quokka
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Everything posted by quokka
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I thought for a moment then smiled. “Or better still we could send them down to the roadhouse, where they can get accommodation and food, and so they organise transport back to the city” I replied. Tony grinned and nodded his head. “I like that idea better than the first, as it will cost them even more money” Tony said. “Right, we will organise for both families to be transported to a prison colony… I wish, but not really. To the Minilya roadhouse, which is a 45 minute trip south of here, an
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There is a proper gravel road that leads 4.5 kms south of here, that goes to the backpackers hostel, and the Southern End Caretakers, that is the boundary that I am setting for you both, there are sandy beaches and sand dunes there, so you can go there if you want to swim, but stay close to shore, and never go out near the reef, as there are sharks in this area” I said, as both of them swallowed hard. “I think we will come with you on this trip please uncle” Alistair said and I saw Davis nod
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“Yes well, it has been a bit of a struggle, Dave and Sue are my Senior staff, and live in a new cyclone coded house on the site of the original homestead, and you may have noticed another cottage where the old backpackers use to be, which is where Matt and Greg were living, but they are now in the apartment, as I have a station mechanic starting next week. I too have a new home, the little stylish one sitting on the site of the old cottage, like Dave and Sue’s home they are both brand new, a
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“Good morning boss, a nice early start for you today” Troy said to me. “Yes, I wanted to give the P & W Rangers copies of this list of station staff, so they don’t go fining you for breaches to their new signage, I suggest that you let everyone know, that the rangers will give on the spot fines, for anyone taking vehicles onto the beaches, and a 6 month ban from entering the station, which is my bit of input, and fines for camping outside the designated camping areas, that we recently s
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Driving towards the station airstrip, I turned onto the track leading to it, and continued past, on a small rarely used track, until we came out onto the main station track heading north. “Very sneaky” Greg commented, and as we approached the junction that leads to Wedding Hill, Stephen’s Surf Break and Elle’s Beaches, we stopped just past the junction on the right-hand tack. We put in 4 steel posts, with three levels of reflector tape and one of the signs, before continuing on north, b
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Happy Easter everyone
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I was put on hold, and instantly, I could hear the current on air programme, with the music fading, “You are listening to ABC Radio in the Mid-West, as many of you know, we have experienced a strong 4.8 earthquake less than two hours ago, with the epicentre being 23 kms offshore, 160 kms North-North-West of Carnarvon, and 60 kms South West of Coral Bay With me today via telephone, is Mr Lloyd Templeton, owner of Coral Coast Station, which is due East of the epicentre, good morning Mr Templet
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“I guess you would like to see the location of where the fire started, Mr Sherlock and Holmes, I am afraid there is a lot of vehicle moment in the area, as we needed to protect the main house” I commented, and I lead the way outside, with a big grin on my face. “Very clever Mr Templeton, I hadn’t realised that, till just now” the detective commented, as we stepped outside. “Oh I had” Sergeant Holmes added, also sporting a huge grin, and we all burst out laughing. When we arrived at
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Not when the water is under pressure, so the tank will fill within a few minutes at the most. I have had to fill the fire unit tank on our family farm, many times, and it doesn’t take that long.
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“If you like sir, we can transfer it all to the conference room, that way we will all be comfortable and less crowded. “That would be good” the fire officer, Mike replied, just as Anne ended a call and looked up. “Did you hear that?” I asked her. “Yes, give me a few minutes and I will have everything moved to the conference room” Anne replied, and I assisted her to get the information that she had gathered over to the conference room, and I started up my laptop, so as to get a live
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It is the desalination and power shed, it is in full flames, and it is too hot to approach, over” Matt responded, “Ok, keep well away, just water down the main house, to make sure that it doesn’t go up in flames, I will be there in a moment” I replied. Grabbing my sat phone, I dialled the direct number to Carnarvon Police station. “Sergeant, this is Lloyd Templeton from Coral Coast station, our main power and desalination plant is on fire, and a fast jet boat has been spotted speeding away h
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The group that we’re partying on the beach, as payback for being arrested
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“I presume from the big smiles, that you have leased your farm, and that you are hoping that the job offer I made is still on” I said to them as we all sat down, and I waited for a few moments, and then looking serious. “I am sorry…” I began, and I saw their faces go from smiling to dropping into shock and worry. “I am sorry, but you have a very long drive ahead of you, to your new job, I hope you are ready”, I continued, this time smiling broadly, and moments later we were all laughing
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“Hello Chris and Anne, it is good to see you both again” I said greeting them as they entered the apartment, which was a lot cooler than outside. “Good to see you again Lloyd, and my how much has changed since we last saw each other” Chris replied. “Thank you so much for the wonderful campsite that you have provided for us, it is absolutely magnificent” Anne added. “You are both most welcome” I replied smiling. Matt handed out cold drinks to everyone, while Greg retrieved the meat
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For the next five days, we finished cleaning up all the mess around the homestead, including burying the last of the rubbish that could not be reused or burnt, and cleaning the main house thoroughly, and removing all the graffiti, by repainting the shed. All building material that can be reused has been stacked up in the remains of the shearing shed, and the roof of that shed is now the right way up and next to the shed, ready to be lifted back on, once stronger supports have been installed
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“Lloyd, what are you doing back here, in this neck of the woods?” the Roadhouse owner said, as soon as she saw me enter. “You might as well know, I am the new owner of Coral Coast Station” I replied, which caught the attention of the police officers. “Mr Templeton, we were not expecting you so early” the officer with Sergeant stripes said to me. “Don’t worry, I didn’t drive no - stop, I had a 5-hour sleep in my swag, at the rest stop south of Carnarvon” I said to the officer. “
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Over the next two weeks, I had settled into the family homestead, while the Price brothers moved into the nearby cottage. Also, in that time, Matt, Greg and I had travelled south to Geraldton, to attend the court case, and Nicholas had been found guilty of assault causing bodily harm, and had been sentenced to 3 years in Jail, with all but one month to be served on probation, and 5 weeks to be spent in prison. I had arranged to sell 4 of the cottages in Scotland, except my grandmother’s home
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Hang tight there is lots more to come, not even half way through the story yet.
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The next morning, I remembered that my phone was still turned off, and so I switched it on, and soon it began to beep with heaps of messages, 4 missed calls, 3 voice messages and two text messages. I looked at the missed calls, one was from the Station sat phone, another two were from my neighbour Dave, and one was from the accountant in Carnarvon, so I decided to contact him first. When I was put through to the accountant, he sounded very tired, “Not sleeping very well?’ you must be working
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Just fifteen minutes later, we stepped out of the court room, with a court order for the bank holding the insurance pay-out, to freeze that full amount, until such time as a full repayment of part of the loan has been made as was requested, or a payment plan has been put into effect. “What is your fee for today’s work?” I asked, “um just $650 will be sufficient, since it was so fast” the lawyer replied, and much to his surprise, I handed over that amount to him in cash. Let’s get you a recei
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“I heard that Nicholas was back on the station, so I can guess that it was him then. My boy went to boarding school with him, and he was always a big bully. Sounds like he hasn’t changed one bit, since grammar school then” the manager said as she stood up and returned to the counter, to serve a new customer. When the manager returned to collect the dishes, I smiled to her, “That was delicious thanks Glenda, is there any room in the Inn for me” I said to her, and she just chuckled. “Of c
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Common practice on farms in Australia
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Ooops Oops Oops
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“That will be good, we usually work on ½ a metre-thick walls, but that can be adjusted to whatever thickness you require” I was informed. “Very well, I will see your staff on Monday, thank you” I replied. Happy that work on rebuilding was going to start a lot faster than planned, I left Angus in the apartment and headed down to the machinery shed, where I refuelled the loader, and headed south to where I wanted to have the backpackers located. A nearby giant sand dune, that was covering up
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