This work went on for nineteen days and during that time, the party drew heavily on the fresh water supplies that had been left for us. Everyone knew that the wet season was approaching and then all the tanks, old and new, would be filled to overflowing, so why worry!

The sixteen men left and still no rain. We could see passing showers driven before the squally southeasterlies all around us. Some certainly crossed the Island but they did little to boost our water supply. There is no topographical influence on a small flat island, as there is in the same latitude on the Queensland coast, to induce heavier and more prolonged rainfall.

We were forced to ration fresh water to two gallons a day, to be used only for drinking and cooking. We dug up some barrels of water that Davis had buried in the loose sandy soil. The water was quite unfit for human consumption.

Relief came on 12 January, seventy-five days after our arrival: all tanks were filled and ample supplies of fresh water were assured for the remainder of our stay. The rain fell in heavy showers and the roofs of the two huts, which had been white-washed by the thousands of screeching birds that hovered over the island, day and night, were restored to their original red colour. The debris was washed into the water tanks.

Bureau of Meteorology