26/04/2026 – Port Hedland (1)
Saturday, 15 June 1935
Darwin, Australia
There is no airport listed in the directory in Nairobi in Port Hedland, so Alex proposes they fly via India and Singapore to Darwin in Northern Australia. They can then make arrangements to travel to Port Hedland. Tiger counsels them against going by boat and hopes there is a railway or road.
When they arrive in Darwin, the discover in the updated directory there is a small airstrip listed in Port Hedland, just long enough to accommodate their Douglas DC1. Jeziah reminds them that the Randolph Shipping Company was based in this city. They decide to investigate them before travelling onwards.
The Randolph Shipping Company
They get directions to the port and then find the building, which is a disappointingly cheap-looking place. They knock the door, but no one answers, so they go in and discover it is warehouse. The place is messy and dirty. There are a couple of men moving crates with block and tackle. They ask for the boss and they are directed up to Mr Randolph in the office on the mezzanine floor.
When they go up, they find the slightly overweight, balding and sweaty Mr Randolph in a shirt and waistcoat, snoozing at his desk. He jumps awake when they walk in and demands to know who they are. Cassandra tells him she has come here all the way from London and wants to ask him a few questions. She asks him about a company in England, Henson Manufacturing. He says while he does some business with England, he’s never heard of them.
Zalkador mentions the Penhew Foundation and he has heard of them. He does a little business with them, mostly involving archaeology, as they pay well. She asks more details of their business arrangements, but he is reluctant to tell them as they are paying clients. Cassandra is able to overcome his concerns by passing him a five pound note.
He looks up the files and tells them he regularly picks up from Port Hedland to London, then London to Shanghai. Not every week but more than once a month. Occasionally there are drop off and pick up in Port Said or Mombasa along the way. They deal with Mortimer Wycroft, who handles the collection from Port Hedland, although his address is listed as Cuncudgerie. He does not know much about that place, though it may be where there are been a lot of mining activity recently.
Sunday, 16 June 1935
Port Hedland
They leave and, after a stop at a bar in Darwin because a number of them could do with a drink. They sleep in the aircraft that night and in the morning they fly off to Port Hedland. They see from the air the place is tiny, but has a large natural harbour. There is no sign of any mines, just a small railway heading south. There few roads are little more than dirt tracks.
They land and Alex arranges for the parking and storage of the airplane. It is much warmer down here, 30 degrees or more in the sun. Jeziah then finds out a local inn, though it is not a five star hotel like they have used in Cairo and Nairobi. They are forced to share rooms because there are not many rooms free. They eat the local stew that evening but it is not that nice. Some of the locals laugh at Zalkador in his turban and colourful outfit.
Monday, 17 June 1935
Looking for Robert McKenzie
They have a disappointing breakfast in the morning. Eddy tries Vegemite, but he hates it. Zalkador moodily picks but is not impressed with the local food. Jeziah mentions their leads, Robert McKenzie, who was mentioned by Professor Cowles and Mortimer Wycroft in Cuncudgerie.
They ask at the Inn about McKenzie and someone knows of the name. He is an engineer who lives on the west side of town. There’s a post office on that side of town, they will know where he lives. Tiger suggests that they should start getting equipment and transport sorted for when they need to head out into the desert. Monty and Eddy go off to acquire a truck, while the others head off to find Robert McKenzie.
Enquiries at the post office gets them his address. They stop at a shop to get some umbrellas and hats for shade against the sun. When they get to his house, they see it a large, old wooden building, looking very colonial. There is a sign outside the door, Robert B F McKenzie with a number of engineering professional qualifications after his name.
Arthur McWhirr’s Discovery
They knock on the door and the middle-aged Mr McKenzie greets them and invites them in. He has a nice house with expensive furniture. He makes them some tea with biscuits. Cassandra then mentions Professor Cowles and she attended his lecture in London, where Mr McKenzie was mentioned, having discovered strange stones in the desert. Mr McKenzie corrects her that his engineer friend Arthur McWhirr made the discovery, but he passed away and Mr McKenzie was his executor. He still has a few photographs and notes that belonged to Arthur McWhirr.
He shows them the notes that he still has. They talk of his journey out into the desert. The notes mention aboriginals actually following them, which is unusual and them finding one of their party who went out ahead dead, beaten to death. Equally distant from Johanna Spring and Separation Well, he found the remains of an ancient city rising from the shifting sands, while huge birds circle overhead. The stones have strange, regular geometric shapes carved into them. Mr McWhirr estimates the stones could be 10,000 years old or more. Cassandra wonders if that is accurate. Mr McKenzie is unsure, but he assures her Arthur McWhirr knew his stuff.
The notes go on to say their camp was attacked during a sand storm. He found a camel that had been torn to pieces by something that must have been enormous. The notes end with him planning a return visit to do a full survey, but unfortunately he passed away not long after he got back from a heart attack and no one has gone out there since.
Nathaniel Wingate Peasley
Mr McKenzie then asks them if they know of a Professor Nathaniel Wingate Peasley. He is an American who has been writing to him for a while. He wants to go out to the Great Sandy Desert to examine the stones for himself. Apparently he had an experience a few years back where he lost his memory and woke up about a year later. However, in the intervening time he had been active, doing things and behaving oddly and travelling around the world, which he has no memory of.
After that experience, he began to have dreams about being in a city with odd, geometric shapes, similar to those on the stones that Arthur McWhirr discovered. After an extended correspondence, Professor Peasley asked to come to Port Hedland and McKenzie to help him organise an expedition to the Great Sandy Desert. He agreed to this, but the Professor will not arrive for another month.
Travel Advice
Mr McKenzie cannot help them as he is committed to waiting for the Professor to arrive, but he can give them some advice. He tells them they should first go to Cuncudgerie. Once there, they can get all the equipment they need. They should get some Daimler Light Trucks, lots of water and food, at least two months’ worth.
Head south east until they hit the dry lakes, then find the Canning Stock Route, where there are lots of wells at reasonable distance apart. From there they can head north and look for the lost city. He gives them a map of the area, locating Johanna Spring and Separation Well, between which should be what they are looking for. They are amused by Lake Disappointment – a salt lake.
He warns them the Great Sandy Desert is a dangerous place. They will need bedding as it becomes very cold at night, but gets very hot during the day. He adds that he has heard of Mortimer Wycroft and his daughters. They do not have a great reputation.
They leave Mr McKenzie and catch up with Monty and Eddy, who have arranged for a truck, but Jeziah has them cancel it as they are going to take the train to Cuncudgerie and get the equipment they need there. Jeziah arranges to take the freight train. There is one tomorrow leaving at 8am. There is only a train every other day, so if they don’t go in the morning they will have to wait two days.
They stock up on some personal supplies including water and food, have dinner at the inn and then get an early night.
Tuesday, 18 June 1935
Cuncudgerie
They manage to get up early in the morning and get to the station. They are seated in an open air truck that is used for baggage. Some aboriginals are seated in the next truck and their appearance is a surprise to most of the Investigators. The journey takes 8 hours, during which the journey is uncomfortable, some of them get sun burn and they learn to keep out of direct sunshine. The land is mostly flat, though there are some hills. Vegetation is sparse.
When they finally reach Cuncudgerie, they see a lot of temporary, hand-built wooden buildings and has a frontier town feel. There are a few more sturdy buildings on each side of a central road. Lots of people begin unloading their equipment from the train. They enquire about an Inn and find a seedy one in the centre of town with prostitutes operating in it. Jeziah does not approve, but Cassandra doubts they will find anywhere better, while Alex and Monty are fine with them.
They are fairly exhausted so after some food and drinks, they go to bed. The beds are not very comfortable. Alex, Tiger and especially Zalkador do not sleep well due to poor beds and beg bugs.
Wednesday, 19 June 1935
Rest and Preparation
They are pretty exhausted the next day and relax in the inn they are staying in as best they can. Jeziah and Monty go out to begin securing Daimler light trucks, as advised by Robert McKenzie. They are not cheap and they will not be able to collect them until tomorrow. When they are reminded about petrol, they end up buying a third truck to put the petrol in.
Jeziah is concerned about the expense, but he checked the bank while in Darwin and Erica Carlisle has continued to make supporting payments. Jeziah suggests they should wire her with an update when they finish in Australia.
They also decide to ask around to find someone to act as a guide. Cassandra gets chatting to some people who used the Canning Stock Route and have story about creatures the size of bears stealing their cattle. They are able to persuade one of them to be their guide, Barry Bainbridge, who is between jobs at the moment.
That evening, Jeziah checks his notes and mentions that Mortimer Wycroft is based here. Should someone go investigate him?