Event:1925/06/10 Journey to Port Hedland
Edith flies us half way to Derby and we refuel in the bay, then fly to Derby, refuel, and then from there fly to Port Hedland. We arrive in the afternoon. The aboriginal peoples of the area are the Kariyarra and Nyamal people. They give the name as “Marapikurrinya" which translates to "Place of Good Water." In the town there is a small hospital, the closest asylum is in Perth, there are no libraries or newspapers. The local bar is Chuck's. People in the town are talking about the time a few years back "that crazy American man came through with 2 dozen (mostly white) men and headed to Cuncudgerie". They describe the man as older, unsettled, and throwing money around. They recommend talking to Robert Mackenzie about going to Cuncudgerie. They also mention dead bodies with punctures all over them being found. A few days back someone said they thought they saw a really big bear. They give us Mackenzie's address.
We go to Robert Mackenzie's house. He's a stout man with a bowler hat and old but fairly nice clothes. We tell him we're looking to go on a mining expedition. He says Cuncudgerie is very dangerous; there's been a lot of strange sightings and weird goings on. Arty said he saw a giant city come out of nowhere in the great sandy desert. He'd found some old weird stones that led him to an old city, and he took pictures using photographic plates. The pictures didn't look like they could be faked. A Mr. Huston came looking for him 2-3 years ago, and he hasn't seen him since. He believes MacWhirr's diary is with a friend, Dr. Dodge, in Sydney. Since we asked, he provides the exact longitude and latitude, 22°3’14” South by 125°0’39” East. We'll need to be well provisioned if we want to go there - good possibility of running out of water. We ask Robert Mackenzie to give us details about what we'll need to supply. He explains the provisions we'll need. He expects that it will be 4 days of travel to reach our destination, and we decide on 10 days of supplies. He recommends Mortimer Wycroft in Cuncudgerie as a guide. Gurumarra buys a case of dynamite. Chun Li attempts to charm him into selling us more, but he's already earmarked it and is unwilling to part with it. He helps us rent a truck to transport our supplies. We ensure we have supplies to repair the truck as well as significant extra fuel. (The group learns about rectal rehydration.) Charles acquires bloodletting equipment, a drum, and stone carving equipment to perform the ritual. Chun Li also picks up mirrors and binoculars and picks and shovels.