Old Top Springs
Submitted: Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 08:20
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peterll
Greetings to all...a mystery of some sort I suppose but I am sure that someone will know the answer(s)
My brother was Overseer on Wave
Hill way back in the 50's ..Tom Fishers days as Mgr and all that time. He has been slowly relating his life and times in the Territory to me but due to illness is now unable to continue his yarns.
Places there which we all know, he has no memory of..such as..."no such place as the Tanami Road" seems in his time it was merely a stock route. Buntine was a truck driver..made me laugh..the short cut to the highway was Murranji stock route and the pub at Top Springs was run by Mrs Hawkes. Goods were delivered twice a year..end of the wet and one other time.
That led to one of those "umm" moments. The place I described to him is not the same place. I have heard mention of "Old Top Springs"..does anyone know where it was in relation to the current pub ?
He talks about "visiting" Brunette Downs..as though it was just up the road. He also talks of a pub along what is now the Barkley Highway. He knows of the "new" roadhouse but it wasn't there in his time..he does mention a pub about 60 "miles" west "just off the track"
Does anyone have any information on that "pub" as I have driven many times across to Three Ways and I can't find any such "pub"
This is not the place for some of his stories on the Walpri / Gurnidji matters which were to cause him much distress..hence he left the territory in '62 never to return. But in saying that..he surely does paint a different picture to life there which by todays standards are totally not politically correct.
Anywho..if anyone can shed light on the two pubs and their location it will be much appreciated.
Peterll
oh yeah..Happy New Year
Reply By: Willem - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 09:06
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 09:06
Peterll
Can't help you on the Top Springs site score but I do recall something vaguely about it. Last time I was there was in 1986. We camped down on the Armstrong River. The bar counter had a a sheet of Reo pointing outwards around the till with sharpened points sticking out towards potential customers. So there was no going to help yourself when the barman was out the back ......you had to watch your arms when you handed over the money for a drink.................them were the days...lol
Now going back to 1980 we lived at Bees
Creek just down from the 18mile out of
Darwin and my wife had a horse named Thomas Fisher. It was an ex-polo gelding she bought off someone at Howards Springs. We had Thomas Fisher for about a year. Not being a horsy person but trying to amuse the troops I mounted TF but he didn't like me and shied away and I came off with a thudd onto a zamia palm. This event still brings tears of laughter today to those who witnessed the event :-)
I worked for the NTDC Board of which Noel Buntine, John Ryan, Gerry Blitner and others were members and got snippets of yarns from them in the short sojourns we had together.
Cheers and HNY
AnswerID:
397043
Follow Up By: peterll - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:35
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:35
Made me laugh you did Willem...not sure that Tom Fisher would have liked a horse named after him but those old cattlemen did have a quirky sense of humour.
Top Springs pub has changed a little since the eighties..
well a little..the reo has been taken down..but you can still find out easy enough who is banned for a week..a month..etc.
The spot that I am in search of is just where was the original pub that a Mrs Hawkes ran in the 1950's..maybe it was on the same spot as the current pub ?
That part of the NT hasn't really changed all that much over the years..still one "magic" part of Australia.
peterll
FollowupID:
665799
Reply By: gidgea jack - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 09:42
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 09:42
g,day Peter, the "pub" you ask about is Frewena;about 70k west of the current
Barkly Homestead roadhouse it is on the northern side of the highway there is a
windmill and
tank that is probably no longer working but used to be beautiful
water there until it was no longer looked after in the mid 90s. there was also another "establishment" east of the
bark hut called
Barry Caves, lots of stories told about this place ...both frewena and
barry caves bulldozed and buried when
barkly homestead built..you also spoke of noel buntine, i worked for noel as a driver until he sold out to dick david in 1986..noel had built up a subtantial operation carting cattle all over northern australia and i regarded him very highly... he died aged 66 in january1994 and buried at
katherine..he was a TRUE pioneer and legend ...hope this is of help to you, hooroo
AnswerID:
397046
Follow Up By: Member - Kevin J (Sunshine Coa - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:27
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:27
Drove from
Darwin to
Brisbane in 1959 and there was certainly a pub at Frewena. Not so sure about
Barry Caves. Don't think it came until later years. Tried to buy it in 1971. Had the husbands signature on the contract but wife didn't want to sell so we left empty handed. There were certainly lots of 'stories' about the place and I have no reason to not believe every one of them.
In my time - 1970 to 1976 - Buntine was the new kid on the block but quite frankly any of the operators in those years were quite amazing. The cattle were wild. The trucks were so so and the roads???. These were the latter day
Sid Kidman.
Georgetown - bleep ula Freighters
Longreach - Ballards
Winton - Johnsons
Normanton - O'Neill
Julia Creek - Borrensens
Katherine - Can't recall the name (Oldtimers)
Tennant Creek - Buntine
Kevin J
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Follow Up By: peterll - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:31
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:31
G'Day Jack, ah hah ! No wonder I couldn't find the pub along the Barkly..so it was about 70km East of the roadhouse..thank you for that information. My brother told me that it was one heck of a stop and no place for those with thin skin. My brother alos knew Noel
well ..after all he was the fellow who moved the cattle when they weren't being driven in the "normal" method for those days.
I wonder if you knew of the Hayes brothers at all ..perhaps Jack Vitnell or a fellow ..I forget his full name..Singh...I think it was. Apparently Jack was one of the best stockmen in the Territory in his time.
peterll
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: peterll - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:40
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:40
Yip..sure are some good yarns out there about the Frewena pub. Even though my brother is older these days his eyes still sparkle when trying to relate stories. "Roads..what roads?" was one of most common utterances.
Stories of being down at
camp number two building yards and times when they would be down at Hooker
Creek. Wave was a little larger in those days..come to think of it..so too was VRD..all changed now though but still a wonderful part of the world.
peterll
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: peterll - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:45
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 10:45
G'Day Jack...just going through some of his yarns and came across a list of names and a little about them..might ring a bell but most likely before your time ..
well being a
young bloke and all
Harry Huddleston, George Man Fong, Frank Frith, Sabu Singh, Jack Vitnell, Rod Russell, Tony Clark, Jim Tough, Lyn Hayes, Ralph Hayes. The first two were
well known head stockmen, Frank was probably the best horse breaker I have ever seen, Jack was probably the toughest man ever and that is saying something in the territory.
Ah..it was Frank who was the breaker..Jack wasn't bad..I have a story about his "deeds' on a trip across to the highway..seems he could drink, fight, drove cattle and a good fellow as
well.
peterll
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Follow Up By: Willem - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:21
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:21
Hmmm..this must be 'oldies' reminiscing day
Frewena had the filthiest
toilets in the world. Its a good thing it got bulldozed.
One night 'late' we stopped at
Barry Caves. There were some
boundary riders from
Rockhampton Downs Station and other parts on a binge. We got there just as a poddy calf was being wrestled down behind the bar. One bloke passed out so they tied him to the bullbar of the Kenworth and went for a run down the Barkly some
miles. He was sober when they got back...lol Those blokes might have been rough and drunk but they were gentleman when it came to the ladies. SWMBO and I were only married a short time then and she was a city girl and a tad apprehensive of this mob of drunks....but they we very nice and didn't swear while we were there having a few beers with them!!!
Fond memories........................................
Cheers
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Reply By: Member -Pinko (NSW) - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 09:50
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 09:50
Hello Willem
Did you ever know Claire Best at
Noonamah in those early days ?
Stan
AnswerID:
397048
Follow Up By: Willem - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:42
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:42
Stan
No, don't recall, though I spent an inordinate amount of time at the
Noonamah Pub and driving pipeline tracks to get home :-)
In fact a lot of memory of those times only comes back in bits and pieces.....most brain cells being killed by Green Cans and White Cans drunk at an inordinate pace. Somehow I miss those days.....lol
Cheers
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Reply By: Member - MUZBRY(Vic) - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:06
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:06
Gday
I have had beer in both those pubs, Barry's
caves and Frewena.
Long time ago
AnswerID:
397064
Follow Up By: Willem - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 16:49
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 16:49
Hey Muzz
T'was thirsty work driving those
miles all those years ago. Petrol was cheap and beer even cheaper. $6 for a slab of VB as I recall. After the Isa we would stop at every pub on the way north and a 2-day journey would take 5 to a week...them were the days...I still have some beer residue left behind around my middle.
Now you and yours have a safe end enjoyable New Year!
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - MUZBRY(Vic) - Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 17:24
Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 at 17:24
Gday Willem
Yes, it was interesting times.
You and Judith have a good new years and look after yourselves.
All EO people have a good and safe new year. Be careful.
If you look in the direction of
Melbourne, you should see fire works .All our taxes going up in smoke as per usual.
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