All Alone - 31. Alo Chapter 31

Also, once all the rubbish has been cleared away, I will need you to do a weekly inspection of the larger farm, and Alistair will be able to attend the local district high school” I suggested.

“That would be great thanks Lloyd, you really are an angel” Davis said, and I smiled, at that last bit.

“Err, that is what Alister called you, for literally saving our lives, as we would have gone hungry and as well as been homeless” Davis added.

“Well we are family, so we have to help each other when needed.

By the way, the main house has solar panels, so you won’t have to worry about a power bill, and the only expenses you will have is food and school costs for Alistair, as I will set up an account at the service station for you to be able to fill up the vehicle. Also, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what exactly is your line of work?” I said to my brother in law.

“I am a Refuse Driver”, Davis responded.

“A rubbish dump driver eh, well don’t be embarrassed, it is a job that is in high demand” I replied smiling.

“That’s what I thought, but after nearly 15 years of service and just 3 months short of long service leave, I was retrenched, and I invested nearly all the money I received, which was lost during the GFC – Global Financial Crisis” Davis replied.

“There is a transport company in town, you may like to check with them, to see if they have any work for you?” I suggested.

“I will do that, thanks” Davis replied.

The next morning, I was preparing to leave, after getting Davis and Alistair settled into the main house on the family farm, with a supply of food, and supplies to last them a week, when I received a call from Sergeant Oats. “Sorry to bother you, have you left town yet?” the police officer asked.

“I am on the family farm, and was not far away from leaving, to head back to the station, why?” I replied, “Well Mr De Luc, decided to disappear on me two days ago, and he crashed a farm vehicle into a tree, which caught alight, and started a stubble fire on Galena Estate, just wanted to know if you want to check out the damage. The fire is out, and Mr De Luca, is in hospital under police guard” Sergeant Oats informed me.

“Just charge him with criminal damage or whatever it is, lock him up and throw away the key” I responded, and I heard the sergeant chuckle.

“I wish it was that easy, he has been charged, and a bedside hearing with a JP has been held, with us not recommending bail, which we were glad was refused.

“He will have to attend the magistrates court in Geraldton, in five weeks’ time, so once he is recovered enough, he will be sent down to Greenough Prison, till the court case” the Sergeant said.

“Good, now before I forget, my brother in law, Davis Carter will be staying on the main family farm, as caretaker. He has a son, Alistair, who will be enrolling into the local District Highschool in a few days’ time, he will be keeping an eye on Galena Estate, as well for me, unfortunately living on a remote cattle station is not to his liking” I said to the police sergeant.

With David and Sue having already left nearly two hours earlier, I said goodbye to Davis and Alistair, who looked quite upset, that I was leaving, and with Angus in the passenger seat, we set off northwards, on our way back to Coral Coast Station.

I stopped 50 kms north of the farm, at the Galena bridge, which crosses over the Murchison River, to allow Angus to have a walk around and to let him have a pee, when my phone rang, and I groaned, as I thought I was out of mobile coverage, and the caller ID was the accountant in Carnarvon.

“Hi Lloyd, have you left your farm yet?” he asked me right off.

“Yes about 30 minutes ago, I stopped at the Galena Bridge to let Angus have a walk around, why?” I replied. “Is that bridge anywhere near Coolcalalaya Road, my word that is a mouthful to say” the accountant asked.

“Yes, it is about two kms back, why is that?” I asked cautiously.

“Well, I have one last station for you to visit, and it is about 5 kilometres down that road, from the highway, it is called Mary Springs Station, but it is freehold land.” the accountant replied.

“I see, that would put it close to Galena Estate” I said.

“It does, Galena borders onto Mary Springs, on the east side, from about 3 kms up from Brook Road, and all the way along Brook road, down to Ajana East Road, and it is 22,200 acres in area” the accountant replied.

“Oh wow, in that case I am definitely interested” I responded.

“That’s what I thought you may say, the homestead is on the south side of that road, about a kilometre from the river. How did things go in Northampton?” the accountant said.

“Disaster, you don’t want to know, but I will tell you when I get to Carnarvon, which may be tomorrow now at this rate” I answered.

“Goodo, see you then, bye” the accountant said before ending the call. With Angus back in the vehicle, we drove south then turned east, onto a well graded gravel road, and fifteen minutes later we arrived at Mary Springs station.

The owners were very happy to see me, and eagerly started to showed me around the property, and as they did, they stated that they had come across the Broadacre farmer next door, who they did not like one bit, and I was happy to report, that he is no longer on the farm, and is in fact in police custody, which they were pleased to hear, and I was informed that it was the constant run ins with the Italian farmer, that had made them decide to sell up and find a better station.

Now with the news that he was no longer on the farm, they were a little hesitant to go ahead with showing me around the farm. “Do you know who owns the farm next door, as I hear that the Italian man, was just leasing the land long term for cropping purposes” the station owner asked me, and I smiled.

“I do actually, my parents bought the property about twenty years ago, and immediately leased it out to Mr De Luca, on a long-term lease, renewed every 7 years. With my parents passed away, I inherited the property not that long ago, but I own a cattle station north of Carnarvon, so I haven’t had a chance to check the property until a few days ago, and I must admit I was not very happy at all” I stated.

“So, what are your plans for the property, now that he has gone?’ Geoff the station owner asked.

“Firstly clean up and repair the mess that De Luca left behind, then I am going to upgrade the boundary fences, and run cattle on it” I announced.

“Oh that is good news” Michelle, Geoff’s wife said happily.

“Do you mind if we withdraw our property from the market, as we would really like to stay, and we would be happy to assist with the boundary fences that we share” Geoff asked me.

“Not at all mate, that is fine by me, it was just a recommendation by my accountant, only because it borders onto Galea Estate” I replied.

“What sort of fencing are you looking at along the boundary” Geoff asked me.

“I was thinking of like a Trump wall, but…” I said referring to the proposed large wall, that had received a large amount of media coverage on the controversial situation in the USA.

“But, I have decided on a post and rail, with just one top rail and 5 strands of wire, so as to keep the cattle in, there is a fencing contractor in town, so I was just going to get them do it” I responded.

“I see, well that would be the best option, since you are busy on the station, would that be Coral Coast Station by any chance?” Geoff replied.

“Yes, it is, I was there for the cyclone, earthquake and the two recent fires” I replied.

“Wow, that must be real hard going” Michelle said.

“Yes, it has, but we have great staff, and there are no stock on the station at the moment, so that is one less thing to worry about, it’s just the troublesome tourists, I have to worry about at the moment, especially when the whole of the north west corner of the station is closed due to fire damage” I replied.

After a short chat, and giving Angus one last walkaround and a drink, we headed back to the main highway, and continued north, with our next stop being at the Overlander Roadhouse about an hour and 45 minutes later, with this being close to the junction heading to Shark Bay, there was plenty of tourists around, and we quickly grabbed some food, gave Angus a short walk and we were off again.

When Angus started to get restless, as we approached the Wooramel River, I wondered if he would stay still until we get to Carnarvon, which was still another 1 ¼ hours away, but when I saw the sign for Wooramel Riverside retreat, just after the river, I smiled as I slowed down and turned down the road.

I booked in for just one night, and I could have Angus with me, when they saw how well behaved, he is. As Angus and I took a walk around the area, I spotted the two swimming ponds, and I was looking forward to a good soak in one straight after dinner, to try and soak away all the difficulties that I have had to deal with recently.

After dinner and a good soak in the pond, I took Angus for one final walk, before heading to bed, and I fell asleep almost right away. In the morning, I woke to the sounds of birds calling outside, and I felt surprisingly relaxed, as I dressed and took Angus out for a rest break, then heading over to get some breakfast for the both of us.

I was very surprised to see an executive private jet, parked at the end of the driveway, and enquired about it as I ordered breakfast.

“Dropped in unannounced just before dark, requesting accommodation for one night. Someone from Europe I think, I only spoke to the pilot, and the personal assistant, who were fluent in English” the hostess said to me.

As I was eating, three men approached and sat at the adjoining long table and ordered breakfast, and as soon as the hostess had left, they began to speak in Italian, but I wa only able to pick up about half of what they were saying. “…as I said, while we are in Australia, I want to visit this place… this cattle station on the Ningaloo Reef” I heard the younger of the three men say, in Italian, who looked like he was the boss, and this caught my attention.

“Sir, we will be there in about an hour after we take off…” the personal assistant said, and I tuned out the rest for a few moments. “If he was called sir, then he must be royalty or aristocracy, and the Italian didn’t sound like how Mrs De Luca speaks, which made me wonder if it was another country that speaks Italian.

Southern areas of Switzerland, or Austria, or even… Monaco, and I tried to listen in some more, and realised they were not talking, and two sets of eyes were looking at me, and suddenly I realised the third man was standing behind me. “You understand Italian?” the man asked me.

“Si, solo un po” I replied, “what is your name please, and are you a local to this vast countryside, if you can call it that?” the man asked me, and I smiled.

“Lloyd Templeton, and yes I own and managed a cattle station north of Carnarvon” I replied.

“Please come with me” the man said, and I stood and followed him to the other table.

“Sir, may I introduce Mr Lloyd Templeton, a Cattle station owner and manager from north of Carnarvon, Mr Templeton, may I introduce, Daniel Louis DePaul, 18th inline to the Monaco throne” the man said, and I bowed my head.

“Signore, en onore conoscerti” (Sir, it is an honour to meet you) I said in as best Italian that I could muster.

“Thank you Mr Templeton, I think we shall stick with English, since you are not very fluent in Italian just yet” the gentleman said to me and indicated for me to sit, and moments later Angus sat down beside my feet, and lay down, and I laughed, when I saw the expression of the visitor’s face.

“Please excuse me, this is my dog, Angus, he doesn’t like being too far away from me. Angus, this is Mr DePaul, an important man from Europe” I said directly to Angus, who sat up on his hind legs and backside, and held out his paw to shake.

“Well, I didn’t expect such high-level manners from a loyal pet, hello Angus” Mr De Paul said, and he bent down to shake Angus’s paw.

“So, tell me, Lloyd, where exactly is this cattle station that you own?” Mr DePaul asked me, “Well sir, it is called Coral Coast Station, and it is halfway between Carnarvon and Exmouth, with over 50 km’s of beaches” I responded.

“This is good news, we have heard of your station, and that is exactly where we are headed, but we had a few issues with the plane in Geraldton, so we had to stop overnight here” Mr DePaul replied.

“Sir, if you are not aware, in the past six months, we have had a cyclone, an earthquake and two fires on the property, so we are not very well set up for VIP guests like yourself” I said sounding nervous.

“I understand your concerns, anything that you have will do, I don’t mind roughing it, as you say here, it is quite an interesting experience, since our unexpected overnight stop here” Mr DePaul said.

“Very well sir, we have two airfields on the property, a double airfield that is used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service or RFDS as we call it, and another station airfield, that is quite close to the homestead complex, both are gravel, and are around 1200 metres long” I stated. “Good, we would like to visit your station for a day or two, can you arrange that?” Mr DePaul announced.

“Yes sir, that will be fine, I will let my staff know, it will be tomorrow morning before I get there as I have business to deal with in Carnarvon, which his 1 ½ hours’ drive from here, and it is about the same from Carnarvon to the station” I responded.

After breakfast, I found the accommodation manager, and asked to use their phone, and I quickly called home. “Coral Coast, how may I help you” Matt said when he answered the call.

“Hey mate it is me, are Dave and Sue back yet?” I responded.

“No, they called earlier, they are in Carnarvon, waiting for you to turn up” Matt replied.

“Ok, well you will have to manage this, and it is a top priority, you will be getting some VIP visitors arriving in about an hours’ time, flying in an executive jet, and landing on the homestead airfield. Davis and Alistair are staying on Chilimony Farm, as my caretakers there, so I need you to round up Anne, Rebecca and your brother.

I need you all to pack up all of Davis and Alistair’s belongings which won’t be much, and all my personal belongings, and store them away in the Store behind my office.