Item 01: Eric Susman war diary, 1 January 1915-4 April 1916 - Page 111
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[Page 111]
Sunday 28 March 1915
This morning we experienced a terrific dust storm – one of the most extraordinary sights I have ever seen. Just about the time for Church Parade the fresh freeze became a gale, the wind blew at a terrific rate, and of course, the sand and the dust and the heat were indescribable. Huge columns of sand were seen to be fifty feet high, just like a whirlpool. Several of the ramshackle buildings around the camp were half blown down, and the tents did not getting of scot free, especially the carelessly pitched ones. This strange sight lasted for about an hour and was followed by a spectacle none the less novel.
After the worst of the storm was over, a few of us went out of camp a little way for revolver practice (these weapons, of course, are strictly forbidden, being against regulations, but that does not matter in the Australian army). Then we found ourselves fairly in the midst of huge armies of locusts – not the good old noisy Australian locust, but a funny looking thing more like a grasshopper. There were millions and millions of them, the air was thick with them. No wonder poor old Pharoh [Pharaoh] was driven half-crazy by the pests.