All Alone - 11. Alo Chapter 11

“I like all of those ideas, and I have already been informed by Angela and Jeremy to assist you with getting any new projects built, as fast as possible, so let’s start getting organised by finding a building company that can get building as soon as possible” Mr Hutchinson said, “That sounds good, but we will need to get some architectural plans drawn up first, I will go and see someone straight after this meeting” I added.

After leaving the accountants, Angus and I walked back to motel, and collected my car, before driving towards the end of town to the Yamaha dealership. “Hello again, how can I help you” the salesman asked, “Well firstly, I have returned your trailer, thank you for allowing me to use it, the generator I bought is currently in regular use as we have lost our main generator, solar panels and wind turbine” I commented. “I may be able to help you some more, we have here a new product, which we are just starting to be a be a sales agent for. It is a German made, Sky wind Micro Generator Wind Turbine.

It has a 1.5-metre long blades, includes a 1.8 metre tower, inverter and automatic storm control brake. If you look over there, I just set one up on display this morning, and I have five in total in stock, and they are $3250 each” the salesman said to me. “Do you have any storage batteries for them?” I asked, “Yes, I have two for each turbine, I can make it an even $3500 for each turbine and two batteries” the salesman replied and about twenty minutes later I had purchased four of the turbines and batteries, and they were now loaded into the back of my vehicle.

Next, I went to the bank to get the bank cheque, which I delivered to Mr Hutchinson, who came with me to another bank, to pay off the full loan of the stations. Once that was completed, we headed to a café for some lunch for us humans and a small snack and water for Angus.

After lunch, Angus and I went to the only architects in town, to see if we could get some plans drawn up quickly, and with it being a quiet time of the year, the Architect, Joe Davies, was happy to get onto the job right away, after I explained what I wanted, with rammed earth and concrete walls with cyclone code steel frames for the roofs, plus also the gazebos for the camping guests.

I was recommended a good builder, who has experience with rammed earth & concrete houses, who is based in Geraldton. When I contacted the building company, I was pleased, when I was told that the 4 large and 2 small gazebos could be built right away, with a steel company they work with, and all would be completed within three weeks, and that the building of the rammed earth & concrete buildings could start in two weeks’ time.

I explained that the station that I was from, is the one that was hit by the cyclone the other day, so there was no guest accommodation available on the station, but there is accommodation available at the Minilya Roadhouse, 50 km’s away, and I said that the station would provide the fuel for travel between the station and the roadhouse, during the build.

I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and took Angus out for a long walk just before sunset. Early the next morning, I took Angus for a walk, before going to the reception to let them know that I was checking out today. Once I was packed up, and took Angus for another walk, we set off and I called into the accountants, before leaving town, to let Mr Hutchinson know that I was heading back to the station.

“I am glad that you called in, the insurance claim has been paid out, “$2.1 million in total, a little more than quoted before, and deposits have been made to the architect and the builders, Jeremy is keen to hear what you have planned for the place, and I wouldn’t tell him what they were, he was also thrilled to hear that I had found a better loan company with a better deal on the interest. I suggested that he use most of the insurance to make improvements to the station, which will give a better outcome in the long run” Mr Hutchinson said to me.

I arrived back at the station just under three hours later, and I was pleased to see that the main front gate was closed and locked as it should be, so I retrieved the gate keys and let myself into the station, closing and locking the gate behind me, and half an hour later I arrived at the homestead.

Pleased to be back, I went straight to the machinery shed to see if Jem or Angela was around, and there was no sign of them, but I did notice that the two-way radio tower had been rebuilt, so I guessed that it was working again. Switching on the two-way in my car and changing the channels, I picked up the mic, “Lloyd to Jem or Angela, over” I said,and I waited for a reply, when I called for the second time, I had an instant reply.

“Hey Lloyd, you’re back are you, Angela and I are at the house, come up so we can have a chat, over” Jem said, “Righto, see you shortly” I said and I drove to the visitor centre, where I gave Angus food and water, and left the door to the patio slightly open for him, and I jumped into the buggy to go up to the house.

“Ok Mr, spill it, what have you got planned for this station” Angela said as soon as I walked into the house, which made me chuckle as I slipped off my boots, and dropped my hat on a veranda bench, and walked into the dining room, where both of them were seated, and a cup of tea was already made for me.

“Greg Hutchinson wouldn’t tell us what you have suggested for improvements, he said he approved of everything, but we had to wait for you to get back, so now spill it, we want to know what you have planned” Jem said with a bit of a growl, and I chuckled a little.

“Ok, ok, keep your shirt on” I said. I spent the next 45 minutes explaining my plans in detail, with sketches on a note pad, when describing the layout for the backpackers, and the cottages, including suggesting the best place to locate these buildings, which surprised the bosses a little.

I also mentioned that although I didn’t mention it to the accountant, I suggested to Jem and Angela, that a two -bedroom cottage, like the guest cottages, be built for staff accommodation, near the vehicle parking shelter, behind the visitor centre. “Well I like everything you have suggested, especially with having individual cottages up the coast a little, and the backpackers just down the coast.

With the gazebo’s being the first things to be completed, I suggest that we start laying down some slabs, so we can have them ready for them. I guess we better organise some water tanks and bio toilet systems as well, and get some more cement, if we get them all completed by April,we can re-open in time for the Easter long weekend” Jem announced happily, just as my Sat phone rang.

“Hello Lloyd, speaking” I said as I answered the call and remembered that I had my mobile calls redirected to the Sat phone. “Hi Lloyd, this is Dave, your neighbour at Northampton, I just wanted to let you know that we copped the tail end of that cyclone here, and that there has been a fair amount of damage to internal and boundary fences, and some tracks have been washed out, your house, cottage and sheds stood up to all the punishment and received no damage” Dave Henderson said when I answered the call.

“That is the same cyclone that flattened the cattle station, that I am on now” I responded, “No way, man that is not a good sign, Anyway, would you be able to start organising the insurance, so we can start repairing the fences” Dave asked. “Yes, sure mate, I will make the phone calls right away, thanks for letting me know, bye” I said, and I ended the call.

“That is my neighbour for our family farm that I inherited, apparently, they copped the tail end of the cyclone there, and wrecked a whole lot of fencing as well” I explained. “Right, now that I know that you have farming experience, and Angela and I need to go to Carnarvon and possibly Geraldton for a few days, I am going to leave you in charge.

The lads know the usual routine for checking the stock and water points, and when they are not doing that, you can get them to help you to set the locations for the caretaker campsites, and for the guest gazebos” Jem announced. “Very well, that is not a problem, now that the insurance has been sorted, is the loader ready, so we can get started to bury some of the piles of the rubbish? I asked.

“Yes, that would be good, we do need to finish cleaning up the mess, and while you are at it dig a deep hole at the rubbish tip so we can get rid of some of the old vehicles as well, one other thing, we will be employing a station mechanic, but we have delayed his arrival, until we can get accommodation sorted, his name is Jack Langley, aged 42” Jem responded.

“Righto, I will let the builder know to do the staff accommodation first, when they arrive in two weeks, when are you both heading off? I replied, “First thing in the morning I think, or later this afternoon, if we can get organised” Angela said. After the meeting, I headed home to have some lunch, and noticed the smaller communications dish sitting on the ground near the vehicle shelter, and it had been secured to the ground with steel pickets and ropes.

As I entered the apartment, Angus came rushing to greet me, and I picked him up as I said hello to the lads, who were preparing lunch for us all. “Hey guys, I see you found my dish” I said to the Price brothers, “Yes and it doesn’t look like it is damaged in any way, but the bigger dish used for the stations land line phones, is a right off” Matt replied.

“Ok, the bosses are heading to Carnarvon and Geraldton for a few days, so I will be the temporary boss, while they are away, I am told that you guys know the routine for checking the stock and water points, so I will leave you guys to do that, when you are not doing that, we will start work on laying concrete slabs down for the caretaker’s gazebos that will be built.

While in Carnarvon, as hospitality manager, I have been adjusting the plans for improvements for the station, with 3 metre diameter gazebo and caravan slabs for the caretaker sites, and 6 metre diameter gazebos for the guests, at the main camping sites. How much concrete do we have had the moment? I said to the lads, “We probably have enough for two caretaker sites” Matt replied.

“Good, well then, let’s start preparing the sites for two gazebos, and when are you due to do the next stock and water points check?” I said, “We completed the north end yesterday, south end this morning, and we have the east end to do tomorrow, so the next one isn’t till Monday for the east end, I have already drawn up a timetable of what we do, for your reference, it is on the fridge” Matt replied.

“Ok, thanks for that mate, it’s good to know what you rascals get up to” I replied, smiling, which made Matt laugh, and Greg handed me the timetable that he had retrieved. After looking at the timetable for a few moments, I looked up to the lads, “Does this mean I have to do all of the water checks on Sunday?” I asked.

“Well usually Jeremy does the Sunday water run, so we can have a full day off, as well as Saturday afternoons, I will take you on the water run on Sunday, since you are not familiar with the locations of the water points, it takes a bit over half a day to do the whole station” Matt replied.

“What does BP Clean on this?” I asked, “Backpackers Cleaning, we have two tour groups, that stay overnight on Monday and Thursday nights, on their way up to Exmouth, I was told that we have had to cancel all tour groups till we get accommodation sorted again” Greg replied. “Yes, I saw the booking form in my office last week, so you guys do the cleaning of the backpackers?” I replied, “Yes, and we help Angela with the other cleaning too, if there is a lot to be done” Matt replied.

“With the station shut down for the clean-up, what will you both do instead of cleaning? I asked, “the boss said that between you and him,we will be kept busy” Greg replied. After lunch we headed over to the machinery shed, leaving Angus at home, but there was no sign of Jeremy or Angela, “ok let’s start digging some holes for those heaps” I announced, as I climbed up into the loader cabin.

After an hour, I had a deep enough hole to bury the rubble, and I pushed most of it into the hole, before helping the lads to pick up the rest and throw it into the hole, before starting to fill in the hole, before starting the second hole for the next pile of rubble. By the end of the day, we had dug and filled in three giant holes, removing the rubble of the cottage, backpackers and the staff quarters, leaving just the shearers quarters and old homestead left to remove.

When we arrived back at the apartment, there was a note on the fridge, “Well done on the clean-up, it is looking good already, see you in a few days’ time, Jem and Angela”. I think in the morning, while you two are doing the water and stock check, I will start working on preparing the area for the first gazebo slab, which we can lay in the afternoon, after lunch” I suggested, as I showed Matt the message.

Saturday February 9th

The next morning, Matt and Greg were up early, and after a quick breakfast, they set off in the jeep to do the water and stock check for the east end of the property. I headed to the office, with Angus close behind, and I called the building company in Carnarvon. “Hello, this is Lloyd at Coral Coast Station, I was wondering if there was any chance that you could get the building started earlier than two weeks’ time” I said when the call was answered.

“How would this coming Monday morning sound to you? the building company owner replied, and I was shocked at the response, “Yes that would be fantastic if you can do that, how many crews will you have with you?” I responded, “There will be a supervisor and 5 builders, so six in total” the building company owner replied.

“Well, I will contact Minilya Roadhouse, and book the accommodation for your staff, and I will get started on stock piling sand for the rammed earth for the walls” I said.