“The tunneller’s activity is only heard of when the world is deafened by the blowing of a mine that he has prepared through months of silent, modest and retiring labour; labour that in its nature is coy and shy of observation. A form of warfare with its stratagems and incredible counter stratagems . . . for which the Australian miner has peculiar advantages . . . . to these strange places he brings all that was characteristic of him in the Lady Berry at home . . . .

“It was our tunnellers who prepared a little show which an English battalion carried out, and the night of the touch off a battalion commander said to a tunnelling officer, ‘I think I should tell you that I am given to understand that some of your men are going to attempt to go over with us to-night.’ Which it is understood that the tunnellers did contrive to do, for the next day a tunneller showed ‘P——’ a fine Fritz watch. ‘You don’t get them tunnelling, sir,’ he said. ‘The infantry will do me after this.’”