Outback Corporation - 2. OBC Chapter 2

The next morning, we had an early breakfast, and we were on our way half an hour after day break, it was going to be a very warm today and I wanted to try and get home before lunch time, even though we still had another 5 water points to check on. It was just before 2pm by the time we rolled into the homestead compound, as we had discovered a broken pump rod on one of the wind mills and it took some time to lift and dismantle the rods to get to the one that was broken and to replace it before putting it all together again, which is a very labour-intensive job.

Leaving the vehicle to be unloaded later in the day, we all made our way to the homestead for some lunch and a very cold drink to quench our thirsts, and it was 3pm by the time we made our way back to the shed to start unloading the vehicle. I Stopped by the admin building first to see if any instructions had been left on the desk, and sure enough I found two documents, the first was a short note, “My dear son Kes, just to let you know I am very, very proud of you, I know you will do well, take care of Chris and Daniel, make sure they behave themselves, Love Dad”, I gave a little chuckle after reading that.

The second document was the authorisation for me to take over the running of the two companies, and be his replacement on the boards of NCoST and NPRPA. I placed both documents in the top draw of the desk and left the office to go and help with the unloading of the vehicle at the shed.

When the vehicle had been unloaded and refuelled, I asked Chris and Daniel to join me in the office to continue our discussions on station business. They said they would clean up and be there soon, so I made my way back to the office, where I made a call to NCoST, to speak to the College Director, Dan Nikols. After receiving all the information, I needed about current student numbers and the very low number of students enrolled for the next three terms, we were discussing the option of closing the college, when Chris and Daniel walked into the office.

I had already informed Mr Nikols that Chris and Daniel would be brought into the conversation and as they sat down I hit the loud speak button on the phone, and Daniel once again put the idea of approaching the two private schools in the region for a possible combined training course for the students of both schools, and the administrator also suggested the private school in Kalgoorlie also as he like the idea of turning NCoST into a School campus linked to the three schools.

Dan Nikols suggested that for this to work, the college would need to increase its student accommodation from 12 to 36 students, to be able to operate properly, and to be able to handle the numbers that they were thinking would be attending.

After this short meeting, Daniel and Chris went off to do other jobs that needed to be done, and I remained on the phone a bit longer to hash out some more details on the proposed changes to the college. After I had ended the call with Dan Nikols, I telephoned the Grammar School in Albany, and was able to speak to the headmaster, who was very happy to speak to one of his former students.

During the twenty-minute talk, I was informed that the headmaster was transferring to Esperance to become the headmaster of the private school there, I was told that there was one final School board meeting he had to attend before leaving the next day, and that he would enthusiastically put the proposal to the school board, and that he would do the same at his new school when he arrives there soon after the Christmas / New Year break. I mentioned that the private school in Kalgoorlie would be also contacted regarding this proposal, and the headmaster thought that would be a good idea.

As I put the phone down for the call to the headmaster, the fax machine behind me beeped with an incoming message, When I receiver the two pages, I read the cover page, and with one look at the second page, I grabbed the microphone for the radio, asking Chris and Dan to come to the office immediately. I sat at the desk looking at the second page blankly, when they both walked in, Chris stopped suddenly when he saw the look on my face, which caused Daniel to crash into the back of him,, which made Christ stumble forwards a few steps, I couldn't help but laugh as U motioned them to sit, and I handed Chris the cover page for him to read.

“Dear Kes, I hope you are settling in well with your new role on the station, please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions. Sorry to spring this on you but I thought you better know, before you got any calls from the media, and the answer is yes. I did know what your father was planning to do. I have already sent a media statement, stating that any enquiries regarding Bas Silverton and his stations is to come via the law firm, so you don’t have to deal with anything. Take care, and don’t forget to call me.”

When I saw Chris, finish reading the cover letter, and handing it to Daniel, I handed Chris the second page, which was a printout of a newspaper clipping. “Pastoral King – Mr Bas Silverton was seen entering a private mental health facility today, for what is believed to be exhaustion and stress, which leaves the big question of who is running the two huge pastoral companies.

His son – Kes has just completed his education at a private school, but it is not known if he is back home on the station or staying with friends or relatives elsewhere for Christmas. A call to the main homestead for a comment went unanswered, so it is not known who is running the two large pastoral companies at this stage.”

When Chris was finished, he said that this was the sort of stuff Bas had to put up with all the time, always getting hassled by the media, and it sometimes caused some major problems. Just as we were finishing the discussion another fax arrived.

Chris grabbed it and said it was from the RFDS, “Respectfully request permission for an overnight stay on Christmas Eve for one flight team”.

Chris picked up the phone and dialled the number he knew by memory, “Yes, hello this is Chris Silverton, I am calling on behalf of my nephew Kes, regarding the fax that you just sent, we would be very happy for you to spend Christmas with us, we look forward to the arrival of the team in two days’ time… Yes, thank you and Merry Christmas to all the Staff and crews at the base”. Chris said before hanging up.

Chris picked up the phone again and dialled another number, smiling to me and Daniel as he did it. “Yes, hello Barrett, this is Chris, we have a RFDS team arriving for an overnight on Christmas Eve, I thought it would be nice to have all the company staff here at the main homestead for a big Christmas Eve Party and Christmas Breakfast, can you arrange for all the staff to be here by 3pm in two days’ time please?... yes ok, see you then, bye” Chris said on the phone before hanging up with a big smile.

“I had better let cook know what is happening, or I will get hit by the frying pan” I said with a smile and walked out of the office heading towards the homestead, where I found the cook finishing a conversation on the phone, “Yes he just walked in, no doubt to tell me what’s happening, I will talk to you later” the cook hung up the phone and smiled.

“I presume that was Barrett’s cook telling you the news” I asked her cautiously. She smiled and nodded and dashed off to the pantry to see what was needed for the big party, and I was about to leave when I heard her call out. "Oh no you don't Mr, you may be the boss, but your not getting away that quickly. On the pad is the phone number for Brian Lane, he is in Kalgoorlie, and he is coming home on the train tomorrow, so we can get him to get us some extra supplies. I will call out what we need, if you can write it down, then call Brian with the list" the cook said from the pantry, and for the next twenty minutes, I was kept busy jotting down a huge list of food supplies, then phoning Brian with the list

The next day, Chris, Daniel and I all had separate vehicles to go to the train line to collect Brian and James Lane and all the supplies that had been ordered, between the five of us it only took ten minutes to unload all the supplies from the train, before it dashed off to make up lost time. Once we had arrived at the homestead, all five of us were kept busy unloading the vehicles and storing away the stores as directed by the cook, when we had finally finished, Brian & James headed off south back to the station where they are based, to return to their duties.

Two days later, by 3pm all the staff from both companies had made the long journey down to the main homestead for a giant Christmas party, most could be camping in swags outdoors or on building veranda’s, and some chose the accommodation that was available.

Chris and Daniel had been busy building BBQ’s out of 4-half 44-gallon drums, providing plenty of cooking facilities to feed the huge crowd, a total of 22 station staff, plus myself and the RFDS team of 4, that would be arriving just before dusk, in about three hours’ time. Happily, my 5 uncle and aunts who I had not seen in over 8 years, would be joining us this Christmas. They would be arriving by vehicle, driving from Kalgoorlie, after a 6.5-hour trip on the Prospector Train,

As it was getting late in the afternoon, two 4WD vehicles and a minivan were seen approaching the homestead from the south, I was only expecting one vehicle so I was a bit unsure what to do, so Chris stepped forward and suggested that I step indoors until he established that it wasn’t the media.

When all three vehicles stopped near the crowd, 4 children of mixed ages jumped out of the back seats of the minivan, and one from each of the other two vehicles. When I saw Chris happily greeting the adults I came out of my hiding place, and I recognised 5 of the new arrivals as my uncles and aunts, and presumed the others where their partners and children. After all the greetings had been completed amongst the family, I decided to let them introduce themselves to the station staff, or else it would take too long.

What I was surprised about was that Uncle Marcus was gay and he had with him, his partner of five years – Tristan, and that they had adopted a boy – Mitchell who is 8 years old, Aunt Christine is married to Hamish and they have a daughter – Hannah 10, and a son – Joseph – 8, one of the twins – Uncle Amos is married to Juliana and they have a daughter – Eliza 6, the other twin Uncle Jonah is married to Antonia and they have a daughter – Mary 6, and finally Aunt Nadia is married to Carson and they have a son Dante– 4.

I suggested that the five families battle it out for the only rooms available which are in the main homestead, and suggested maybe the children could camp together in the lounge room, and the kids thought that was a great idea, well, all except Mitchell who didn’t like the idea one bit.

I stepped over to him and whispered that he can have the spare bedroom in my quarters if he wanted to, and he jumped with joy at that suggestion, as I looked towards Marcus who nodded his approval at the idea, and work began on unloading the entire luggage from the vehicles and taking it all inside.