July 1963 School Magazine

. '· Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

July, 1963

Brisbane Girl:i' Grammar School Magazine

July, 1963

Maria was not desperate any more, because she knew that fear had lain behind her grandmother's apparent serenity. Arabella was breathing steadily. She lay fast asleep, warm and relaxed, against Maria, looking perfectly innocent and untroubled. When Maria bent with: a smile and lightly kissed the top of her head, she did not even stir. - SUE THOMSON, VIA.

- MARION BAKER, VID.

- MARION BAKER, VID.

THE WOMBAT The wombat is a quaint, tailless animal rather like a very large guinea pig. Fully grown, it is about eighteen inches high and thirty-eight inches long. There is a soft-haired kind and a coarse-haired. The one illustrated, the Australian, naked- nosed wombat, has thick, coarse brown hair and small, sleepy eyes. It has strong burrowing claws, which it sharpens, like a cat, against the tree trunks. These "scratched" places on the bark about 30 inches from the ground are a pretty sure sign that wombats are in the vicinity. It cannot climb and has very little means of defence. It burrows into some high bank or slope for eighteen or twenty feet before making a nest, in which it stays during the day, coming out cautiously Ito feed after dark. In dense forest it has plenty of roots and bark to feed on, but in more cultivated areas it becomes a nuisance by burrowing under fences and rooting among crops. Otherwise it is harmless and wombats may be trained as pets if found at a very early age. As the picture shows, the newly born and very young wombat is practically hairless, and it takes some time to grow thick hair. - MARlON BAKER, VID. 44

THE BROLGA

The Brolga is sometimes called a "Native Companion" because it was often found living in a friendly way close to Aboriginal camps. This is one of the largest cranes found in Australia. It lives on lagoons and swamps, usually in large flocks, but in populated districts now seldom more than a few keep together, and sometimes only pairs and these are to be seen out on the plains of the west of Queensland. Where there are still large numbers, Brolgas finish their nesting season by dancing in a kind of formation, bowing, dancing , curtseying to each other gracefully. This habit gave rise to the aboriginal legend that the first Brolga was really a very beautiful dancing girl who was captured one day by the west wind, and carried off to dance for him on the plains. They certainly do look like some of the most graceful ballerinas one might hope to see. - MARION BAKER, VID. 45