Desert Air - 34. DA Ch 34 - Back to Civilisation

The helicopter landed on a open lawn area, near the boat shed of Camp Quaranup, where the Professor and some of the university students were waiting for our arrival, and once we had everything offloaded, Ted set off back to his base, while we climbed into the minibus and we were driven to the nurses quarters and isolation quarters accommodation, that are 400 metres past the main accommodation complex.

We spent two more days in Albany, spending some of that time exploring the area around the Vancouver Peninsular, before making the long journey back to Perth on the bus. Once back at the university, we had just one day to relax, before the commencement of the second semester, which is my last semester before graduating, with just one short break for the September long weekend, which I will be spending at home at the base.

Dad has been keeping me updated during the time I am in Perth, on how things are going with the museum, with the number of visitors slowly dropping from the first two weeks of opening, to what now is a steady flow of visitors, averaging between 60 to 180 visitors per week, on the now five days a week that the museum is open.

Just two weeks into the second semester, I was waiting for Dad’s call for the fortnightly update, expecting just a normal report of how many visitors we have, and also how things are going over at Limestone Station, unaware that a lot has happened in the past fortnight.

“Hello son, how are things down in Perth, getting settled back into a routine after your adventure down south?” Dad said when I answered his call, and I chuckled at his comment. “Yes, it was a bit of an adventure, and one that I don’t want to experience again in the near future. How are things going up at Corunna and Limestone?” I replied.

“All going very well son, we were able to get Shire Council approval for two new projects, the first being the establishment of a camping ground, just 600 metres inside the Corunna Downs boundary, on the left after the cattle grid.

We have installed two ablution blocks, with solar power lighting and hot water, plus a large water tank to supply water for showers and toilets, plus we have installed 6 picnic tables and 3 gazebos for visitors, in hope that it will stop visitors from camping outside the boundary gate to the airbase, and so far it has.

The second project is the installation of a defence base camp inside the Airbase boundary. The turnoff is located 2.5 kilometres north-west of the airbase turnoff and gate, on the station access track, hidden in amongst the hills, 800 metres in from the station track and 1.2 kilometres south of the north-west boundary gate.

We have installed a fence and gate to stop visitors from going onto that station track, and we have had 8 - two bedroom cabins, each with three beds, with biodegradable toilets, water tanks, solar energy power and heating, and two larger buildings installed, one that has an administration area, large briefing room, and a fitness gymnasium, the second one has a commercial kitchen, dining room and a recreation space,” Dad announced.

“I bet the Army SAS lads will be very happy with those facilities,” I commented, “I hope so, we designed it especially for their use, all you have to do is let them know the coordinates of the camp, and let them explore it on their next visit,” Dad replied.

“Sounds good Dad, just email me the coordinates and maybe some photos of the buildings, and I will pass it on to them. How are things going with Jake at Limestone Station?” I responded. “All is good over there. I travel up there to spend two days a fortnight checking on things. Our aircraft hanger and your veterinary building just south of it are completed.

The shire council had enlarged the parking apron, and added a second aircraft hanger north of ours, to be leased out, plus they have built two more commercial buildings between the vet practice and the terminal also for commercial lease,” Dad informed me.

“Sounds good, I look forward to checking it all out when I come home for the long weekend in September,” I said and Dad informed me that my siblings were all doing well at boarding school in Geraldton, and that they too will be home for the long weekend, which is during their third term school holidays.

I received the email from Dad the following morning, and I looked at the photos that he had taken of the new visitor’s campground, and the signs that had been installed there. The photos of the new base camp show that it is well set up, with undercover parking for vehicles, plus an area for a parade ground, located behind the two main buildings and in front of the cabins.

Adding the photos of the base camp along with the coordinated of its location, I sent them to Captain Tim Eccleston at Campbell Barracks in Perth, with a short message.

“To Capt. Tim Eccleston, Corunna Airbase is happy to announce that we have established a base camp for the SAS, for training purposes, I have not seen it yet, but my father has sent these photos and the coordinates of its location to me to pass on to you. Regards, Private J.F Kendrik.”

I received a reply email less than an hour later, “Hey Jex, this looks awesome, we are planning for a visit during the September long weekend, hope you will be home when we are there, Regards, Tim.” I smiled when I read this before closing the email and returning to my studies.

With nine weeks remaining until the long weekend, I concentrated on my studies as I near the completion of my two degrees, with final exams to take place just six weeks after the long weekend. I knew that I had been doing fairly well with my studies, with me being in the top ten students in the class, while my friend – Auggie was only just passing all subjects, and I have been spending some time with him, tutoring him with the subjects that he is struggling with.

The closer the long weekend was getting, the more I was getting excited to get back home to check out all of the changes that have happened since I was last home. I would be on the same flight as my siblings for the second half of the journey, from Geraldton to Port Hedland, and Dad said he would collect us in the Twin Otter to take us the remaining distance to the Marble Bar airport, where the plane is now based, and it is a 45 minute drive home from there.

When the long weekend finally was here, I packed and made my way to the airport on Friday morning, to catch the plane to Port Hedland via Geraldton, and when they boarded the plane, I had Rhodes sitting next to me, while the twins and Wynn sitting a few aisles further back.

With just under two hours remaining to get to Port Hedland, I just laid back and relaxed, while Rhodes read one of his books. When I felt the plane start going into a flight pattern, I hit the call button for a steward. “Hi, I notice we are in a flight pattern, anything wrong?” I asked when the steward arrived, and she smiled to me.

“You must be either a regular flyer or a pilot to have noticed that sir?” she said to me, “Both actually, are there a problem on the ground?” I replied, “Yes, there is a medical emergency coming in, so we have to wait for them to land first, so we will be in the air for another twenty minutes,” the steward said.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, we are currently in a holding pattern due to a medial emergency flight approaching Port Hedland, so we will be delayed from landing for a short while, but in the mean time, as we do an aerial loop, I will be dipping our wings to the left shortly, to allow you to see the Corunna Airbase, which during the 2^nd World War was a secret base, where Australian and American B24 Liberator bombers were based from 1943 to 1945.

If you are staying in the region for a while I highly recommend that you visit the airbase, which has been restored and is now a war museum, owned and run by a local pastoralist family. The base is located 45 minutes drive south of Marble Bar, which is 2 hours south east of Port Hedland,” the Captain announced, just as the plane began to dip its wing to the left, and passengers on that side began to look out the window.

“Oh look, I see it, wow it is huge,” we heard one of the passengers nearby say, “I wonder what that group of buildings to the west of it are?” another passenger said, as I stood up and walked towards the nearest steward galley.

“Excuse me, If I may use your PA system, I can explain some more about the airbase,” I said, “You know more about it?’ the steward asked, “Yes, Jexon Kendrik is the name, owner of the airbase, which is managed by our parents, while I am at Uni and my siblings are away at boarding school,” I replied, and the steward smiled.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr Kendrik and yes you can use the PA,” the steward said as she handed the phone to me and pressed a button. “Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, you are very lucky to have the owner of the Corunna Airbase with you today. My name is Jexon Kendrik and our family own and manage the Corunna Airbase Museum, which the Captain just mentioned.

During the Second World War, there were up to 300 Air bomber personnel stationed at the base, coping with the very high summer temperatures as well as snakes and scorpions, living in canvas tents, with the only permanent buildings being 11 corrugated sheds, that often were just as hot in the summer and very cold during the winter, and very little rainfall.

The family along with our neighbours have restored all 11 sheds, to back what they looked like back then, but we have added one slight comfort, that being wall and roof insulation, to keep the sheds cooler. At the moment the airbase museum has one restored but not operational B24 Liberator bomber, plus a Tiger Moth Biplane on display, along with some items that were left abandoned and have been carefully restored.

The Australian Army has been kind enough to make available to the museum, a number of other wartime items of that period, including decommissioned anti-aircraft guns, camouflage netting, and some other items, including a functional two way radio used in those days.

As well as been a family member owner of the base, I am also a member of the Australian Army Reserves and I am the appointed Army representative for the Airbase museum, so I am in charge of the overall security of the airbase. The museum is open five days a week, Saturday to Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and closed on Tuesdays and Fridays for cleaning and maintenance purposes.

We have also established a camp ground on the road from Marble Bar to the Airbase Museum, located just inside the Corunna Downs Station boundary, and 4.5 kilometres before the Airbase Museum gate, providing picnic tables, gazebos, toilets and showers, with camping sites for up to twenty vehicles for a maximum of 48 hours stay.

On behalf of my family, we welcome you to come and visit our museum while you are in the region, thankyou,” I announced and suddenly there was applause coming from the whole aircraft.

“On behalf of the flight crew, I wish to thank you Mr Kendrik for your informative announcement on the Airbase Museum, which I and my family have visited recently, and highly recommend. Cabin crew prepare for landing,” the Captain announced straight after my announcement, and I returned to my seat and bucked up.

Once we had landed, we headed into the terminal to collect our luggage, before heading over to the smaller terminal, where Dad would be waiting for us, but when we left the plane there was no sign of the Twin Otter, so I presumed that we would have to wait.