ABSTRACT
To escape the permanent threat of unemployment in Sydney, Hansel took up an offer from Dr Cobb, scientist with the New South Wales Department of Agriculture. While Cobb was present at the laboratory, Hansel was to receive a small wage which would carry him over the time of the scientist’s absence. Hansel had hoped for a permanent job with the department; this did eventuate, but his time at Bong Bong was wasted. The laboratory was on a small rise about five metres above the level of the marsh. It was a wooden shed, barely four metres by four, and a fifth of this small room was used as a darkroom. Shelves on the walls were filled either with books or with countless bottles, large and small, all containing chemicals. In front of the window two microscopes were placed on a wooden shelf; the furniture comprised a table and two chairs.
