Archive image from page 321 of Discovery Discovery discovery0304londuoft Year: 312 DISCOVERY extraordinary divergence of accounts of the country given by travellers. One man sees a pastoralist's paradise, with waving prairies, abundant pools, green scrub, and plentiful life ; the next a withered wilder- ness filled with dust and whispers of death. It accounts for the successive waves of settlement— the brave and hopeful push out into the ' Far North,' the weary and bitter return. It accounts for the ' gamble with nature'—the overstocking in good seasons and ' taking the risk.' And it accoun
Archive image from page 321 of Discovery Discovery discovery0304londuoft Year: 312 DISCOVERY extraordinary divergence of accounts of the country given by travellers. One man sees a pastoralist's paradise, with waving prairies, abundant pools, green scrub, and plentiful life ; the next a withered wilder- ness filled with dust and whispers of death. It accounts for the successive waves of settlement— the brave and hopeful push out into the ' Far North,' the weary and bitter return. It accounts for the ' gamble with nature'—the overstocking in good seasons and ' taking the risk.' And it accounts now for the somewhat selfish ' ca' canny ' understocking and the holding of too much land unimpro\-ed. There can be no security in Central Australia until the water- supply is secure. Wbat Nature withholds with one hand she gives with the other: it is to the geologist that the .\ustralian turns for comfort in some of his sorest difficulties. In Australia geology is a first-line national service, and A GcjR'.r. IX Tin; >[ACDONXEI, A(>1RA1,1A (By courtesy of the Hih Commissioner of Australia.) geology speaks concerning Central Australia with a voice restrained, but not pessimistic. The ancient rocks which form the ridges of Central Australia are frequently metalliferous: wide areas have been proved to contain good medium-grade ore : , in the vicinity of Arltunga, gold and mica ; at Hatches Creek, wolfram. But capital and then machinery, timber, water, and white labour are required to develop these deposits, and capital will not come until the enormous transport costs are reduced. Besides minerals, these ancient rocks gener- ally provide belts of fertile soil, with a good water- supply around their bases, and between the parallel ridges of the Macdonnells are numerous rich, if still dry and ' unimproved,' valleys. But b}' far the greater part of the area is covered with soft and relatively recent formations—sandstones, limestones, clays, and marl
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