Lasseter arrives in Quorn and pens a letter to the garage thanking the Proprietor for the drivers services, looks like Harry will have to spend a few days in town waiting for Blakeley and Sutherlands arrival, and that could be anytime considering the organisation and Broken Hill is more or less Blakeley's home town. The Captain may well get to Alice Springs first.

Of course Blakeley and Sutherland spend the day socialising in a very social Broken Hill, Freddy has much to catch up with and there are plenty of toasts to the success of the upcoming expedition, there are plenty of questions too.

Coote has a mixed day of it, the petrol tanker bogs on the Newcastle airstrip and refuelling the Golden Quest is delayed by an hour. Not surprising, he leaves his take off almost too late and has to make a dash for Mascot. It's a close thing landing in near dark and young Bailey is not impressed. Coote is delighted though, he has set a new record for a light aircraft on the Newcastle/Sydney run--38 minutes and a nice sense of priorities yet!  I cannot see Coote, aircraft and Central Australia mixing, fear the worst.

The Captain was a smart fellow going by train and Taylor is a brave one for flying to the 'Alice with Coote, but then, both men are in it for the experience and not the headlines or politics.

Theodore's resignation might be a case of 'nice timing', The Niemeyer Commission has arrived in Fremantle, now that would be an interesting confrontation, old Otto Niemeyer bluntly telling Red Ted and his Labor Mates they have been financially irresponsible and Australia is living way beyond its means. Bound to get Jack Lang fired up and radical.

Noticed a genuine old timer in town today, along with spartan supplies, Randall Stafford picked up Miners Right No. 571, now I wonder where his gold interests lay?, somewhere difficult for sure. Down the road at Horseshoe Bend ,Terry and Mates pick up supplies from the Rumbalara rail siding, what an imminently sensible place from which to mount an expedition to the Petermanns and thereabouts, directly west!.

It seems C.A.G.E. and Blakeley are still operating in belief Lasseter's reef lay somewhere along the line of the northern Macdonnells, hence Alice Springs as the start point, still there are persistent rumours, especially out of Hermannsburg, that Lasseter's ultimate destination is the Petermanns  ??. just as Paul Johns anticipates, I wonder if he and Lasseter have come to some secret arrangement?

LASSETERIA