The Distinctive Taste Of Arsenic

& James Cook University - Geology

Now I recall!! Wendy had found something in a rock & asked for someone to confirm what she had seen. Darcy was in two minds & spent some time hovering on that precarious scree slope. Probably it was arsenic, as arsenic was everywhere. Michael Ridd is the man in the foreground who is walking very single-mindedly somewhere (he always saw the world clearly).

Almost a still life, this scene. Wendy has seen enough of red-beds (who can blame her!) whilst my interest is languid. Tim Richards (black hat), John Dorr (ponytail) & Bill Duncan-Kemp (grey hat) have a rock of interest, but whether it was a better rock than that of the distant trio, I can in no way recall. To adapt the words of Janis Joplin: "It's all the same f****** rock, man!".

ps. Michael Ridd is here again, behind Tim Richards, talking to the unseen Mike Rubenach (I think), while lest we forget, the unseen Gavin Clarke is behind the camera on all occasions!!

The hard slippery rock of Jourama Falls: Metamorphosed of course; a Monzonite, if my memory is reconstructing accurately! A ten pound spalding hammer was wielded by a number of people for 10 minutes or so, to get enough little rock chips that could be held in one person's cupped hands.

The waterfall is a marvel! There are actually about forty sizable falls, with rapids in between.

Another still life. But a beautiful moment, at least to my mind.

Indebted indeed!! Gavin with his love of photography & history made this possible.

photographs © Gavin Clarke 1976,1977.. text & design © Tony Sims 2000..

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