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.
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| Me 2010 |
To be Continued
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