Up coming Trek & a Mans Memory

Hi Doug. It's truly amazing the information you keep coming up with. When do you find time to sleep? LOL. Thanks again for another informative read. Maybe in your next life you could become a top end tour guide. Put me down if you do. Regards,Bob.

Thanks for that. what an amazing story. They really did sacrifice a lot. I was amazed when we were in cape york how much stuff was in the bush up there and I wondered how many unknown stories were still left untold. It was good to show my girls how lucky we are to still live in a free country called Australia and how the guys/girls fought to keep it free. To actually stand on the Darwin wharf were it was bombed was chilling and yet inspiring. Thankyou to all those who have fought to protect our country.

Josh

G'day Doug,

WW2 history is very interesting, isn't it?

Mrs Bush and I spent 4 years in PNG from Dec 1974 to Feb 79 and I did a lot of exploring, like you.

Now that country has an amazing array of wrecks and stuff left over from the war.

It would really be off topic on the Forum but if time permits, I may put a lot of it together and post a Blog one day. We'll see, retirement seems to make one's day get busier and busier.

cheers

Good story Doug.
Isn't it so easy to get side tracked when you start researching one thing and it leads to so many others.

Hi Doug..You wouldn't know me but I thought I would jump in here and say how much I too appreciate the history stories. I don't get back to the Territory too often but when I do it always gives a sense of being "home:

I know..or at least knew, one is now dead, two blokes who spent a long time up there in the '50's and both can or could relate some great yarns of life back then. Some of it different to the "handed down memoirs" of todays modern world.

If you are at all interested maybe I can hand a few yarns on. Mind you many will scream and jump up and down as they are first hand stories using the accepted, by white folks, terms at that time. (hmm could be a good one for the moderator to decide what is "appropriate language" sure was back then..just the way it was.

To offer a couple of hints...the white bloke is now in his early 80's and not doing well so I would email him ..tell me more about Wave Hill, Vesty's, Alexandra Station and Mrs Hawkes store So he would write back. The Walpri bloke.. hmm or was he Gurindji... anyway he died a couple of years ago but he told some funny yarns too. One especially about the "flag" and its colours..white bloke invented them

Just so I dont get too far OT..here's a short quip from an email where I was telling the old white bloke all about how good the Tanami Road is these days...and a few other modern day spots you and your mate may come across while on your trek down there....

"Hooker Creek, I have been there many times. They were principally Walbri, a government station managed by Brian, I think his name was, Green something. We would see all sorts of machinery going down and thought what a waste, who could operate it and in the desert. They ran a stock camp and had butter, tinned of course. Our stock camp number two enjoyed meeting up with them, the rations were a welcome break from salt beef and bread. Brian told me that there was the occasional native walking in from the desert, that was in 1959. The walbri were a wild lot but pretty cunning, if there was something to be gained by calling themselves Pintubi, they claimed that they were just that."

"Tanami Road, what a joke, there was a track, i.e. foot track, if you could find it. Rabbit Flat did not exist, but I have heard of it and more the pity from what I have heard. Top Springs, there was no pub, only a store run by Mrs. Hawkes, who also sold grog. Not a good place for the drovers, but it had to be passed to start on the Murranji track.Timber Creek, too far north for me."

Let me know if this might be of interest. Most of the yarns are before the walk-off and some of how it came about. (according to the white blokes there)

Peterll