Freshies and French letters

Sept 1 Day 7



First day of Spring. Not the spring of leafy green lush trees but red earth, scrubby growth and blazing sky. We’re in Hall’s Creek, site of WA’s first gold rush. Also once, not too long ago, the most violent town in Australia, mainly feuding clans. According to Bushie they were ‘contestual.’

Things are better now since the supply of grog is controlled, only light beers sold and in limited amounts at limited times of the day. Everyone knows everyone else, therefore being drunk brings shame not only on you but also on your people. For example, if you are found drunk waiting for the community bus, it will not pick you up. Anyone acting up in the pub is banned, your name, the nature of your offence and the length of ban are displayed behind the bar for all to see. ‘Name and shame.’

It seems to be working and money has been poured into the town. On one road the street lamps have their own individual solar panels. There is a new swimming pool but its use is conditional on attending school; ‘no school, no pool.’ When it was first built, attendance skyrocketed such that there weren’t enough teachers. Another beneficial side effect has been that the extra filtration system in the pool has helped clear up the chronic snotty noses and ear infections in the children, thereby giving the medical staff some relief.

In an effort to cut down on the rates of STDs, even the ‘hanky panky’ is taken care of in Halls Creek. French letter boxes filled with free condoms are strung from trees every few metres so that when anyone gets the urge they can protect themselves. Bushie didn’t say if it was working.

We had a tourist information bureau stop here; heard all about the heroism of Russian Jack aka

Ivan Fredericks (1864 - 1904), known as Russian Jack, was a goldminer of the Western Australian gold rush in the 1880s. In 1885, while working in the Halls Creek goldmines, he pushed his sick friend in a wheelbarrow 300 km through the Great Sandy Desert to Wyndham, the nearest town with a medical centre. A statue was erected to him in Halls Creek. He is buried in Fremantle Cemetery. [photo on my facebook page]

(Got this from Wikipedia since I was dozing off when Bushie related the tale.)

On the road again, Bushie told us to look at the scenery as this was the most scenic part of the trip Even though it is hilly, it is part of the Great Sandy Desert. Wedge tail eagles soar about looking for prey.

We had a toilet stop at Mary Pools, not much water but we still had to keep an eye put for salties. The more desperate among us used the outback dunny (I’ve been in worse) and some had a few words with a seasoned camper complete with satellite dish.

After lunch at Fitzroy River Lodge, we went on another cruise on the Fitzroy river in an open boat. I wet my pillow case cover to drape around my neck to cool it down. (A good tip for anyone planning these sorts of adventures. I got the idea from the ice collars sportsmen wear in the heat.)

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the river rises in the Durack Range in east Kimberley and traces a 325-mile (525-kilometre) course that flows southwest through the rugged King Leopold Ranges and the Geikie Gorge (where many freshwater crocodiles are found) and turns northwest through rugged country and plains, emptying into the Indian Ocean at King Sound. A tidal rise of 25 feet (8 m) is common at its mouth, which is 6 miles (10 km) wide.

We learned about the endangered sawfish (saw a TV program about it the other day so I actually saw what they look like.) More freshies were about, getting ready to lay their eggs. Apparently the locals can gauge how high the flood waters are going to be in the wet by how high up the bank the crocodiles make their nests. These are quite high. I shall watch with interest how big the wet is this year.

Back at the Lodge we went in the pool but I had a shock. Unlike all the pools thus far this one was cold. We didn’t linger.