This brought people from all over the world, all in a variety of costumes. Londoners were astonished by the array of nationalities. There were foreigners, with big beards and moustaches, others in queer felt-hats and braided coats; whilst elegant Frenchwomen, in long cloth cloaks with picturesque hoods, and plain drab bonnets with rich interior trimmings, all might be seen in Regent Street and Piccadilly, acting as a foil to Oriental magnates in gold embroidery, flowing silk, and gorgeous cashmere.
Alfred had not approved of all the fuss, although he went to a ball with Joe Todhunter, who would be his friend for life, just before he had departed for Australia with his father and brother Charlton. They had met an assortment of men and women, both in dress and status. Joe’s stay
They were passing though the area on the outskirts of Melbourne where Burke had assembled his party, and it was here, that Alfred started to explained to Joe, how he had watched, wanting to interfere, but knew that would not have gone down well, especially with Burke. Joe was quiet, despite having Alfred with him, and did not appear to be listening to Alfred’s account of Burke’s expedition. Burke had been employed as a policeman, and had also been a source of amusement, as he would tear into town on his horse, jump from the horse, over the police station fence, and in to work. After his shift, he tore home again in the same fashion, removed his uniform, (only some of it would be his own, as he never seemed to have a complete outfit, always having to borrow something), then out into the garden he would go, where he had a bath of water, in which he sat, idling the hours away.
They went along roads some parts of the way, and at other times, left it to take a short cut, something horses could do, without carts, until they eventually reached Alfred’s home. It was just a simple cottage, with just enough space for him and a couple of friends should they need accommodation when they were passing.
There was a small store where he could get most things, but he still liked to kill his own meat when he could, or pick wild food and herbs, the art of which his brother Charlton had been so good at when they was out here with his father. Charlton then had been in charge of providing their food. He made his own yeast, and very good bread too.
Alfred had learnt many things from the Aborigines; who had shown him what was good to eat, and how to cook certain foods that the body could not tolerate unless cooked. That had been Burke’s failing. His team had been forced to eat one of these plants, which gave them no nutrition, so they were eating yet starving at the same time. It was Alfred who was now the cook, as Charlton was now back in England, but not for long.
Chapter 4 – His Country
Alfred was a very skilled and experienced bushman, everyone trusted him. He was very familiar with much of the country between Melbourne and the Murray, an area of some pretty dry and challenging landscapes, but more importantly, in 1859 he had explored north of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The Flinders Range is the tallest and largest of the Australian mountain ranges, although it is not continuous. The area is arid, red, and dusty with fascinating rock formations. The vegetation is very different from other areas, as it has to tolerate this harsh climate. The further north one goes, the further into the Aborigine homelands one gets. These are the Aborigines’ sacred areas, areas where they have their very unique and old examples of their art.
This extremely barren, red-earth country, known as the Red Centre, which exactly fits the stereotype of ‘the outback’, was a fascinating challenge to someone so focused on the natural world in which he now found himself. Joe had the most experienced explorer in Australia now showing him the ropes. On one occasion when they were riding along, in a new area for Joe, who remarked
“look at the sky, over there, it looks ominous” “umph, so what,” grunted Alfred. “It is like something out of space, something I have never seen before.” “Oh, is that all. It is a sand storm coming, but I don’t think it is coming our way”, said Alfred reassuringly.
“How do you know?” “Well firstly the wind is not blowing from that direction, although it could change, but not likely. If we see it getting nearer, we will have to get off our horses, and try to find some sort of cover. Most importantly, cover your face, your eyes and your mouth. The grit gets everywhere.” “What about the horses?” “We have to do the best we can for them. It is never nice! But it is usually over quite quickly.”
A pale orangey grey mass lay on the horizon but it was difficult to discern, at their distance, as to which way it was moving. The storm missed them, so on this occasion no problems. Although Joe was a well travelled man, he was still basically a city boy, where as Alfred who had grown up in towns, was now a well experienced adventurer, tamed by his environment.
Alfred showed Joe the different types of trees, especially the different types of eucalyptus, a tree he was very interested in, and one, which he eventually classified into all the different varieties of the species. The trees were supposed to be shallow rooted. Why? Possibly due to the shallow depth of good quality soil in certain areas, was one idea. “Why don’t they blow over in gales?” “Some do but the wood does not appear to rot”, this was something the early settlers had discovered. So their conversation continued for hours on end. All this was discussed at length, with no real answers.
Alfred explained that if you were an explorer, you had to ask all these what, when and how questions, you were safer yourself that way. Alfred explained that eucalyptus oil evaporated from the leaves in the heat of the day. He loved that smell. Different varieties had different shaped leaves, others had one type of leaf when the branch was young, but it changed shape as the branch matured. Another fascinating thing Alfred had heard about the tree, from the Aboriginal men here, was that it’s fluffy seeds would not germinate until they had been exposed to fire. “That sounds like a stupid thing for a seed to want!” interjected Joe.
Yet another quality of the species was its property of igniting. The beautiful fragrance that arises in the heat, vaporised the oil, which is easily ignited, then once a tree was on fire, it spread rapidly from tree to tree, and even leapt across valleys. “That’s interesting don’t you think. I shall have to look into these things”, pondered Joe.
These were some of the reasons why Alfred was so interested in them. His father had already requested seeds to give to a monastery in Italy, where the monks were unsuccessfully trying desperately to drain a bog area. William thought the eucalyptus trees would be the answer, and so they proved to be.
“When do you think of all these ideas?” Joe asked. “Well if you often ride for hours at a time on horseback, you just sit, and sit until something takes your attention, for me, that is wasting time, so I think, and think, and then muse. It is a very interesting occupation. You should try it,” was the reply.
Alfred was known to read and study his books whilst on such rides.
Chapter 5 – 1851-1854 trip
Alfred explained how when he had arrived with his father and brother in 1852, they had brought with them a sturdy cart from London. They had been told on arrival, that their cart’s wheels were too wide, and would be of no use in Australia. They did not believe the locals initially, or at least William, their father would not, until they found out for themselves that it was true. Their big wheels got bogged down too easily, and it tired the horses out too much, trying to get the carts out of the ruts.
Another problem they had found out later, was that the route they were to follow, had many dips and dells, with quite steep sides to them, some were even ravines. The horses often had to be assisted by man, to get them out of their predicament. Therefore, another cart had to be purchased, which was more expense.
“Were you getting worried about the expense, because I remember your mother saying how they were saving and making severe financial cuts, to get you all out here?” Joe asked. “Yes we were getting worried, but we believed that the gold we would find would save us” replied Joe. “And did it”?” Queried Joe. “No, by the time Pa got home, we had not made a profit,