to eighteen inches through.