Crossing the Nullahbor

The very first time I crossed the Nullarbor was with my Step Father Jim we called him Pop my Mother and five kids, I was 9 years old, Pop bought a second hand 1939 Vauxhall in Adelaide, it had running boards on the side and Pop fixed this rail, (concertina gate) onto the running boards, and we couldn’t open the doors and had to climb out the windows, as cases were stacked between them and the doors, there was also a roof rack packed with cases and gear, we were two weeks on the road, imagine five kids and luggage crammed into a small car don't remember the whole trip, apart from a few memory's about particular events. Eucla was one of them, it was when Eucla was down on the breakaway closer to the coast, now it has been relocated up on top of the breakaways, Eucla was the original telephone base from the early explorers, the sand dunes were like silk, pop took us to the water’s edge through the dunes, i lost sight of him and thought i was lost, we slept in a big Hall, and the sand was right up to the wall of this hall, i remember hearing someone say it would be covered with sand in a very short time, it was also supposed to be haunted. Also another memorable place was the Nullarbor Homestead, we could see this home and sheds in the distance, as we must have needed fuel being such a long way from any town , gas stations were not heard of on the Nullarbor, fuel came in 44 gallon drums, we drove into the homestead and they made us very welcome invited us inside ,we all sat around the large table and ate a hearty meal, i believe times have changed, what you will see on gates today is a sign Keep Out, private property. Since this crossing i have driven overland nine times.

My first experience of driving overland was the most difficult and tense, I had a mate with me, Barry Taylor we both lived in Medina WA we met at the front of a local shop after it had closed for the day,  Barry was the sort of young bloke who could make friends with the young kids and those about our age in Medina, he was a bit of a leader full of confidence, I had a FJ Holden at this time, I decided to go east and somehow Barry decided to go with me and share expenses, we planned to work our way around the Eastern States, first stopping off in Adelaide and later going on to Melbourne, then on to Sydney, before we left he asked me if another mate of his Sidney Kaporn could come with us, so it looked like being an exciting trip, and it was a real experience. after leaving Norseman a sign post said this is the last reliable water supply for 600 miles, The road from Norseman to Port Augusta was unsealed and it was a hell road full of potholes, bull-dust and corrugation’s, Wombats and kangaroos were dead on the side of the road and  hundreds of rabbits crossing our path. The corrugations were so bumpy an my Holden fJ it shook the bolts off that held the radiator to the body, miles from know where, and me being experienced and bought up on a farm always carried with me a pair of pliers and fencing wire, so I wired the Radiator to the body of the FJ and it held out for the rest of the trip. The trip was very tense for me as it was my car, and I felt when Barry or Syd were driving they didn’t avoid the potholes and couldn’t drive as well or take the same care as I did.
My Brother Laurie was in Adelaide when we arrived, he found us a place to stay two rooms in an old boarding house, Barry tossed a coin, heads or tails to choose in what room we would sleep, and i scored a single room, this was the finish of our adventure, i believe it was meant to be this way, for a good reason, that night Syd and Barry got talking and the next day decided to go on to Melbourne, this wasn’t our plan as Barry and me were going to work in Adelaide first then decide where we would go at a later date, I lost touch with Barry but caught up with him at a later date, he was living with his Uncle, I was shearing around Geelong so I  looked him up one week end, he said Syd didn’t stay very long and went back to Perth, soon after arriving in Melbourne, Later I was pleased I had split with Barry as I realized it was better to travel alone, you don’t have to answer to other people or plan your life around there needs, I also decided to go back Shearing,                    

Every time I drove across the Nullarbor was a unique experience, nine times in all, this particular trip in my F.J. Holden my pride and joy. The Nullarbor had several gates, and they had to be opened and closed so as to stop the livestock from going through, one of the gates I stopped to open, and at the same time another vehicle stopped on the other side I was driving East and he was driving West, the other driver wasn’t getting out to open the gate so I decided it was going to be me, on opening the gate the other driver with ACT plates drove through, as he did he said to me, I’m from Canberra, I thought to myself and you can get stuffed mate you cheeky prick.

Copyright (c)

Me 2010

To be Continued

   

My First and Last trip toTasmania

My first trip to Tasmania

Driving a new E.J. Holden station wagon, I booked my car on to the large vehicle transport ferry Princess of Tasmania, from Melbourne to Devonport on the north coast of Tasmania, my life was on a roll, with a new Holden, my first trip to Tasmania, considered to be a gun shearer, and a shed to go to with United Grazers shearing contractors, arriving in Launceston i met with a couple of other shearers who directed me to the Victoria Hotel, they said that was the hotel where all the shearers drank and usually met on the weekends, Bill Grieg the biggest and most respected contractor in Tasmania used it as his office, I met up with Bill and he offered me a job but I told him I already had a shearing run lined up with United Grazers, Bill was like a Father figure to all the Shearers, he had a key to the hotel.
The following day I was to begin shearing with United Grazers, my time with them was short, some of the shearer’s were trouble makers real union cranks, they didn’t want to start shearing for some petty reason, I hung around for a few days, then the next week was still the same, so I decided to pull out, I telephoned Bill Grieg and asked him for a job, after reasoning with him why I left United Grazers, he gave me a job out of Swansea on the East coast, I fell in love with Swansea and returned many times.
I remember one Sunday morning, a few other shearers and myself were having an early morning drink in one of the bedrooms at the Victoria Hotel, Launceston where we stayed on weekends, Bill poked his head in the door and made a fatherly comment, he would look at you like a father looking at a Son who has just got into mischief, but we all thought of him as a great bloke one of the best I have met.

The people in Tasmania at that time i thought were like a different race, or country a new breed different to Mainland Australians, some of the stories you here, One I remember, we were all sitting around a large table having our evening meal, in the farmers home where we were shearing, he was a tall lean looking character, dressed like a poor man and his speech was drooled, the house was nothing fancy a large room with a long wooden bench table, stories and jokes were being told by the shearers every time we sat down for a meal, then the Owner of the farm had his turn, he told us about someone who went to Hobart, he leaves off the H and pronounces it as Obart, from Swansea you drive down the east coast road to Hobart, you arrive at the Derwent River, Hobart can be seen on the other side, as the story goes this bloke arrived at the Derwent River where there is a small town, he stayed for the weekend, then he goes home and tells his friends he went to Hobart and Could see the light of Melbourne, actually he could see the lights of Hobart not Melbourne.
Since then they have built a Bridge over the Derwent River, the pillars are so tall out of the water like stilts, a ship could pass under it, when I first went to Hobart in 1963 they had a temporary floating bridge, one of my later trips I predicted a Ship would run into the Bridge and bring it down, my prediction came true years later.

My last trip to Tasmania

I had a brain wave to start a business manufacturing Shearers Trousers, and to do this we needed specialized side seam machines, they would have to be purchased in Melbourne,
I left Perth with my wife at that time, and baby Son Lance, I was driving a EA Ford Sdn.with a V8 motor, my plan was to find shearing in Victoria, buy a caravan then head down to Tasmania, with a few contacts I found a job shearing around Mansfield with a contractor named Harris, his Son John was supposedly a champion Shearer who won several competitions, well I mentioned to Harris I was looking for a Caravan and he said I have one you can buy, he was actually using it for his office and I don’t know why he would want to sell it, the only reason I could think of, he would make a good profit on the sale, on inspecting the Caravan, it was just what I wanted even better than I expected, with an Annex, TV Aerial, gas bottles, it was in very good condition, I immediately said yes I would buy it from him, and I gave him a Deposit, when the time came to pay the balance and pick it up, he had taken off the annex and TV aerial, the tight bastard, but i thought it was still a good deal, a couple of weeks later i drove to Melbourne on my way to Tasmania, we stayed at a caravan park near Melbourne. The lights on the Caravan did not synchronize with the Car so i had to change the wires on the coupling, and it was a cold wet night, this had to be done in the rain and was not an easy task. We were going to Tasmania the next day, on the transport ferry Princess of Tasmania so i had to fix the lights before i drove through Melbourne.
I sold the Caravan before leaving Tasmania for a profit, then i saw a boat on a farm and brought it back to Perth, i used the return ferry crossing for the boat and not the caravan, they didn't pick it up on the ticket, it was a windy day when we were embarking, and the breeze was blowing and the ticket was flapping, he overlooked the fact i was returning with a boat.

Buying a Boat in Tasmania and towing it back to Perth

Shearing at a shed on the East Coast between Swansea and Bicheno, and driving through the farm where I was Shearing on my way to town, i noticed a boat on a trailer siting in the paddock, looking like it had been  there for some time, asking around I found the owner with some difficulty and offered him 150 pounds with a little haggling we decided on 200 everyone happy I went back a few days later on my way to Launceston and picked it up, I was driving a EA Ford V8 son, very soon after hitching the trailer with the boat attached and was to learn it would be impossible to tow it any distance at a reasonable speed, as the trailer didn’t have any springs, it was jumping all over the road, so proceeding at about 10mph, I reached a small town called Cranbrook where I found someone who could fit a set of springs, leaving the trailer and arranging to pick it up at a later date, I proceeded onto Launceston where I spent most of my spare time, I was married at the time and my wife wasn’t impressed, after the shearing was finished in Tasmania I was going back to Perth as I came to Tasmania this time with a purpose to buy sewing machines in Melbourne, that is another part of my life I will explain in another chapter, well the trip from Tasmania with the trailer was unusual I guess, as I had to cross the Bass Strait on the Princess of Tasmania vehicle ferry with return ticket from Melbourne to Tasmania and return to Melbourne, the ticket was for a car and Caravan that I took to Tasmania, i sold the caravan, so preceding to embark with the boat, I was a bit apprehensive thinking I would have to pay for the Boat trailer, it was a cold wet and windy day so when the bloke inspected the ticket I held the corner of the ticket which was blowing in the wind and he didn’t see it was for a caravan. I used the boat to carry some of the extra luggage we had accumulated on the way; besides a heap of smoky quarts I had collected from a tin mine while shearing near Gladstone.
The lights weren’t working properly on the boat trailer, so sneaking my way through Melbourne we found a Caravan Park we rented a caravan and the following day we would go looking for sewing machines, we found the machines we were looking for and it was quite an experience to go through the company’s display and see all the different Sewing Machines, I don’t remember exactly what we did the proceeding days but I know we went to Millicent where my Brother was living, stayed there for over a week and I think our welcome was wearing a little thin, his wife Margaret would send her Daughter in quite often to ask us when we were leaving, so it was time to move on, back to Perth.

The drive overland crossing the Nullarbor

The boat and trailer towed well considering, I never had a spare wheel for the trailer as they were an odd size, larger than the ford I was driving, and guess what, yes, I had a flat tire on the trailer, lucky me the spare wheel on the ford fitted perfectly except for the boat wheel being a larger size the trailer was leaning to one side, everywhere we pulled up for petrol we were getting funny looks and smiles but nobody was game to make any comments, I was probably the first person to tow a boat over the Nullarbor, especially without a spare wheel, it wasn’t till we arrived in Norseman that I was able to find a second hand tire and wheel that fitted the ford and trailer.
We came across a care broken down on the Nullarbor, a lady and two children were waiting for her Husband to return, he had been gone for two days looking for parts to fix their car, they were without water so we gave them our spare water, they looked so destitute, and it was bloody hot.
Then we broke down, and a couple gave us a tow for about eighty miles to a garage, they wouldn't take any money, it turned out to be something simple i could have fixed, i didn’t tell them, because i would have looked stupid, we saw the funny side later, we talked about it how this would be a good way to travel free.

                                              Copyright (c)

The turning point of my life

Rather than write a Book a Donation would be appreciated
To my PayPal account

I was living on a farm with my step Fathers Mother, four Sisters and two Brothers at Perillup Western Australia, 30 miles west of Mt. Barker. 
My stepfather Jim we called him Pop, why I don't know, Pop was a prisoner of war, captured by the Germans and later transferred to the Italians, as a prisoner of war Veteran he was allocated a land settlement farm at Perillup, Western Australia. Well lets start with my first interesting experience and major turning point in my life, the day began with a telephone call from my sister Elaine a few days earlier, she had left home to work on a Farm cooking for the Carmody's a father and three Sons, she had only been there a few weeks, the farm was several miles east of Kulin, Western Australia, the call went something like this, they are Shearing here and i have been talking to the shed boss and they need a shed hand, a junior shed hands job is to pick up the wool after the Shearer has finished shearing the sheep, Elaine my Sister thinks the shed boss is interested  in her, so she kidded him along and asked him if he could give me a job in the shed, she said to me i believe they pay good money, i found out later for a junior shed hand the money i received per week was 17 pound, i don't remember what i was thinking at the time after the telephone call but i decided i would give it a go. My Sister being the kind and thoughtful person that she is was always there to to help others. I didn't have many cloths, no proper shoes to work in a shearing shed, no blankets but what little gear i did have would have to do, then i came to the conclusion what am i going to use to pack the few cloths i do have, the only suitable thing i could find that resembled a case was a radio in a little wooden box covered with black vynal with a hinged lid, as the radio wasn't working, i thought this will have to do, so i took the radio out and the little box was my case. Train from Mt Barker and arrived at the Kulin Train Station in the middle of the night, old man Carmody picked me up, someone else was there i think it was Morrie, one of the Sons, Carmody's were one of the early settlers in Kulin, we drove to the farmhouse, a big brick building very solid, it was the original building built in the early settlement days. The shearers had already gone to bed, every thing was dark, I had heard weird stories about shearers and my imagination run wild, the twenty miles drive from the train Station to the farm, all these crazy thoughts were going through my head, I'm going to have to sleep on the wool, or in the wool shed on bags, but as it turned out Morrie said i could sleep in his brothers bed on the veranda as he was away for a few days, the next morning i got up a bit late, the shearers had already started work at seven thirty, After having breakfast with my Sister, the shed Boss came looking for me, i think the main reason, he was trying to get on with my sister, we walked over to the shed, it was all so new to me. My first day was hell, the shearers treated the board boys (Rousies) like shit i nealy gave up, that evening i spoke with my Sister and told her how the shearers swore and used all the F words, i had never heard a swear word up to that time, i was horrified, but later on myself working with the shearer's I was becoming just as good as them at swearing and still use the F word quite often, i have to be very conscious of what im saying when I'm with other people, especially when i get a bit agro about something. Previously my only experience with shearer's was on our land settlement Farm, once a year a shearer would come and shear our sheep, and he was bloody rough compared with shearers i had met and worked with in my later life in the Shearing Teams. 
 Going back to the early years of my life, born in the Subiaco Childrens Hospital on 19th November 1941, Subiaco is a suburb of Perth the Capital city of Western Australia, I was one of eight children, third youngest from my Mothers first Marriage, Laurie, Elaine and myself, Mum remarried and had five more, three girls and two boys. Meryl, Colin, Jillian, Maureen and Ross. My Father had also remarried, and had a girl Sandra and boy Kimberly, i spent most of my life with my Mother and step father, My stepfather worked as a share farmer, during my younger life, we lived on many farms, throughout Western Australia, from what i can remember they were mostly good especially for us kids. Although we were a poor family i didn't think about money or where it came from or if we had enough to live, I didn't have many cloths, and seldom wore shoes, but we always had food on the table, i found out in later years Mum was always finding it difficult to keep us in food and clothing. at Christmas we always had presents, as hard up as we were. My step Father Jim we called him Pop would shoot kangaroos and Rabbits, one particular Farm we lived on in South Australia he would trap rabbits for a living and dry the skins to be sold to a trader who would pick them up about once a Month. Pop would set traps of an evening and i would walk around with him, wearing his long kaki ex army Coat, it was too big for me and almost touched the ground, some of the rabits had kittens (baby rabits) i would put them into the large pockets and take them home, at this time there were millions of rabbits in Australia. we also ate rabbits and kangaroos,  Mum made the best baked rabbit stew, Kangaroo tail soup, my favorit and Kangaroo steaks.  At thirteen years old on the farm at Perilup, the age where i was able to help around the Farm, my chores were to, chop the wood, drive the tractor, milk the cows, i also had a small vegetable garden, id dig a trench and empty the dunny into it for fertilizer, this wouldn't go too well in the city. My Mother, Pop and us kids lived on farms all over Western Australia, and for  short time in South Australia, that is another experience of my life i will write about in a later part of this story. Mum tallied up the places she lived while being married to Jim, was over 100, some of the towns we lived in that i can remember. Pingelly, Walgoorlin,  Moora, Mt. Barker, Perillup,  Perenjori my Mums home town, her father Bill Payne was a early settler in Perenjori. He cleared the farm with an axe and lived a very hard life, as most of the early settlers did.   
A short Story about a time i can remember living in Perenjori my Mothers Home town, i was probably about ten. My cousin Norman came to me and said lets go and get some wood, the wood most people used those days was malle roots from a short shrubby tree, most homes had stack's of them in there back yard, so we leave by the back fence, Norman pulled off a couple of pickets, we climbed through and headed across some vacant land with Norm's small rope drawn cart, we came to a picket fence at the back of some ones property, the same process pull off a couple of pickets and climb through, unbeknown to me at the time it was the local policeman's home, this didn't worry Norman he was up to this trick quite often, they wouldn't miss a few mallee roots in a large stack, as the picket fence behind the mallee roots were hidden, after loading the cart we replaced the pickets and headed home.    
                                                          Copyright

Some shearers Handpieces, for cutting the wool

This is the same as the Hondpiece I last used

Handpieces from the early Pioneering days, unlike the one I used, I believe they got very hot

Unknown Make

Moffat

Cairns North Queensland

https://goo.gl/photos/F2bq7sBTrJnGjrDw8

Cairns North Queensland Three men with a dream

 I made some good friends while working in Cairns, the ones that I remember most who are embedded into my mind, Maureen Dwyer, Jack and Dore I never knew there surname, Morris Watts and Wendy, Bill Shardlow and Fay, they will be mentioned as I write. There are others but I don’t remember their names, I also met my wife in Cairns on a ferry to Green Island. We have since parted thankfully, but in Deprivation to our Son Lance. IL tells you why in another chapter.
My time in Cairns was from May 1965 to January 1966 the eight months was an exciting time in my life, arrived in Cairns ... with two blokes’ I met in Sydney, Bill Shardlow and Sidney, a New Zealander. We drove from Sydney in my FC Holden Station Wagon Sdn., my pride and joy, I will tell you about my experiences in Sydney in another chapter, the trip to Cairns was an experience on its own, crossing rivers on Floating Punts, The burning of the cane before harvest, cane was cut by hand those days, the men would come from a hard day’s work covered in black suit, as we got closer to Cairns every local Queenslander we met were saying they are burning tonight, that meant burning the sugar cane, the fires were spectacular. The first night we arrived in Cairns stuffed and tired from the long trip, in the early hours of the morning, somehow we slept in the car three men and our luggage , I don’t know how, not knowing where we were, but somewhere on the strip that runs along the beach, woken by two Cop’s in a traffic patrol car checking us out, people were going to work, and the city was waking up, the climate was great very tropical and an experience I have not had before, I drove around the town to get familiar with the layout as you do when arriving in any town or City, you have never been in before. Bill is a great bloke, like a father figure, an educated man, i always think of him as someone who could talk to the Queen, an intellectual, or the poorest man on the street without any education what so ever.
 We found a Caravan Park some were out of town, the caravan was old and musty but cheap, Bill was the negotiator, and this was the case in other situations, he was also the oldest, he found us all a job with Frank Fransen, the biggest painting contractor in the northern hemisphere. We started work with him painting the raw timber to be shipped to Weipa on the Northern tip of Queensland, as there was a Bauxite Mine starting up there. It was hot and boring, but a job I was thank-full for, it led us to better work as time passed. Bill and I continued on Painting and he was sent to Weipa to paint the Men’s living quarters. Bills girlfriend Fay came up from Sydney, the three of us acquired an old wooden Home on Stilts, it was a great place to live, so fay and me stayed there and waited for Bill to return, we never got up to any hanky panky, although it entered my mind. But my motto is you never play up with your mate’s girl, when Bill returned we continued on painting with Frank Fransen. Painting was not my trade so frank negotiated with the Painters and Decorator’s Union to get me a Union ticket, and a small badge i treasured for years.
 A few experiences I had whilst painting, using a Spray Gun and not knowing how to use it properly, on the roof of a Warehouse, the spray gun blocked I was trying to fix it and suddenly it worked and sprayed paint all over my face, one of the workers in the ware house came to my rescue, it was Morris Watts, we became very good friends from then on, his nick name Mo we hung out in the bars, hotels, swimming pool, he was such a great bloke to be around, he had a girlfriend Wendy, she was a special lady, and suited to him. Mo lived at the local caravan park with Wendy, and on his Birthday he had a party and invited all the kids from the park, that’s the kind of man he was he gave them party hats and goodies, I had a misfortunate falling out with Mo due to a misunderstanding, we were at a Hotel having a few drinks , then I told Mo I was going home, walking along the street I met a couple of other mates and they persuaded me to have a drink with them, this I did , and then Mo turned up at this hotel, he must have thought I was lying to him or whatever, from then on he avoided me, it was a stupid mistake. We met up years later about 1970, he had moved to Perth with another Lady, they were friends from Sydney where he lived before going to Cairns, i was, walking down the street in Victoria park, western Australia and there was Morris, well what a surprise , he was the last person I expected to meet, and it all ended just as suddenly, as I went to his flat, he wasn’t home so i left a message under the door , I called his lady Wendy, as Wendy was the one he was with in Cairns. Wow Sue was livered, she didn’t want to know me, and I was not welcome, Mo understood, but Sue never forgave me, stupid bitch, so this ended my friendship with Mo. a stupid mistake on my part. I believe he should have stayed with Wendy as I believe they were more suited, Wendy was a great Lady, she would not have taken it seriously, and who was the better person. Love can be blind. I met this Lovely Lady Maureen Dwyer, it was on one of my days to Ellis Beach north of Cairns, there was a beauty competition being held on the beach and I was fortunate enough to be there swimming on this special occasion, Maureen won first prize, she was a honey, this Lady has never left my life thoughts to this day, a few days later at the Cairns Swimming Pool, where I’d go every day after work and on weekends. Maureen was there in the pool, so I moved closer to her and said hello Maureen, she was surprised I knew her name , she looked just as lovely as the first time I saw her, chaperoned by someone  who just lay on the grass, he didn’t go in the water, this was ok by me, with many meetings at the pool, eventually we started holding hands under the water while we talked, we had so much in common, the meetings lasted with-out her Family knowing for some time, as she was over protected from her father, he was the Manager of the Airport, me being a commoner with a beard well the two didn’t mix, also I’m not of his religion but that didn’t worry Maureen, we would visit the local radio station friends of her, she took me to the Yacht Club where she a member and sailed a ”Heron, they snubbed me like I was a leper, I didn’t feel welcome, but she hung out with me, I would go to her catholic Church but I was uncomfortable, as I had never been to a church in my life. I loved that girl and I believe her family were becoming aware of our frequent meetings, we never had sex but this was always on my mind, Eventually the Father sent her back to Hobart Tasmania to marry a male she must have been going with before they moved to Cairns. I asked her to run away with me but she declined as her father would have disowned her, this worried her very much, in my eyes he was a real Prick as I believe he destroyed two people’s lives, I never stopped loving her, and I believe she felt the same about me. I met up with her again in 1968, I had married and went to Tasmania shearing my Wife came with me, we lived in a caravan, going to Hobart I found Maureen by calling many Dwyer’s, an Aunty of hers told me to go to this block of Units, this I did and knocked on every door, eventually some Male answered the door, I said is Maureen Dwyer here he said no there is no Maureen Dwyer here, because she was married to him and had his name, then a sweet voice called out Ian!! It was Maureen she recognized my voice, I felt I still loved her, she said they are going to a party and invited me, but he called her aside and squashed that, Maureen has never left my thoughts, maybe just as well I didn’t go to that party, I believe she would have left him, and I was in Tasmania with my Wife and a small baby, that was the last time I saw Maureen. If you read this Maureen don’t feel sad just remember the good times you have had in your life, yes I feel sad but life must go on.

 My Life was in Danger - I lived to tell this story

 When the wet season started, I was laid off as most of the casual workers were, I hung around Cairns looking for other work but it wasn’t to be. Staying in a Guest House room with a Share kitchen, wasn’t my most likable situation to be in, I met this Jerk there I didn’t know at the time my life was to take a dangerous road and was about to change dramatically. I knew him as Harry Burt, later I found out his real name to be Henry John Burt, it started with me looking in the local paper for a job, and one was advertised near Bowen on the “Roylan Cruises” for a deckhand, sometimes I’d go to the hotel and have a beer with this jerk HB I told him about this job I was going to apply for, he said to me he knew these people “Roylan Cruises” and would put a word in for me, so I waited for a few days and nothing eventuated, he said he would contact them again so he told me, then he came to me with a story they wanted a deposit 20 pounds and I had the job, and they would let me know when to go there, a few more days passed, and me getting cancerous I asked him to get in touch with them again when i should go to Bowen, he comes back to me and says the deposit was not enough and they wanted more money, me being gull able and trusting people those days i gave him some more money, I found out later this was a big Con on his part, read on, then he comes to me and says he also had a job with them as a Skipper a couple of years before. Eventually he tells me we both have a job and to go there, so we head off in my car, on the trip it was hot no air condition, there were small pools of water on the side of the road as we drove, I was a fast driver and as we sped past them I’d say the next one. This went on all the way as I don’t like turning back, eventually we arrived at Townsville, he said he knew the town and as it was late, suggested we camp in the Station wagon, he guided me to the Warf it was empty of ships or people dark and creepy, I Parked the Car at the back of the sheds with his directions. He said he would ok to sleep on the front seat, as I had a mattress in the back, I was lying there and almost asleep, and he was shuffling around in the front and woke me, something told me to put my head towards the back of the car with my feet facing the front. Lucky for me I did this, the reason I will explain later, the next day we drove around Townsville had breakfast and headed on our way to Bowen. Arriving at Bowen we went to the Hotel and had a beer, I was Stuffed as I drove all the way and it was stinking hot. Tired I decided to go to the room to have a sleep we shared a room two single beds, his suggestion, I thought nothing of this, when I worked in the Shearing industry this is how we lived, in shared rooms so it was normal for me to share a room, when I dosed off I was lying on top of my bed in my underpants, he was having a shave, that was the last thing I remember, the next thing my head was exploding, it felt like it was exploding from within, what was actually happening he was bashing me with a large Coke bottle, they said he came downstairs and bought it after I had gone to my room, this all came out in the court case, I can remember vaguely wrestling with him, but I didn’t know it was him at the time, I must have gone in and out of continues, I can remember him saying my neck might be broken and I must lay very still, then I had another explosion in my head, I started to call out, he was talking to me, he said someone tried to kill me, I half believed him, and said I thought it was you, and I remember saying he could not kill me, and he agreed with me as he must have tried, he said someone had bashed me up, and the Doctor was outside, I was so confused and I remember saying to him I thought it was you as I regained my senses a little, he said no it was someone who came into the room, he said he would go and get the Doctor he was outside and I must lye very still, I did this and waited for the Doctor, half believing him as I was very confused. The Doctor never came it seemed like hours, then I started to call out, the Publicans Daughter Royle Luca came into the room, and she was horrified, apparently I was lying on a pillow covered in blood, she yelled out my goodness, and went for a Doctor, Terry Ferguson the local detective came, I remember vaguely them helping me into an Ambulance, they kept me in Hospital and it was two weeks before I could just see out of one eye. My head I could not recognize it, black and blue, swollen like a pumpkin. He the prick Harry Burt was picked up, driving my car South the Police arrived at a bridge just ten minutes before he arrived, north of Mackay and he almost talked his way out of it as the police didn’t have all the information, but they took him in for further questioning, and the truth came out. On recovering a little and having to check out of Hospital, Terry Ferguson arranged for me to stay at this Returned Servicemen Resort, big blocks of units with social facilities, it was funded by someone who left his station to this cause and all the profits were used to run this RSR
Harry Burt was left to sweat it out in a Cell, mosquitoes eating him alive, waiting for me to recover and have a Court case.
Royle's invited me to sleep with her one night, with two Siamese Cat crawling all over us, but it was worth it, she had loan me her car and it happened when i returned it, she was a Darling, i think she felt sorry for me as i wasn't a pretty site.
To be continuing............

                                              Copyright (c)

                                              Copyright (c)

Guangzhou and Kunming to buy Dungarees

GUANGZHOU GUONG GONG PROVINCE

If you haven’t been to China you will be overwhelmed by its enormity, and diverse culture, the Millions of Bicycles, and people.
My first trip in 1985 was an eye opener, what fascinated me most at first was the Beautiful slim ladies, and the friendly people, going about their Business and the millions of Bicycles. I was most fortunate to be introduced to a Chinese lady married to an English man, and her Father was the head of a large Import Export Company in Guangzhou.
Traveling with her made my first trip very easy, as she arranged everything, Air fares and accommodation and much more, her father did the rest, we visited many factories, and the Company Manager James Wong who took care of foreign buyers took care of me, a car would pick us up every day to visit Factories. My purpose for being in Guangzhou was to have denim work trousers manufactured "Westline" was my brand name, we visited many Factories, the Factory Managers always invited us to eat with them, the food was always plentiful and good, usually with some of the staff, and Karaoke was often on the menu when we dined out at night. Eating drinking and entertaining is a big part of business life in China, Unlike Australia where our Government has destroyed that way of life, I believe if Business flourishes so does the country.
Backpackings in China I believe would be a Backpackers Paradise now, not as it was on my first trip, most Cities’ then were closed to foreigners.
I met a Lady in Guangzhou, Wan Bo, from Kunming, Yunnan Province, my friend James Wong tried to talk me out of going there, James gave me many reasons why I should not go, saying she could be a bad Girl and it is dangerous in China if you don’t know the people. He was looking after my interest and tried to protect me, but my instincts drove me on, as I believe it was a challenge, just being in China, the unknown challenge was driving me. I had no fears about going to Kunming.
I flew to Kunming and Wan Bo met me at the Airport, with her Brother, he was driving a Jeep supplied by the Large Hotel he was working for, it was a relief to know i was in good hands, and Wan Bo took very good care of me. Her Father was a Doctor and she often mentioned him as a famous Doctor. He was a very influential Doctor in Kunming, (Chinese Medicine), I kept in touch with her and we met on many occasions on my return trips to China, and Kunming. I got to know her Family well, Her Father was not so friendly from the start but that changed as time progressed.
                                                   Copyright (c)
 

Information - China

Something i would like to pass on to my readers

I have a friend in China, we met about 1985 he is now the head of a Large School, I won’t say his name or the    name of the School to protect his safety, he has confided in me on many subjects, mostly about his personal life, nothing directly about the Government, but something he said that interested me was, Quote China has a program that can see or view people on webcam when they have their camera off, and you think it is not on but they can watch you.

I don’t know if this is only in China but being a web cam i would not trust it at any time.

Now I put something over my Web Cam viewer, Spy Camera as i now call it, and I am aware to who might be listening in while we are on line.

On this subject I spent about eight Months in Total in China. 
to use the internet to make contact with my friends in Australia, I would go the the library almost every day, the internet was usually set up in a School or Library, in this case it was a Library and a School combined, this was about 1989, My trip to China was to buy Denim Work Trousers, my Company in Australia Manufacturing them, I will tell you about that later, now back to the School, I was walking through the School grounds and a Group of People who were there to learn English called me over to their group and wanted to talk with me, at this time Chinese were desperate to learn English, they were part of a group who went there every weekend to talk with other Chinese in English, it is called the English Corner, This is where I thought of the name to call my Blogs and Web sites, China English Corner.

This day about six people were there, but it soon expanded to about thirty so we talked and exchanged interests, it lasted about three hours, I thought it would only be about half an hour, they asked me so many questions, and i found it very interesting as they were hungry for information on many subjects, about two hours into the meeting, a man asked me some intense questions and he became very adjetated at times, he asked me what i thought about Taiwan, I gave him my  opinion, he did not like it, he put the question to me what would I think if Tasmania became independent from Mainland Australia, my answer was if the People decided that’s what they want then so be it, he was upset with my answer when the other people standing around started clapping, the group had increased to about thirty by this time, later they told me he was a secret Police, just as well i said the right things, and i said to him while i am in China i respect the Chinese Law and abide by the Chinese rules while imp in China.

A Man in the group was the Head of a Chinese High School and he offered me a Job, he said i was very good, i could choose my own hours and all I would have to do is talk. I never thought of myself as being able to talk.