Photographs of a trip to Mount Wudinna [B 73363/1-17] • Photograph
'The party leaving Colton'.
A group of men, women and children outside the Colton Post Office, with eight of the party seated in a horse-drawn drag.
'Scrub cutter's hut'.
Two men standing outside a hut, with a wooden barrel (for water?) and other domestic items nearby.
'Lunch at Orange Still'.
Eight of the expedition members seated on boxes, bags and other items beside the drag.
'The mysterious spring tree'.
Three men at the base of a large tree, described in the newspaper report as 'the tree is an immense one for mallee, as it must be quite 70 ft. high, and a hole in it will hold about 5 gallons of water. It is filled with every little shower'.
'Mt Wudinna'.
View across a grassy area with Mount Wudinna in the middle distance.
'Old homestead, Mt Wudinna'.
A man leaning against a tree growing beside the ruins of an old house showing its bush construction.
The party seated in the drag, with four horses in harness, and a woman, two children and three men standing beside it. This was probably taken at their overnight stop at Wudinna homestead, managed by Mr Barns Jnr, Mr and Mrs Modra, and Mr Hawkes.
'An album (a stock Kodak line, 150 x 195 mm) containing seventeen original postcard-format gelatin silver photographs loosely mounted in the specially-designed leaves; both the album and contents are in fine condition. The album has a presentation inscription to 'Miss Mabel Barns, / In remembrance of Mt Wudinna trip / July 1911. / From Press Representatives / P.P. Kenny / Thomas F. Rice', and there are captions to all images in ink on the album leaves. A lengthy article in the Adelaide Chronicle, Saturday 29 July 1911, under the heading "Western Wheat Province. Colton Farmers on Tour' gives a full account of the trip, with details supplied presumably by Messrs Kenny and Rice. Nine members of the Colton branch of the Agricultural Bureau held their July meeting at Mount Wudinna, about 100 kilometres north-east of Colton, by invitation of W.A. Barns of 'Barnsdale', Colton, and Mount Wudinna. Mr Barns "provided a drag for the trip, and a team of six first-class horses" and off they went. Mount Wudinna is approximately 250 km west of Port Augusta; one can imagine the Mount Wudinna-Colton route is still not a well-travelled path. The photographs show the full party setting off, having an alfresco lunch, visiting the tanks at Baird's Lakes, leaving Mount Wudinna, and among numerous sheep at Kappacoola Plains. There are several images of the 'Railway Clearing' through the mallee scrub, presumably for the Trans-Australian Railway. Perhaps most interesting of all are the scenes of hard life on the land, evidenced by the scrub-cutter's hut, the old homestead at Mount Wudinna, and the Survey Camp at Mount Damper. The Kenny and Barns families were among the earliest pioneers in the region.' [From vendors catalogue.]
'Tanks, Baird's Lakes'.
The party, most seated in the drag, beside covered water tanks. The newspaper report notes that 'Baird's lakes' is a local name; 'Yanineee Lakes' is the official name.
'Railway clearing'.
View along a corridor of cleared land with dense scrub on either side.
'On the line 140 miles from Pt Lincoln'.
The party seated in the drag in a cleared area of scrub.
'Near the end of the Railway'.
A man standing at the end of a cleared patch in the scrub.
'Typical Minnipa Mallee'.
View of a sparsely vegetated area.
'The Famous Hull's Park'.
Four men standing in front of some eucalypts.
'Survey Camp, Mt Damper'.
a number of bush huts in the bush.
'Kappacoola Plains'.
A flock of sheep in a cleared area. On the back is written' Kappacoola Tank. F. Myer's sheep \ on the way to Buckleboo from Elliston. He leased land there. / Colton Agricultural Bureau' [The newspaper article refers to the 'Cappaculla tanks'].
'The Trig on Minnipa Hill'.
Two men standing in front of the large stone cairn marking the trig point. Most of the party climbed the mount at dawn on Monday after spending the night at Wudinna homestead.
![[Damaged shed].](https://d1red3q7jhuy4m.cloudfront.net/56/17/785d-8216-549d-9171-46dbb9b63310.jpg)
[Damaged shed].
A photograph showing a boy standing beside the remains of a shed which has collapsed, with an intact water tank adjacent. On the back is a letter addressed to 'Miss Mable [sic] Barns / Barnsdale / Colton' with the message '14/8/14 Dear Mable, this is one portion of the shed that was blown down in the H° of Wudinna. With kind regards W.H.N.(?)'.