Postcards from the past - a distant message from an amazing Australian.

Back in 2010, I found myself with some EO friends mowing our way south through a fair bit of duco-unfriendly desert scrub trying to reach the fabled Dragon Tree Soak. As fate would have it, one day’s progress halted our little group of explorers at a particular hill in a group of low, rocky outcrops known as the McLarty Hills, some 250 km east of the Great Northern Highway and at a rough latitude about halfway between Sandfire and Broome.

Without going into exact detail in this post, believe me when I say that it’s unforgiving country. Every day out there is a hard day despite fast glass, air conditioning and Engel fridges that are synonymous with outback travel these days. Our little group was truly buggered after a hard days travel but we enjoyed spending the hour around the fading light of day up on the top of that rocky outcrop and building a small can to mark and hold a jar with a note of our passing.

12 months later, another intrepid band of EO explorers passed this remote location, visiting our campsite and cairn. The members of this group were perhaps a tad more sharp of vision than our band for they found a calling card left by those that had come before....75 years before in fact. At the base of the rocky pinnacle we had seated ourselves to enjoy sunset, they located two names carved crudely into the rocky surface. Those names were simply “M. DRISCOLL”, a name I was already familiar with through the tales of a quiet spoken EO member (and reluctant legend of the Pilbara/Kimberley), and the second, “T.GRAY 15th January, 1936”. Naturally, my colleagues in exploration revealed their discovery on their return and it got me to wondering (and not about how we missed this the first time round either lol), who was T. GRAY? Why should he be out here in an area that in 1936 was still considered as remote and harsh as the face of the moon.

It took a bit of investigation that I reckon might have even made the great Sherlock proud but in the end, an amazing man was revealed. A little of that was revealed in the West Australian Newspaper today on Page 21 of the travel section. “T” or Thomas Gray was indeed a legend of the Pilbara and a son of Western Australia whose shining light was cut short by the fierce actions of the AIF in Syria in WWII. Thankfully, he left us a note, a record of his passing that makes his story all the richer. Thanks Rod Moran for taking the time.

These are the joys of outback travel. A great EO story and yes....no doubt a blog will follow (and I'll let the eagle eyed EO members out themselves ;-)

WA news - A stark echo of early days.

Our 2010 expedition through the McLarty Hills.


Cheers Mick


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