Terror Again - 9. TA Chapter 9

A compacted gravel and concrete road had been established from the new gate, to provide all-weather access to the new area, and was now ready for the trucks to deliver the huts to be fitted around the raised platforms. The arrival of huts was planned to arrive in groups of four each day, to allow time to get each hut properly in place before the next truck arrived the following day. I had already had plumbing and electrical teams on the property, getting each area ready to be connected, and I had additional solar panels installed and purchased additional Solar energy batteries to cope with the additional demands for electricity when required, and additional waste treatment tanks installed.

I was hoping that if all goes well, the whole bush camp will be fully operational just a day before I head back into the city for my next three days of part-time Army Service. On the morning of the arrival of the first truck, I was up early and I decided to just walk to the road junction, to make sure that the gate there was unlocked, I opened it up, before turning around and heading home, where I had already opened up the other two gates, and where I had already parked one of the quad bikes across the road, just past the first gate, to indicate that the trucks needed to turn onto the new access road.

The first two huts to arrive were the octagonal huts consisting of the kitchen and the scullery store, which are the two back huts for that group, which was perfect, and although I had indicated which order, I wanted the huts to arrive, that had already been thrown out, as I had requested the accommodation huts to arrive first. Shortly after lunchtime, the second load of huts arrived, and once again I was disappointed to see them arrive out of order, with two multi-purpose rooms arriving this time. Once the trucks had loaded, and left the property, I walked down to our boundary gate to close and lock it, deciding that it should be ok to leave the road junction gate open, while Mark and Sawney were busy getting the power, plumbing and water to the scullery and kitchen connected.

The following morning, another two trucks arrived with two more huts, this time the officers’ dining hut, and the cold and dry store hut, which will complete one of the pods, which is a good start, and Mark and Sawney got to work to connect the power to both huts. In the afternoon, the Auxiliary staff hut and last multi-purpose hut arrived, to complete the second pod of huts, and the rest of the afternoon was spent connecting the power, water and plumbing to the staff hut. It appeared that deliveries were going to be daily, as the next morning two more trucks arrived, with the officers’ space arriving, consisting of the officers’ quarters hut and the officer's lounge hut, which were placed opposite each other with the decking.

In the afternoon, two of the soldier's accommodation huts arrived, and they were put into place, while Mark and Sawney were finishing off connecting up the officer's huts to power, plumbing and water, and while they did that, I went over to look at the two completed pods, and seeing that there was just a twenty-metre space between them, I decided to have a raised walkway between the two pods, for easy access during bad weather, as the multi-purpose decking could be used as additional dining space when the camp is full.

Now after two days, and eight huts delivered, with two pods of four huts completed, the bush camp was slowly coming together, but it would not be completed by the time I headed off back to the city, which I was a little disappointed about, although it should be completed by the time I return. On day three no trucks arrived, and Mark reminded me that it was Sunday today, which I had forgotten.

After driving down to the road junction to close and lock the gate, at a nice slow pace, we began work on building the raised walkway, with the digging of holes and concreting in the steel support posts and bolting the cross beams, to make sure that it was all straight and level. It would take a few days for the concrete to cure, so we settled down to spend the rest of the afternoon just relaxing, but that was interrupted, by the sounds of a vehicle approaching and it sounded like at high speed.

“I don’t like the sound of that. Sawney, grab my large first aid kit which is in the pantry cupboard in the kitchen. Mark, can you get your Humvee started, and unlock the two gates, while I go and grab some blankets, and if need be, make a phone call,” I said quickly. Just moments later, we all heard a few huge crash sounds, which did not sound good at all. “Mark, get down there and let me know what has happened. We will follow in my vehicle,” I said as we sprang into action to go and attend to what we believed to be a very nasty accident. After a quick call to 000 Emergency, asking for all three services to come to a multiple-vehicle crash site on the junction of Saltwater Arm and Leaders Creek Roads, Koolpinyah, approximately 48 kilometres north-northeast of Howard Springs, I jumped into my Ute and waited for Sawney.

“Struan, this is Mark, it is bad mate. Two vehicles, one has crashed side-on into a solid tree, with a driver and four passengers, the other into the boundary fence just a few metres away from the gate, with a driver and three passengers, and there is a huge amount of damage to that vehicle and not much to the fence, and it looks like we have a few fatalities, over,” Mark said to me over the radio.

“Copy that Mark, do what you can, but take care, your safety comes first, over,” I replied, feeling sick in the stomach at what we just learnt. I redialled the emergency number and waited to be connected, as we drove quickly towards the road junction. “I am glad that you had the reflective road signs installed before our gates, so this hopefully doesn’t happen to us,” Sawney said to me. “Emergency Services, which branch do you require?” a voice asked on the telephone.

“This is Captain Struan Kenrick, Australian Army, calling back with additional information regarding the crash in Koolpinyah. My staff member has arrived onsite, and I will be there in a minute or two, he has informed me that there are two vehicles involved, five people in one vehicle involving a tree and the other vehicle with four people that has crashed into a solid iron fence. I have been informed there are fatalities on site, and I will confirm that shortly as I am an Army Medic,” I said to the operator, who read back the details I had given to confirm that it was correct.

“Yes, that is all correct, I am arriving onsite as we speak. There is an open paddock just down the road from the junction, so call the rescue chopper as it will be needed… oh hell… You will need to get the Defence Choppers in too, it’s a real mess,” I said as I pulled over to the side of the road, just inside the still closed and locked gate.

“Mark and Sawney, get your phones out and do a video record of the whole scene around each vehicle, without getting too close, then Mark, I want you to get my notepad and record everything that I tell you, and Sawney, I am going to have to ask you to help me with the patients, it is going to be hard, so try and stay calm and try not to think about what you see around you, ok?” I said to the two lads.

Within a few minutes, I had assessed that there were already three dead, and two in a very bad way, and the rest were badly injured too. Once the video recording had been completed, with me completing a risk assessment at the same time, I verified that there were three deceased, and I did a quick triage assessment to see who needed the most urgent help, which was difficult when all of the remaining alive patients were all trapped inside the vehicles, and without rescue equipment, I was very limited on what I could do.

Not long after I could hear an approaching helicopter. We soon heard emergency sirens, and within minutes, the area was covered with emergency crews, we stepped back to let them take over since they were better equipped and trained to handle this sort of situation, and I motioned my brother and Mark to come with me as we headed back to our two vehicles, as I gave them a blanket each to help with the shock of what they have seen.

About ten minutes later a police Senior Sergeant approached our vehicle, after climbing over the gate, “Which of you is Captain Kenrick?” he asked us, “That would be me sir, Struan Kenrick, Australian Army based at Larrakeyah Barracks, but my residence is just down the road there near the boat ramp,” I replied.

“Has this gate always been here?” the Senior Sergeant asked. “It was installed a few months ago, as this area is now a Defence Force Training area. The Colonel at Robertson Barracks is the one who arranged for it to be installed, as well as the iron fence,” I replied.

For the next twenty minutes, we were questioned about the accident, and we forwarded both video clips via email to the police officer, before we were permitted to return home. All of us were in no mood to do anything after what we had just witnessed, and I quickly sent an email to the transport company to suspend the delivery of the remaining huts, until the road has been reopened, after a multiple fatality crash today.

I knew I had probably said a bit too much, as it was soon on the television news about a fatal vehicle accident in the Koolpinyah region of the Northern Territory, and I was guessing that the media would not be able to get anywhere near the crash site, as the road would be blocked off by the police, probably at the Gunn Point Road junction, about 4.5 kilometres from the crash site, and another 10 kilometres closer to town as well.

For the next 1½ days, we did very little at home, as the accident continued to be on our minds, and by early afternoon Tuesday, I decided that it was best if we all headed into the city via hovercraft, to avoid passing the crash site, so I told the lads to pack a bag for a week, as we were going to the city via hovercraft for a break in surroundings.

I found two adjoining bedrooms in a lodge available in the suburb of Parap, just one block off the Stuart Highway, 2 km from the marine yard and 3 km from the city, and I booked and paid for it for five days, while the lads packed, I headed over to the shed to get the Aurora Hovercraft started up, ready for the three-hour journey to Darwin.

Once the Aurora was secured at the marine yard, we caught a taxi to the motel where we would be staying, and we settled in for our first night in the city, away from the defence base. Later in the evening, we caught a taxi into the city to have a meal at a restaurant, and we were halfway through our meal when my mobile rang with a blocked number. I nearly diverted the call, but changed my mind at the last second.

Three minutes later, I ended the call and returned to the table, I must have had a shocked look on my face, as the lads looked at me with a little bit of concern, and I smiled. “That was TEHAS or Top End Helicopter Aeromedical Service, which is a branch of Careflight. When they came out to the accident the other day, in two of their helicopters, an Agusta AW139 and an Airbus H145, someone must have mentioned that we were first on the scene and that I have paramedical training, and after a few enquiries about my work status, they decided to offer me a job as a TEHAS helicopter pilot,” I informed the lads.

“Wow, that is awesome, congratulations. I do hope that you said yes to the offer,” Sawney responded. “Yes, I did and it includes a $72,400 per year base salary, plus a bonus, 5 weeks annual leave, a company vehicle and accommodation with rental assistance, and all I have to do is have a medical and I can start next week,” I said to my brother and Mark.

“That is awesome news bro… err, we have some news too, both of us have accepted work on a cattle station in the Victoria River region, very close to the WA border,” Mark said to me, “It’s Rosewood Station, which is 1 million acres in area, and is 3 km west of the Duncan Highway, and 50 km south of the Victoria Highway, and it is a further 56 km to Kununurra in WA, which is the nearest major town,” my brother added.

“That is good to hear, well done on your new jobs. I am guessing Sawney that you will be a horse stockman, and Mark you will be a cook?” I asked, “Correct, and they want us there as soon as possible,” Mark responded. “Well, Sawney if you need a vehicle you can borrow mine for as long as you need it. I have a hovercraft to get me home when need be, and here in the city, I can get by using a taxi when needed,” I said to my brother.

After some discussions, Mark and Sawney would drive back to the property in the morning, to collect most of their belongings, deciding to leave what they don’t need at my place, before continuing on south to Katherine, then west to the Duncan Highway and south to the Station, which is a distance of 800 kilometres, and the journey would take about ten hours, so they would be stopping overnight at Timber Creek, which is a 500-kilometre journey.

I gave Saweny some cash to cover fuel and meals for their journey, plus a bit of extra spending money in case they needed it, and I gave Mark his wages. Very early the next morning, with a 110-kilometre return journey home and back to the highway, the lads set off on the next stage of their life and I wished them the very best and a safe journey.

A few days later I passed my flight medical examination with flying colours, and a day later I moved into my new furnished 3-bedroom home in the northern suburb of Marrara, which includes a lap pool and a nice small and manageable back garden, located on the south side of McMillans Drive, just north of Darwin Airport, and only 5 kilometres from Careflight base. I settled in well to a routine, between flying emergency helicopters and part-time work at Larrakyah Army Base.

Meanwhile at home, the work to finish the bush camp was completed, with the assistance of a building team to connect all the services to the huts, and just 6 weeks after that the NT Army Cadets held their mid-year camp there, and from what I heard it was a huge success. Once a month I made a point to drive home to check on the property, to make sure that everything was in order, which it was, with new reflective signage, now installed well ahead of the road junction, that notifies drivers of an approaching closed gate.

Regarding the accident that happened there, only three people survived the crash, that went sideways into the boundary fence, there were no survivors in the vehicle that hit the tree, which was very sad to hear, as I continued my new life now as a civilian helicopter pilot and part-time soldier.