Desert Air - 28. DA Ch 28 - Restoration

“You and I will be spending the free days from the airbase over there, during the next two weeks, to you will have an advantage over your older brother, by the time he comes back home at the end of the semester in July,” Dad said.

After lunch, Dad, Hedley and I headed back to Limestone station, this time in the Biplane, as it needed a bit of a run, having been sitting under the netting for so long, and it took us nearly thirty minutes to get there in the slower plane, but I didn’t mind at all, as I loved flying in it.

Once we landed, this time the landing was a little smoother, and I could see that Jake had been doing some work on the runway since I was last there, which was good to see, as we saw him approaching in the Ute, “Mr Kendrik, Mr Parkinson and Jexon, good to see you again,” Jake said.

“Nice job on the runway Jake, it is much smoother than this morning,” I commented, “Thankyou boss, I aim to please,” Jake replied smiling, and this time he took us directly to the homestead, so we could have a good look around.

The homestead has thick mud brick walls with corrugated iron roof, and it was nice and cool inside, even with no air-conditioning, and we entered from the front door, into a small entry hall, with a door on each side and one at the end.

On the left is the main lounge room, and on the right is the study followed by the main bathroom. After the lounge room there is the guest bedroom, followed by the master bedroom and ensuite. On the other side, there are three more bedrooms, and at the end it the formal dining room to the left and at the end is the main kitchen, with laundry and store rooms,” Jake said as we passed by each room, peaking into each one as we went.

“A lot of furniture already I see,” Dad commented. “The previous owners didn’t want to take their furniture with them, so the place is mostly fully furnished, that includes the historical cottage also. All other accommodation is fully furnished for staff, and I bought a few extra bits and pieces over the four years that I have been here,” Jake said

“I am still attending university, in my final year of a double degree, so I won’t be moving in until then, and Rhodes who you met earlier, is currently in Year 11 at boarding school in Geraldton, and will be joining me working here, but I will be the boss,” I said to Jake.

“In the mean time, Hedley and I will be keeping an eye on things from our base at Corunna Downs, I am a pilot myself, so while Jexon is away, I will be making regular trip up to here, to keep you stocked up with supplies, and to check that all is well,” Dad added.

“Very good sir, I look forward to working with you all,” Jake responded. After checking out the cottage, and the two empty staff cottages, we headed back to my plane and returned to the Airbase, where I placed it under the netting once again, to protect it from the harsh sun.

Back at the complex, Dad, Hedley and I retreated to the admin building to have some discussions, before taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon, since we would be open to visitors tomorrow.

By 7 am the next morning, everyone was in the dining room enjoying breakfast, before we start our busy day with visitors to the museum. I decided to spend some time at the front gate hut, and Mary decided to be there with me, which meant that Dad and Hedley could take it in turns manning the operations shed with Rhodes, while Mum, Joyce and the young-un’s remained at the complex, and supplied us with food and drinks all day.

By the time we closed the gate at 4 pm, we had just over 260 vehicle pass through, which was a little bit less than last week, but it was still enough to keep us financially running at a profit, and the next day, even thou it was a Sunday, we still had a good number of vehicles enter, as we did on Monday, the last day of the long weekend, and my last day at home.

As soon as the gates were closed, I headed back to the complex, showered and changed into fresh clothes, before Dad flew me to Port Hedland to catch the evening flight to Perth, as I had university studies to continue.

Before boarding my flight to Perth, I sent a quick email to Marcus. “Hi mate, I have some great news, there is a job going for a qualified vet at Newman, and I have spoken the to the practice owner – Dr Jessica Harris, and she knows that you will contact her. You will need to fly to Port Hedland then catch a bus south on the Great Northern Highway route to Newman. Good luck, Regards Jex.”

Once I had sent the email I relaxed while I waited to board the flight, and I snoozed for most of the flight south, arriving in Perth just after 9 pm, and at my accommodation about 45 minutes later, where I dropped my luggage, collapsed onto my bed and promptly fell asleep.

On my second day back at university, I was exiting my Zoology lecture, when the Dean of Science approached and asked to speak to me, which I was surprised by, and we headed for his office in another part of the building.

“I understand that Zoology is you second subject of a double degree with Veterinary Science?’ the Dean asked me, “That is correct sir, my family own a cattle station in the Pilbara district, and I am planning to establish a practice there, so I can also do some research with reptiles and marsupials in the region,” I replied.

“Well that is very ambitious of you, is the Station big enough to do a proper study?” the Dean asked me, “Yes sir, my parents are in partnership with our neighbour so we actually have two pastoral cattle stations, plus an additional 29,600 acres of freehold land, which is where our family lives,” I replied.

“Freehold land! How can that be?” the Dean asked me and I smiled, “Because sir, it is the Corunna Airbase, that our family has purchased from the Federal Government and turned into a museum,” I replied, “Ah yes, I have been reading about that in the newspapers, you are lucky to be involved in such a worthwhile project, I would like to come and see this museum of yours one day,” the Dean responded.

“May I ask while I have been brought here sir?” I asked, “Yes, we did get a little sidetracked didn’t we. I am leading a research expedition, to be done over a two week period during the semester break, and I thought with you nearly completing your double degrees, that you would be a valuable member of the team,” the Dean announced.

“Where is this expedition going to be?” I asked uncertain if it was within Australia or overseas, and if the latter, I may need permission from the Army to leave. “It will be here in Western Australia, on a small island on the South Coast. There is no power or water, so we will have to take everything with us, and it is partially funded by the university and the WA branch of the CSIRO,” the Dean replied.

“I am glad it is in WA and not overseas, as I would not be able to go if it was,” I replied, “Oh, and why is that?’ the Dean asked, “Because sir, I am in the Army reserves, and I would need to get permission from my commanding officer for overseas travel,” I replied.

“I see, well the island is a IBA – Important Bird Area Nature Reserve, and it is six kilometres south of the mainland, and seventeen kilometres south of Albany. We will be chartering a research ship to take us and all our supplies to the island, with the last part of the journey to be done by a zip line, as there is no safe mooring area on the island,” the Dean announced.

“In that case sir, yes I would be happy to join the expedition, it sounds like a great adventure,” I responded, “Good to hear, this is a list of what you will need to bring, and I will be organising all of the supplies and such, so all you need to do is bring what’s on the list and we will be set to go,” the Dean said.

Later in the day, I called Dad, to let him know that I would not be home for the semester break in July, as I will be going on a University expedition for those two weeks. Dad sounded a little disappointed, but I explained that it was part of my university studies, and that I would be silly not to take this opportunity to be part of a research project.

After dinner that evening, I did some research on Eclipse Island, and I learnt that the island is 245 acres in area, and that it was declared a 1a Nature Reserve. I also learnt that the lighthouse on the island is 110 metres tall, and apart from that, there is a nearby helicopter landing pad, there are a couple of water storage tanks, a large lighthouse keepers house, that is two separate living areas for two families, plus nearby is a diesel generator shed, that has been out of use for many decades now.

The landing stage area consists of a small shed located 20 metres from the edge of the island and 9 metres above the water line, plus there is a 40 metre long rail line, that allows for supplies to be hauled up the steep slope to a large storage shed, which is 350 metres east of the lighthouse.

By the looks of it, most of the buildings are in a bad state, and I wondered if I could do something about that, and I made another call to Dad, and we spent a good hour talking about donating building materials and other supplies, to renovate the disused buildings, to get them into a liveable state again.

Two days later, I received an email from Dad. “Dear Jexon, Project Jex has been approved by the State Minister of Conservation and Land Management, and since the building supplies are being donated, as well as some of the costs for labour, there is no need for a call for submissions for building quotes, and that I have the authority to organise a building team to work on the project. I will keep you updated on its progress. Love, Dad.”

With just six weeks until the semester holidays, I wondered if that would be enough time to get much work done on the project, but I just had to wait and see, when I get the updates from Dad. It was nearly two weeks before I received my first update, and by now I was getting worried that nothing was happening.

“Dear son, I am pleased to report, that the building company that I have hired to do the restoration work on Eclipse Island have made great progress so far. A small supply ship that is based in Albany has transported supplies to the building team, who are camping on the Island, for the four weeks that they are available to do this project.

So far, the project manager, has taken and sent me detailed photographs of each of the buildings on the island, including the landing area, which looks very hazardous, but with good weather, they have been able to do a lot.

The roof’s of the Lighthouse Keepers house has been replaced with new corrugated iron sheeting, plus the north side of the roof has solar panels installed, to provide plenty of power, so they now have electricity.

New wiring has been installed in the house, so they have lighting and power points throughout. Roof’s have also been replaced on the large landing shed, also fitted with solar panels and new wiring for power and lighting, and restoration has been done to the rail line, and the engine that powers the supply carriages that run up and down the rail line.

Halfway between the waters edge and the end of the rail line there is a tower that is used for a zip line for transporting supplies from the ship to the island, and that tower has been pulled down as it is so rusty and unsafe and it will be replaced soon by a new and stronger tower, and a ladder will be built between the rail line and the tower.

The water tanks have been emptied out, and will have a plastic lining installed, to keep the water fresh, and to prevent leaks from the old concrete lining. Work is also been done to replace all of the ceilings in the house, which have partially collapsed, and the walls will be replastered, before being sealed and painted.

All doors will be replaced as will most of the windows, with quite a few of them been broken. The floors will have a light coating of cement over the existing floor, as it is cracked in many placed, and wooden flooring will be installed for easy maintenance and cleaning.

The building team are aware that a research team are coming to the island in early July, and they said they hope to have all the work completed well before then. I have enclosed photos of the island that the builder sent me, so you get an idea what it is like there. I will report again when it is closer to finishing the project.

On a separate subject, I received a cheque in the mail for $250,000, as a reward for the recovery of the pearls and diamonds, which I will set aside for later discussion on what to do with that money. I will speak to you soon. Love, Dad.”