Karumba to Cairns and beyond

The Mount Garnet Pub

Cairns is 700 km to the east of Normanton. We’re going from Gulf country, which is essentially wetland to the tropics, so we pass through a gradually changing landscape and flora. Croydon, Georgetown Mt Surprise and Mt Garnet are just some of the main towns which you would still call outback Queensland, before you start to enter towns such as Ravenshoe and then a climb up to the spectacular town of Atherton on the Atherton Tableland and Mareeba, where you now know you’re entering the tropics. You start to see the broad-leafed plantings and then eventually the sugar cane, which is so water dependent. We didn’t stop at any of these towns as we were on a timeline to get to Cairns before dark, but I will be up this way again and from what I’ve seen, Atherton will definitely be on my to-do list for towns to spend time exploring. The trip down through the mountains to Cairns was very picturesque - very reminiscent of the Dandenongs in terms of flora density, just change the flora to more broad-leafed plants and trees and there you have it. Quite windy with the van on, and we needed a high brake setting on the van to help us down some of the steeper slopes. At the base of the mountains, you enter essentially a flat plain which then stretches to the coastline for a couple of km.

The town of Cairns is bigger than I expected. On the northern approach, the north-south road, appropriately called Captain Cook Highway, is interrupted every so often by huge roundabouts that signal yet another road running down to either a beach or a park, or both. Cairns itself - well, it appears very well laid out and is very modern. There are signs everywhere hawking services or hotel/motel accommodation and there’s a considerable amount of roadwork and building construction underway. It appears to be very much a tourist holiday resort, with offshore fishing charters and scenic flights advertised everywhere.

Palm Cove - about 25 km north of Cairns

So we found a caravan park very late in the day - the cost of which made both of us miss several heart beats - and then set about looking around the CBD and the outer reaches to the north the following day. About 25 km north of the CBD, we came across Palm Cove, which is a very attractive looking development comprising hotels, restaurants and Cafes, all directly across from the beach front, which is no more than 30 metres away. A paved winding road, with a low speed limit is the only thing separating the beach from the buildings, and the beach itself is quite good, with palms and what look to be very old and substantial Mangrove and other indeterminate species of trees (to me at least) lining the road on the beach side. I can see myself spending some time here with CJP at some time in the future. Start packing the bags !!

The beach at Cape Tribulation

Having given away the idea of heading to Cooktown, I couldn’t give away the idea of a visit to both the Daintree Forest and Cape Tribulation, the latter named by one Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. And this brings in another personal hero of mine. Navigator extraordinaire, scientist, humanitarian and some-one who pushed the boundaries - he went further south than anyone before him on his way to Australia on the second voyage, and were it not for the large number of icebergs he encountered and the incredible cold, he would have bumped into the Antarctic continent and been the first to do so. Humility was also another hallmark - understatement is something I personally admire in people. While Joseph Banks was accepting well deserved accolades for his Botanical and Zoological discoveries during the voyage of the Endeavour, Cook set about planning his next great voyage, for which he was promoted to the rank of Captain - I mean, how could the Admiralty refuse ??. 

Beach at Cape Tribulation

Although Joseph Banks was a strong supporter of Cook, there was, in fact, a falling out between the two prior to the second voyage .... and there is yet another story better left perhaps for another blog or blogger. Suffice to say James Cook is the Naval version of my Terrestrial hero John McDouall Stuart. I hold both these men in the highest possible regard, virtually to the rank of Saint ...... And an observation I make in both cases. Neither of these men were from wealthy or privileged backgrounds. Both had come from lower class backgrounds and had learned their respective “trades” or Bushmanship (Stuart) and Seamanship/Navigation (Cook) through hard knocks. In fact Cook ... no I won’t.... I get too excited about these people so I apologise for getting off the track a bit. 

Beach at Cape Tribulation - view from inside the mangroves

Ahem ...

Daintree river - with moody sky

The Daintree Forest is, as I’ve now learned, 135 million years old and is the one of the oldest such rain forest in the world. It is listed by the World Heritage but during the 1980’s, commercial interests battled with environmentalists over logging proposals, and it took a court battle between the Australian Federal Govt (against logging) and The Queensland Govt (for it), in which the Feds won and had the forest listed as a World Heritage site. For that we can all be very grateful. The road trip up from Cairns is around 170 km and includes a Ferry crossing of the Daintree River, followed by a very windy but magnificent drive through this iconic forest. There are commercial developments within the forest bounds, but they are very limited and well controlled. Cassowary birds wander freely - there are signs everywhere warning of potential road crossings by these attractive birds - and of course, swimming in the rivers could be a deadly activity because Krys the Croc from Normanton also has family in these parts.

Daintree river

Daintree Village is a quaint little stopping point for a coffee, which decided to have and immediately got talking with one of the locals. She said they’d had a relatively dry wet season this year - that being said, the average annual rainfall is 2100 mm with a temperature range throughout the year of around 26C to 28C through the day. When you consider Melbourne has an annual average rainfall of around 650mm, we’re talking orders of magnitude difference  - although from what I’m hearing on the home front, it appears that average for Melbourne could be adjusted upward mightily given the recent rainfall. But our local informant told us that it rains almost all year round - a gloomy thought.

The Master Navigator - James Cook

And then of course, there’s Cape Tribulation, which is contained within part of the Daintree Forest. A small and nondescript out-jutting of land, it was assigned its name by James Cook, who as Lieutenant James Cook in charge of the Barque HMS Endeavour, ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770 just off the coast from this very point. Obviously in a grumpy mood, he took it out on the local landscape.  The mountain behind Cape Tribulation didn’t escape his mournful state either as it was named Mt Sorrow. And why not feel down in the dumps ? Imagine, you’ve sailed half way round the world, have circumnavigated New Zealand twice, thus proving there were indeed two islands not one, and are generally welcomed by the locals. Then you head west and bump into this huge lump of land, which is where all your troubles start. Instead of a welcoming, as was the case in Tahiti where half the crew of visiting ships got syphilis (they were very welcoming in those days), the local natives of this new land tell you to bugger off, throw spears and rocks at you, don’t want to trade because they don’t have anything of value and then you run aground and almost drown yourself and crew further up the coast. I think I’d be a little ticked off as well.

Having said that though, imagine what would have happened had Cook sunk at this point and not been able to beach Endeavour on the banks of a river, now named Endeavour River, at a location which now contains the township of Cooktown. We could all have been speaking either Dutch or French, most likely French I suspect, as the French, by this time, were more active in this area than the Dutch. The Dutch were more concerned with trade than with colonisation. And then of course, French culture would have prevented the establishment of such iconic Australian games as Australian Rules Football and prevented us from beating the crap out of the Brit’s at such games as Cricket and Rugby Union ....  yeah, right .... Now this just doesn’t bear thinking about.

A Queenslander in Cairns - still in great condition

We spent just a couple of days in Cairns and then headed south for Townsville, our next major stop. But along the way, we stopped off at Innesfail, Tully and Tully Heads. The last two were of interest because we wanted to see how these towns had recovered since the devastation caused by Cyclone Yasi a couple years back. TJ knew of a lady who lived at a particular address in Tully Heads, so we visited that address, but there was no house. Obviously, it had been destroyed and his contact had moved on. Of those houses still standing, all traces of damage had mostly disappeared. Talking to a lady at the local Info bureau, she said after Yasi, a lot of people left town and never came back. Understandable.

Typical sugar plantation house and environ

Something you can’t miss when you’re up this way are the numerous sugar cane plantations. They’re everywhere, even all the way up to the Daintree forest and as far south, apparently as the northern parts of NSW. Most of the cane is now harvested green - about 80% in fact - with the remainder being burned before harvest, which is the more tradition approach. There are around 4000 family run plantations in Australia, producing about 37 million tons of sugar cane, which results in about 5 million tons of sugar. The town of Tully was developed in the 1920‘s for the express purpose of building a sugar processing plant, which still exists today. The sugar industry employs literally thousands around these parts so it's a very important part of the north Queensland economy. The export value is worth somewhere around $1.5 Billion per year so it’s a significant export earner not only for Queensland but also Australia.

Sugar cane harvesting - the early days

On the way through, we managed to catch sight of a sugar industry museum, so yep, we leapt into yet another museum. Quite good as it refrained the beginnings of the sugar industry in Australia. Unfortunately, it’s another case of whites employing people from primarily the Pacific Island countries and then failing to live up to the contracts they’d signed. Add to this the beginnings of the White Australia policy and you have yet another truly shameful history in the treatment of workers brought in from neighbouring countries to carry out the work that most Whites felt was beneath them. This is the Pearling Industry experience in Broome repeated, albeit on the East Coast instead of the West Coast. In both cases, foreign workers were brought in to do the labouring and the dangerous work. They were treated as virtual slaves, suffering major health issues because of the conditions under which they were expected to work and when they did get sick, there was no medical treatment available for them and they were, in essence, left to fend for themselves, which means left to die. 

Kanaks in the cane field

Blackbirding, as practiced in the pearling industry in the west, was also adopted in the sugar industry in the east. Blackbirding is the old term used to describe the process of kidnapping people who are then forced to work as slave labour. In the pearling industry, Blackbirding applied to the local Aborigines who were kidnapped and forced to work as divers. Many died from “the bends” and many died from simply being left  to die from disease or illness contracted because of the unsanitary conditions under which they were forced to live. In the east, it applied to people from places such as Vanuatu, The Solomons, New Caledonia, Fiji, New Hebrides and New Guinea - collectively, these people were often referred to as Kanakas, a derogatory term at the time. These folks were effectively tricked into signing indentured employment contracts, the conditions of which were then conveniently ignored by the sugar plantation owners. They were forced to work in stifling conditions of high temperature and high humidity for long hours each day, seven days a week. When the White Australia Policy was enacted by Parliament, any protections they may have had under the law simply disappeared, and they were left to fend for themselves. Most lived out their lives in poverty - or died. You don’t hear much about this in the southern states - it’s only when you visit the upper regions of the country that it all comes out. It’s not only the Aborigines we’ve mistreated over the years, but many of the South and Northern Pacific Islanders as well. 

I don’t recall hearing anything about this during my secondary school education .....

Our next stop is Townsville.

Mt Isa to Karumba

So our next stop after Mt Isa was Cloncurry, a leisurely 120 km to the East. Along the way, there’s a noticeable difference in the landscape, which really started just after Camooeal. All the way across the NT from the Stuart Highway until just beyond Camooweal, the landscape is virtually flat. Then it starts to gently undulate until you start the approach to Mt Isa from about 10 km out. That’s when undulations turn into a low mountain range. From Mt Isa to Cloncurry, you have the same undulating landscape.

Cloncurry was the original home for the Australian Aerial Medical Service, which eventually became the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) as we know it today. Cloncurry is home to a fabulous museum - yep another museum - the John Flynn Place. It spreads over 3 floors and covers everything from development of the pedal radio by Traeger, to the types of aircraft used since the inception of the Australian Aeromedical Flying Service through to notable doctors, pilots and nurses employed along the way.

Rev John Flynn

John Flynn was a Presbyterian Minister with the Australian Inland Mission (AIM). The AIM had been established many years earlier in order to provide care for those people living in the remote areas of inland Australia. Flynn, a Minister assigned to a church Mission in the Flinders Ranges in SA saw the need for a more expansive involvement of the church in central and northern Australia, particularly amongst the Aborigines. He commissioned a report on the idea and, following submission of the report to the Presbyterian General Assembly, the concept was enthusiastically endorsed and Flynn made Superintendent of what came to be known as the Australian Inland Mission, the precursor to the Australian Aeromedical Service.

Australian Population Demographic - Circa 1905

People living in these remote areas during these early years were an eclectic collection of hopefuls who had traveled to remote areas following the discovery of precious metals or gemstones such as gold, silver and opals, or sheep or cattle farmers - pastrolists - who were looking for  vast areas of natural pasture on which to run and breed their stock. Earlier explorations by the likes of Eyre, Sturt, Stuart , Leichhardt and many others had opened up the inland regions of Australia, particularly for the pastrolists and so population of the inner parts of Australia began in earnest in the latter parts of the 19th century. 

Early Settlers - From the Strehlow Collection

Land was leased by pastrolists from the Government of the day at a Peppercorn rent, on the understanding that they would stock the land and make improvements within a 5 year period. Failure to do so would render the lease null and void and the leasehold returned to the Government. Many of these early pioneers couldn't make a go of it because of the uncertainty of a sustainable water supply and because of the distances involved in bringing their cattle or sheep to market. The early pioneering Station owner families such as the Duracks and Kidmans managed, through severe drought and severe floods, to hang on and profit handsomely from the good times.

Early Settlement - From the Strehlow Collection

One of the major problems faced by everyone in the remote outback in those early days was timely access to medical care. Many people working in outback locations died as the result of disease or accidents. Many of these deaths  could have been prevented had medical aide been available in a timely manner. The AIM had set up a number of Nursing Hostels at various central locations but these were still insufficient to service many areas in the more remote regions. So doctors still had to travel by horse or horse and dray, a very slow and at times dangerous mode of transport. 

Flynn, in one of his published works regarding the work of the AIM, had outlined the difficulties faced by the missions in providing medical care in the remote areas and it was a young aviation enthusiast, John Clifford Peel who, upon reading Flynn’s scratchings, was to come up with what would eventually become the Australian Aerial Medical Service. In 1917, Peel was a Second Lieut. and graduate of the Australian Army Flying Corp. In a letter to Flynn in November 1917, he outlined in great detail, including costings, the advantages of using aircraft for a “Flying Doctor” service in the outback. This was a revolutionary idea at the time, given that aircraft were only in their early stages of development. Sadly, Peel did not see his idea come to fruition because he disappeared on a sortie during WW1.

DeHavilland DH50

It took a further 11 years and the involvement of the legendary Hudson Fysh (A Founder of Qantas Empire Airlines - QEA) to set up the first chapter of the Australian Aeromedical Flying Services. Although Flynn saw the potential in Peel’s plan, funding was a big issue but through fund raisers over the years, the finances to fund the plan gradually started to take shape. As with many things good and great, something comes about that acts as a catalyst for action to be taken, and that came in the form of a station hand who was badly injured on a cattle station in a remote area. The doctor was contacted by telegraph and advice given to stabilize the injury.  Medical care was administered by station staff and his subsequent condition reported back to the doctor as ok. The prescribing doctor then set off to the station straight away, taking 10 days to get there and then, only to find that the station hand had died the day before his arrival. This  particular event convinced Flynn that something had to be done immediately so he contacted Hudson Fysh and contracted QEA to provide an aircraft and pilot to initiate the inaugural services of the Australian Aeromedical Flying Services. The first service commenced in 1928, with the first operational flight being made to Julia Creek, around 120 km to the East of Cloncurry. The first aircraft used for the purpose was a DeHavilland DH50 which was capable of transporting a pilot, doctor and one patient.

So there it is. People in the outback today can give thanks to the Rev John Flynn for having the courage of conviction to introduce an unproven technology (the aeroplane) into a role for which it had never been designed and at the same time, to be the first in the world to do so. To me though, the sad part about this story is that the contribution made by John Clifford Peel is not universally known or even acknowledged in any of the RFDS literature. He clearly was a visionary and I wonder if events may have progressed along different lines had he been able to return from the war and bring his obvious ingenuity to other aspects of the service. 

Regardless, the current day Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) takes on legend status in the outback. It, together with modern day communications renders those remote areas, a lot less remote today. And there’s another story - the story of the pedal radio and the “school of the air”. But that’s for another day ....

Cattle Mustering Rodeo - Burke & Wills Roadhouse

Our next port of call was Normanton, but on the way along the Matilda Highway, we stopped at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse. To our surprise and delight, right across the road there was a cattle mustering rodeo happening. I say cattle mustering, because there was none of this bucking bull stuff they had at the Daly Waters stop - the stop where I had my full 20 litre fuel can stolen. 

A Lady Cattle Musterer in Full Flight

So, for a couple of hours, we watched some brilliant horsepersonship being exercised in cutting out a Brahman cow from a mob and then guiding it through a marked course - that’s not the same cow each time by the way ... Contestant riders were equally disposed about the gender fence, and from what I saw, the ladies seemed to have the upper hand in their horse handling ability.

Burke & Wills Departing Melbourne 1860

At Normanton, we headed out to the Burke and Wills Camp 119 - their last camp before both passed away. For those who aren’t aware of Australian history (shame on you ....) the Burke and Wills exploration was shambolic at the beginning and tragic at the end. Robert O’Hara Burke originally from Ireland - if that wasn’t already self evident - was the Inspector of Police, Ovens district based in Beechworth northern Victoria. Wills was, by profession, a Surveyor, shy in nature and not long having emigrated from the UK. Neither had any significant bush experience and from the beginning, their foray into the nether regions of Australia were fraught with problems. On the day they departed Melbourne, horses not used to being in the proximity of camels bolted and raced through the packed crowds sending people scattering in every direction, wagons carrying provisions broke down just north of Melbourne and with the mix of nationalities - English, Irish, Indian, German and an American - cultural differences added to their problems along the way. This particular exploratory foray was happening at exactly the same time as John McDouall Stuart was attempting his south to north crossing of the continent. Suffice to say Stuart succeeded on his sixth attempt, coming through the Mangrove trees at Chambers Bay near the current city of Darwin whilst Burke and Wills fell short by about 70 km from reaching the coast west of Normanton. 

Mr Stuarts Track

The difference between the two exploratory groups was that Stuart , a bushman in his own right, was accompanied by other bushmen, all of whom knew how to live off the land. Added to this was Stuart’s uncanny ability to navigate his way through seemingly impassable scrub and bushland, and to find water, either by way of natural springs or river systems. The Stuart Highway is a testament to this man's water-divining abilities; towns such as Stuarts Well, Renner Springs, Wycliffe Well to name but a few. 

The death of Robert O'Hara Burke

To the contrary, Burke and Wills having no real bush experience of note relied on a large contingent of people and supplies, which included the provisioning of supply camps along the route for their return trip. There was no thought of living off the land, it was all “MacDonalds and Burger King” in today's parlance....! Total cost of the Stuart exploration was of the order £2000 - although there were 5 previous attempts - whilst the Burke and Wills foray cost upwards of £15,000, excluding wages. And then of course, there was the ultimate cost of the lives of both Burke and Wills and another of their team, Charley Gray.

Plaque at the last Burke & Wills Camp 119

Visiting the Burke and Wills camp site was, to me as an avid reader of Australian history, almost a religious experience - not that I’m so inclined. To have read about their exploratory work and then to visit their last camp allowed me to put in context the environment in which they worked, lived and finally died. 

Typical Australian Bush - At Camp 119

The thickness of the bush  and the number and density of the Mangrove trees surrounding their camp, even as it is today, would have taken some serious effort to make headway. And given that these poor souls were undernourished and physically drained makes it all the more poignant an experience. Tragically Burke, Wills and Gray, another member of their team, all died of Beri Beri, a condition brought about, in this case, by a toxin contained in a native plant Pardoo, which if incorrectly prepared can be fatal. At the time of their death, they were all out of provisions and relying on what they had learned from the Aborigines concerning the preparation of this plant. Unfortunately, if prepared incorrectly, Pardoo releases a toxin that can be fatal, which in this case it was. 

It's one thing to read about the exploits of these people and to learn about the circumstances under which they died, but to visit a site such as this, look at the environment - which wouldn't be any different to what it was 150 years ago - and then try and picture what it must have been like - it's a very humbling experience. At least it was for me. 

And as a final and sad note on this subject, the best book written about this shambolic and tragic exercise is, in my humble opinion, “Mr Stuart’s Track” written by Sarah Murgatroyd who herself, sadly passed away only weeks after it was published. Spooky stuff.

The story of "Krys" the Croc ...

At the other end of the Fact scale, ie at the BS end, we visited “Krys the Croc” in the main street in Normanton. Pitched at the tourist, this is an artists impression of what was in reality a 28ft 4” (8.63 Metre) crocodile shot in 1957 by Krystina Pawlowski, a crocodile shooter in the days when crocodile hunting was a legal sport in Australia. It is believed to be the largest crocodile ever caught in the world - and the sculpture you see in Normanton is a life-like representation based on dimensions taken at the time. 

"Krys" the Croc - he's the one on the left .....

Adding to the attraction, the jaws are open for the express purpose one suspects, of enabling tourists to play-act being taken by a croc - something which was happening as we walked away. But that was ok - they were only a couple of Grey Nomads ..... So, I guess you could say, this whole thing is a “croc of croc”.

The Norman River leading to the Gulf of Carpenteria

Next stop was Karumba, about 70 km drive north of Normanton and, from what we could see, a fishing Mecca for those down south. The car parks adjacent to the two boat ramps in town were “chockers” with 4X4‘s with boat trailers attached every state and territory, except WA. The Norman River empties into the Gulf of Carpentaria at this point, but a few hundred metres back up the river there's a prawn trawler fleet. Prawn trawlers heading for the prawning grounds out in the Gulf and beyond make their way through the myriad of “Tinnies” filled with expectant fishermen all trying their luck to catch the very popular Barramundi, Bream or King Salmon lurking in these waters. The shoreline is peppered with Mangrove trees, interspersed with the occasional small sandy beach, but swimming would be off the to-do list because Krys the Croc has family in these parts - lots of the buggers in fact. If fishing from the shoreline or even just wandering along it, you’re reminded not to stand too close to the water such that you cast a shadow on the water - this applies anywhere in the north of Australia. Crocs are known to use shadows to line up their prey and then launch themselves on to the shoreline. 

And as another interesting bit of tourist info .... the Karumba Motel Hotel has a drinking bar referred to as the Animal Bar. I am reliably informed that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers wrote a song called Animal Bar - dedicated to this same bar. I'm now so ready with this fact for anyone who's a "Chilli's" fan .....

On the trip up from Normanton we were struck by the number and size of the wetland areas. Birdlife up this way is prolific, with Cranes, Brolgas and the odd Jabiru wading through wetland areas that seem out of place when you consider, not 200 km south-west, there are areas that look to be in drought. In those areas, you can see the rib cage of the cattle and the landscape appears barren and brown. But all the way up to Karumba, wetlands and salt pans abound, and there is water in the creek beds, something you don’t see further south. But then you'd expect that with an annual rainfall of 1500mm, most of which falls within a 2  to 3 month period.

The next main stop will be Cairns. The original plan was to go as far north as Cooktown, but we’ve decided that will be for another time. Our trip down the east coast will be limited to the trip from Cairns to Townsville, and then back inland.

Renner Springs to Mt Isa

The georgina River at Dusk - With Pelicans

Our next main stop was Camooweal, which is just inside the border of Queensland from the Northern Territory. We camped by the Georgina River and to sit beside a river and see nature at work is wonderful. At the very moment of writing this scribble, we’re watching a flotilla of Pelicans cruise up and down what’s left of the Georgina River after the wet season. At a rough count we reckon there’s around 90-100 of these big birds and the setting is magic. At dusk, the sky tends toward a hue of blue graduating through violet, pink, red and then a pale orange. The hue you see only lasts for a few minutes and then gradually fades away to the night sky. And then, of course, in the absence of big city lights and the industrial sludge that goes with that, the stars emerge and render up the true magic of the Milky Way. It’s one of those moments when - well, you had to be there to appreciate it.

Jeff Simpson - A man with a great story to tell

Today (Monday May 20), we visited the Camooweal Drovers Camp, which is about 1 km out of town heading East. If you’re up this way and you don’t visit this exhibit - shame on you !. As a keen fan of Australian history, I was in the equivalent of a kids lolly shop. We were greeted by Jeff Simpson, a 79 year old guy who had been a drover from 1952 through to around 1962, so he was the genuine article (photo). A nicer man you could not meet and, because we weren’t pressed for time, we got the full tour, with excellent commentary through the gallery of photos, memorabilia and background history of all the famous cattle stations and characters that worked throughout northern Queensland, the NT and north west WA. He knew all about the early settlers including the Duracks, Costellos, McDonalds etc that pioneered the sheep and Cattle Stations. He also knew all about the explorers that came through these areas, opening up the country to pastrolists and other business interests. His brother, also a Drover in his younger years, has written a book about Ludwig Leichhardt, the Prussion explorer - it’s called “In the Footsteps of Leichhardt” - I’ve seen it on the bookshelves, so I know what my next book purchase will be. 

Horse Tailor with pack horses - 1880's

Jeff was a Horse Tailor - and what, you may ask is a Horse Tailor ?. Well, I asked (on behalf of the reader of course !), and generally, he was in charge of all the horses for the muster, including saddles, bridles, shoeing and anything else horse related. He was up at 4am each morning to bring the horses in from their tetherings outside the main camp area and have them ready for the days work. So he, like the cook, was a key bloke. His knowledge of horses is so good he's written a book on how to break a wild horse and how to subsequently train and look after them. His book has also been included in the collection held by a German organisation - the name escapes me - considered the ultimate authority on horses worldwide.

We also learned that there were certain horses, termed “Night Horses”. These particular horses had excellent vision, excellent hearing and an instinct for trouble within the mob. They were the horses used during the night watches, but they were also the first “horse of call” when some of the more adventurous of the mob decided to go AWOL during the day. Blessed with better reflexes than their rider, they were able to out-manouvre animals under chase and at times, were known to lean against the animal and bite their back or rump in order to turn them back to the main mob. So they were really, I guess the first “kelpies” of the cattle herds.

The regular horses ridden by the drovers were from good stock, usually thoroughbreds, and were selected for their speed and agility. For every drover, 6 horses were included with the muster as the general droving horse was worked hard through the day, having to be on station for the time it took to drove the cattle 10 to 12 miles per day, at the same time scouting the bounds of the mob in order to keep them together and keep them moving.

The pack horses, who did all the heavy lifting, were at the bottom of the capability index. They would normally carry around 150lb on their back and came under the general responsibility of the cook. No-one, other than the cook or Horse Tailor, went anywhere near those pack horses carrying food of any kind, under threat of punishment, and alcohol was not permitted from the start of the job until completion.

Cattle under Muster - 1880 - 1881 (notice the Termite Mounds everywhere)

The drovers were paid 4 shillings and sixpence per 100 head, per 100 miles. Typical cattle herds under muster would number around 1350 and they would travel around 10 to 12 miles per day. So you do the maths for the weekly wage. Along the muster route, water bores were sunk every 24 miles so the drovers always carried enough water for at least two days. The musters themselves could take place over many months. Typically, a muster droving from the Kimberleys to around Camooweal or Cloncurry could take up to 7 months, and that excludes the time it took to get the horses, drovers and camp kitchen gear to the Kimberleys in the first place - for that add another 2 months. So from start to finish, a complete muster job could take 9 months to a year, depending on weather. Wages were only paid at the end of the muster, so anyone who decided they’d had enough at some point before the finish line - well, they got some more life experience, full stop.

The Drovers Camp is free entry, but there is a box for donations - I bought a painting instead so that was my contribution - and TJ bought a DVD. The day we left Camooweal, we passed the Drovers Camp and there were 4 caravaning couples and two busloads of people visiting. We (TJ and self) both hope this exhibit survives because we’re not sure what happens when the last real drover conducting the tours can’t physically do it or passes on. They (the Drovers) do it on a voluntary basis - Jeff Simpson, our Guide, comes from Stanthorpe, which is a town close to the border in SE Queensland - probably over 1000 km away. And the other guides, who do it on a roster basis, likewise come from all parts of the country. This is the dedication and commitment they bring to the exhibition. I’m just glad to have visited when we did, and to have talked real life experiences with someone who had - and has - a great story to tell.  Probably one of the most interesting days I’ve spent in many a year.

View from City Lookout

Our next stop was Mount Isa, located on the Leichhardt River, south of the Gulf by some 300 km or so. The Mount Isa Mining Company came into existence in 1924 following the discovery of high grade lead ore deposits in 1923 by John Miles, a prospector traveling through the area. Mining leases were pegged out, and as word got about, an increasing number of prospectors moved in and took up leases. In addition to Lead, Copper, Zinc and Silver were also discovered. The town of Mt Isa started to take shape, providing facilities and everyday living needs for the increasing number of people coming to the area looking for work in the mines. During the Great Depression, Mt Isa was effectively immune from the downturn in work experienced by the rest of Australia. During the war years, mining concentrated on Lead and Copper in order to support the war effort. At the end of the war, Copper, Lead, Zinc and Silver were mined. Today, Mount Isa Mining Co (MIM Co) is owned by Xstrata, a Swiss company, and employs around 5000 people, representing more than 25% of the total population.

Mt Isa at night - City Lookout

It’s a typical mining town, with the huge MIM Co mine backgrounding the central business district - or is it the other way round ? Not sure ... At night, the mine is lit up like a Christmas tree and serves as the main object of interest when observed from the Lookout overlooking the main CBD. There are other mine sites on and outside the city limits, but these pale into insignificance compared with the main MIM Co adjacent to city central. During the afternoons we were there, you could hear the blasting taking place - we heard up to 3 in one afternoon. We were told that they blast everyday at 8.15am and 8.15pm, and that they’ve been doing this for the past 29 years !. Every now and then, there’s an extra big blast, which we experienced on the Wednesday night. You could feel the vibration right through the van, and we were about 2 to 3 km from the mine site - and then the blasts are taking place about 2 km underground. In the Caravan park we stayed at, the majority of the inhabitants were permanents, usually contractors working with the mine. They come from all parts of Australia judging by the variety of car licence plates.

We called at the Outback at Isa centre and enquired about a mine tour. They told us that the mine was a reconstruction of the real thing so we weren’t happy about that so I rode up to MIM Co and enquired about mine tours through the real thing. No go - so all round, a bit disappointing, given you can take mine tours of operating mines in Newman and Kalgoolie (WA), Silverton in SA and the open cut coal mines in Victoria. Apparently, mine tours were possible up until a few years ago when OH&S concerns closed them down. So if you’re planning a visit, the only mine tour in town is via the Outback Isa centre - $59 per adult or $49 with a concession - 2.5 hours.

The First Mt Isa Hospital

What we did do though was visit the Underground Hospital adjacent to the current Mt Isa Hospital. This is a really good museum exhibiting old medical gear and photographs taken at the very beginnings of medicine as practiced at Mt Isa in the late 1920’s. The first doctor set up his clinic in a single tent before eventually moving to a more substantial setting around 1929. During the war years, Mt Isa was home to around 6000 American and Australian defence force personnel, as it was used as a staging town for the supply of equipment and armaments to Darwin for the war effort. 

Patient Bed-bunks - Underground Hospital

When the Japanese bombed Darwin on Feb 19, 1942, Mt Isa was considered a future potential target because of the copper and lead mining, so the hospital had an underground tunnel system hastily dug and equipped with sufficient medical supplies and bedding to house patients. It was equipped with a full operating area with equipment, an infant ward, bunk beds and fully stocked with medical supplies, linen, crockery etc. It was never used and at the end of the war, the entrance was filled over, leaving all original medical equipment and bedding in tact. 

Original Medical Supplies from 1942

In 1977, depressions in the hillside where the underground hospital was located prompted excavations to be undertaken to determine the cause. Excavations broke through into one of the tunnels and a worker was despatched to assess the find. He reported that the tunnels were unsafe and excavations were terminated and covered over. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s that miners working for MIM Co heard about the earlier find and offered to assess the tunnels with the view to restoration. This they did, and after some necessary tunnel reinforcement, they made the tunnels safe. The original tunnel shoring used was Gidyea, which is an extremely dense wood, much the same as Jarrah or Mulga. Even after more than 50 years, the shorings were still in excellent condition and only a minimum amount of shoring restoration was required. 

The escape ladder in case of tunnel collapse

Enquiries throughout the MT Isa community failed to find anyone who knew anything about the find. There were no plans or sketches provided to the local council but some old photos did come to light showing the interior as it was in 1942, so the current layout is the way it was at the time. The MIM Co miners took 4 years to complete the project, and today, it’s an excellent display for anyone traveling this way. 

The guides that take you through are locals who either worked at the current hospital or were associated with the Salvation Army. They have excellent knowledge of the history of both the hospital and Mt Isa in general.