As the sun struggled to stay above
the horizon, I sat mesmerised, a
family of swallows darted about,
sharing the scene, oblivious to why
we were here and what had gone
before us. We’d ridden both sides of
the border between South Austra-
lia and Queensland, a brutal land,
beautiful in its harshness. And I
wondered what Poeppel thought
of it all. He’d walked the length of
the western boundary of New South
Wales, then the south western corner
of Queensland. His measurements
accurate to within metres.
Upon reaching the corner of
Queensland, South Australia and the
Northern Territory (Poeppel Corner)
his surveying party turned right to
determine the western border of
Queensland. Ironically, just a few
kilometres beyond the northern
most reaches of Munga Thirri he
contracted Trachoma, possibly from
the many flies that feast on desert
travellers, he lost 13 kilograms of
weight and was blinded in one eye.
Poeppel was forced home and died
just 11 years later.
The sun gave up its fight and
dipped into the void beyond the edge
of the Earth. The old wood and wire
fence looked on, its significance
seemed lost as the darkness swept
across the dunes and into our camp.
I wandered back to the camp, still
contemplating why the baby had
TRAVERSE 110
been put in the corner, and I won-
dered; what would Poeppel think of it
all? LW
The border running north-south between
Haddon and Cameron Corner's has many and
varied tracks to explore, some well main-
tained and highly used, others nothing more
than wheel tracks through the scrub. This is
remote country so all precautions should be
taken before riding the area.