1972 School Magazine
Cu.tro/ .A*'tro/io^ Jrrp, z4rg.tt, 1g72
Thanks to the constant encouragement? from Jane Allen: "Look! I can see the top of the ridge about fifty yards up!", we managed to crawl the next 1,000 feet to the very top merely to watch the rain close in around us again. lt took us only about an hour to descend and less than a minute to drop into the freezing stream, fully clothed, and, of course, kindly help Mrs. Quinnell into the water. Although the rain broke again when we were packing to come home, it didn't worry us; for by this time, all the girls had become quite accustomed to sleeping in pools of water, and Mrs. Chowdhury had affected a brilliant piece of plumbing with sticking- plaster, which served the dual purpose of, primarily, decorating her tent, and secondly, sealing off all the rain inlets. But thanks to everyone, especially the staff, who cheerfully helped one another, we finally left Christmas Creek and headed back towards Brisbane to our own soft, dry beds and at least a week's complete rest. J.J.
Uttle did Miss Vernon, Miss Wardill and coach captain 'Fearless Phil' realize what they were taking on as they assembled with 43 Fifth Formers in front of the Red and White bus for a final photo before saying farewell to the families for two and a half weeks. We were heading for Central Australia, and excitement ran high. A11 of us (except maybe those in command) were clean, fresh-faced young innocents beaming with anticipation at the thought of braving the untold terrors of the Australian Outback. Many were quite confident of their camping abiiity-a confidence which was soon to be dampended by frost on the schlozz, broken zippers on duffle and sleeping bags, and crawlies and dirt in our beds and food. So it was that a very jolly but unsuspecting lot rolled out of Brisbane, amidst cheers and laughter, to begin a trip none of us will ever forget. It is impossible to describe the beauty and vastness of the country we passed through, and the contrasts in scenery, ways of living and effluence we encountered. Contrary to our previous notions, however, we did discover that Western Queensland in the grip of a drought was much dner, duster and, more desolate than many parts of the Northern Territory. We passed through many very small towns which consisted of only a handful of houses, a couple of pubs and a public convenience. Each town tended to be judged and remembered according to the condition of its amenities, and needless to say, none rated very high on our list.
Fage Eighteen
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