Page:Rambles in Australia (IA ramblesinaustral00grewiala).pdf/322

 In the afternoon the whole population came down to the wharf in cars and buggies to inspect the Australian hospital ship, which was lying alongside ready to sail. We strolled on the shore, where a large convolvulus with very succulent leaves grew profusely among the stones; and watched a forest fire on a mountain at the farther end of the bay; since the morning it had gradually worked its way right round the crest and was crawling down one side. Our stay at Townsville should have been a very brief one, but we were delayed there for three or four days by the Customs officials, as we were carrying a contraband cargo of meat. Nobody wanted to stay in Townsville, as there was nothing to be seen in the neighbourhood, and it would mean cutting short the duration of the ship's visit to the Northern Territory.

The second day of our stay there, we climbed the granite peak that rises behind the town, going across by a little ferry-boat that plies between the wharf and the opposite side of the harbour. A strong wind was blowing in from the sea, as we steamed across to Townsville, lying deep in dust in the hot sun. We made our way up to the Castle Hill, the red granite peak that dominates the town. A very steep path leads up to it, and on the rocks above some goats and