1969 School Magazine

*d S'*%y f$f *S**e,/

Saturday, 9th August - Joined the mob of j8 clean fellow grarn- rnarians and left school on Continental CoaCh 67 under the control ? ? ? of Mr. Boss and Mrs. Flofs _(Mr. and Mrs; Fallon and Coach Captain Jack. AII had the - rnental irnage of "the young adventurers setting out into the gteat unknown to endure all rtranner of hard- ships". After ^ duy of eating, sleeping, singing and more eating u/e reached Mitchell-and hadLui first taste of pitching camp in total darkness. ft's not pleasant to discover that "that lovely piece . of wood" is a dead sheep. Ate a three course rneal of grits, showered in the bore vrater and went to bed srnelling like rotren eggs. Rigor Mortis set in as the mercury zoorrred down to the 26"F mark. \7e shared our sleeping bags with dirt and burrs under the prorection ? ? ? of the-sagging teirts. Had breakfast by moonlight .urrd hit the road. Sunday, 1"0th August - Picked up bullock skull which was banished to back bumper bar and 38 nor so clean grammarians spent a warm night at \finton. Monday, lltb Augast Passed through shocking drought country. Srearns screamed in silent agony with throats bared. Pitiful puddles of wool and blackened carcasses luy rotting in the sun. Only the crows were fat. Oh those blessed comfort stops as Jack called them. A town was judged bV the standard of its arnenities. 3 8 grubby grammarians whirled through Mary Kathleen with its population explosion of L5 and reached Mt. Isa. New defini- tion of ecstasy : A shower and a bar of soap. Tuesday, 72tlt August - \il7ent on a guided tour of the mines planr. Out to Lake Moond arra for a swim in the after- noon. ( Strange swimming attire around ) . Dinnertime ! - Oh not pea soup again. This !@l-x- stale bread. Too bad stir it inlhe srew, they won't notice. YUKI Spent the night bv the road surrounded bv giant ant hills, luckily uninhabited. IVednesday, L3th August - Stopped at Barcy Coves and various road- houses. slept at Devil's Marbles and woke to find \wynnurn North High camped beside us. Freavens ! If a whole bus could camp beside us without our hearing what would happen when the wild rnarauding natives carry us "ff. Page Forty-Two

Thursday, 14th August - 18 slightly ( well, very ) off grammarians hit Alice .springs in their tiavelling Johann*rb.tj slum ( coach 67 ro you), laid thE just .mJ." ; shower and hit the rown -( outback cafes with citv prices ). Friday, 75 th August - t$(/ent out to simpson's Gap, a frozen hell, and stagdley's chasm wh.r. 20a oaa ( and I mean odd ) tourists perched on icy ledges to photo- slaph Ih. chasm at IL.4i a.m. utld L2.10 p.m., the only times when the whole chasrn wallr are illuminated. Some brave members of the op.di- ti-on experienced a peaceful journey on that p_leasant ternpered, well-spoLen, sweetly scented slrip of the desert. SKULL featured 'in many photos : Back to Alice for the adventurers to stock qp on drinks for "the days in the desert". Spent the night in the Finke River in below fteizins temperatures. Saturday, 76th August - - surprising amount of vegetation in the "dead heart", bottle brush, wildflowers, bush poplars, she-oaks, _ghost gums, etc. The only r"ri d.r.ri yas in Q-ueensland before Cloncurry. Reached {v.rc Rock and had tirne to walk hatf way round the 5 mile base af ir, exploring .uulr and aboriginal-drawings, etc.,'and tim. to get a sun- set shot of the ^Rock. The cold had r"tnined with a vengeance as we slept fully clad in jumpers, jeans, tracksuits, plastic raincoats, coats, rugs und sleeping bags ( admittedly the sleeping baeJ look- ed full as we luy like rows of green-slugi ). Sunday, 77th August - Accompanied bv many screams and contor- tions we emerged in the rnorning to down a meal ? 7- ? ( condensed milk blobs and cereal, con- ggaling balced beans and dishwater coffee) and climbed the Rock. Never Again! "Push-on!" panted a 65 year old woman beside us with gusto as 38 teenagers bursting with youthful energy pitifully staggered on. \,Ment out to the Olgas for lunch and climbed the Valley of the $flinds rvhere we looked out through a V in the mountain wa]l to see the remaining Olgas nestling in a sunlit, green valley while turning round *. gasped as a great purple gliff poured down behind us. Back to the Rock for the night. Monday, 78th August - ' Pushed on, accompanied bv typical bus noises snore, grunt, gfoan. 'Aw shuddup f'm try'na sleep. $fhen's lunch! Grub timel Oh no what's that? \ilfho put beeffoot juice on SKULL?' Spent the night by the road.