Springbank - 10. Spring Ch 10

“Did you hear all of that boss?” Davies asked me as his voice became clearer, “Yes, can you just hang back in the background, I just want to hear what else is said,” I replied,” I responded, and Davies chuckled, “I was planning on doing that anyway,” he said to me and I heard a bit of rustling and a sigh, and not far away I could hear discussions happening within the Support Unit. “Look guys, be thankful that we have all of these wonderful facilities for us to use this year, it is far better than what we have had in the past, and I think we should be very grateful for what Mr Hudson has provided for us, considering our old campsite is now in ruins,” we heard Goeff say.

“Yeah, but it is so cold out here, can’t we just have a small fire going?” someone said, “Let’s wait until he has left the property and I will maybe consider it. “You do that Geoff and I will have the Board Chairman here in a jiffy and you can deal with him,” I heard Davies yell out, “Followed by a few curse words from further away. “Ok, get those fires out right now, and they are to stay extinguished for the whole weekend,” we heard Geoff announce, “A very wise move Geoff,” I heard Davies say.

Twenty minutes later, all the campfires were out and I was happy that there were no more open fires around, just ten minutes later the skies opened up with some heavy rain, which made me chuckle as I headed indoors to the bathroom to have a long hot shower. When I stepped out, Davies was seated in the lounge area, looking out across the river, and with all the lights off or down low, it was easy to see the house across the river, with the outside verandah lights on. “Thought I might post watch for a while, to see if they stick to the request. I think that dumping of rain has made sure there will be no more fires tonight,” he said to me. An hour later Davies headed for home and I went to bed, knowing we had a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

I was awake well before dawn the next morning, with sunrise due just after 7 am, and the race due to start at 7.30 am, after a quick breakfast of cereal, toast and a cup of tea, which I ate out on the patio, as I watched the morning twilight coming from the east, I could heard some voices coming from the other side of the river, and I saw the lights fully on over at the machinery shed. What surprised me was to see several glow shapes coming from inside, which I was guessing were gas heaters, which is a better alternative than open fires.

As the sky became brighter, I saw that the water level was now only a metre away from the foot of the Watch Tower, and I took a photo of it and sent the picture to Davies. Moments later I received a text message from him. “Good morning boss, I hope you slept well. Is that pic taken from the Watch Tower? I will be there shortly,” and I sent a one-word reply, “Yes.”

When Davies arrived he found me on the patio, where I was watching what was happening over the river, where the Avon Support Unit were now all very busy getting ready to leave, to prepare for the start of the race. “When businesses begin to open, can you remind me to call the local shed building companies, to see if we can get hold of some steel-framed octagonal gazebos, and also hardware stores to see if we can get some gas heaters and large gas bottles,” I said to Davies, “Yes, I was thinking about that last night, I will head into Toodyay and Northam with Giles to assist, to see what we can find,” Davies replied.

By 7.20 am, I had arrived on the other side of the river and pulled up at the Race Control building, and I entered without knocking. “Good morning Mr Hudson, how is it looking over on your side of the river?” the board chairman asked me when he saw me enter, “Good morning. Rather high this morning, it has gone up by nearly two metres is my estimate,” I replied. “That is what we think here as well, which is going to make it a very fast and interesting race this year,” the board chairman said, just as an announcement could be heard over the radio.

“Competitors, you have heard everything in the briefing this morning, the river has risen 1.8 metres overnight, so it will be a hard and fast race. Just a final reminder, the finish line for today’s section of the race is approximately 800 metres upstream from where it usually is, with the extraction point just 120 metres after it, and the pit area is directly up from there. Good luck, stay safe and all the best,” we heard the Race Director say via radio, from his location at the starting line in Northam.

“Just a reminder to also, I don’t want any mention to the media of me or the estate providing the camp facilities for this year’s race,” I said to the board chairman, “Yes, Mr Hudson and the board members are aware of this too, but I cannot guarantee that it will not leak out that you helped us a great deal,” the Chairman replied. “Understood, good luck today, I will probably see you around sometime,” I said before leaving the building, and I headed over to the machinery shed where I bought a toastie and a cup of tea from one of the catering vendors and sat down at one of the vacant tables.

There were four gas heaters located around the seating area, providing some warmth from the frosty morning, and being inside the shed helped to keep some of the morning chill out of the area. After eating, I stepped outside and walked around the shed, a couple of times, thinking if I provided a more permanent site for the Avon Descent, what improvements could I make to the property? “Good morning, what are you thinking?” a voice said beside me, which made me jump, and soon realised that it was Giles.

“Trying to decide what I should do to the young man who just scared the crap out of me,” I responded, “Oops, sorry boss. Dad dropped me off here before going into Northam, he said to tell you that he has two gazebos lined up and is looking at possibly two more, and I have half a dozen gas heaters and bottles here too, and the lads are on their way over here too,” Giles replied. “Ok, thanks for that update. Are the heaters and gas bottles at the gate?” I asked, “Yes, and they would like one of the heaters if possible,” Giles replied, just as his mobile rang.

“Hi Dad, I am with the boss now, near the machinery shed, he was wondering around like he was planning something,” Giles said when he answered the call, and a moment later he pressed a key and held it closer to me, “Hello Davies, what is happening?” I asked, “The kayakers have all just left from the start line. Still a bit of fog hovering around over here too. I have managed to secure two more gas heaters and gas bottles, and we will have a total of three gazebos all seven metres in diameter to be delivered onsite by lunchtime today, with two coming from Toodyay, and the other from York,” Davies informed me.

“Well done with that, see if you can get some concrete as well, so we can get them secured into the ground,” I replied, “Already on that boss, see you shortly,” Davies replied before ending the call. “Ok Giles, let’s go and see where we can put some of these gazebos in the general Camping area,” I said to Davies’ son as we jumped into my vehicle and headed to the front gate to collect the gas bottles and heaters, leaving one behind for the people at the front gate. “Good Morning Mr Hudson, thank you for this little luxury item,” the SES Officer said to me when he stepped out of the small building.

“My pleasure, I am sorry I hadn’t thought of it before, it was only after seeing the campfires last night that we decided to do something to assist, and it was whoever provided the heaters for the shed that gave us the idea. How has it been going regarding the general public trying to get access?” I replied. “A nightmare to be honest, and there have been a few people trying to sneak onto the property over the fence, but with it being so high and secure, that has deterred a lot of them from trying. It will probably be worse tonight, but I have extra teams coming today to assist with that,” the SES officer replied.

“Do you need anything else for this area?” I asked, “Just a bit more sheltered space would be nice if possible,” came the response, “I will see what I can do,” I replied as I saw Giles dialling a number on his phone, “Please hold for the boss,” I heard him say as we walked back to the vehicle and once inside he handed me the phone. I asked Davies if he could get hold of a small transportable building to provide extra space for the SES team, and also another modular twin toilet block.

I decided to leave one more Gas Heater for this front gate team and Gile unloaded it from the vehicle and placed it behind the building, where there are two rows of vehicles and tents. A few minutes later we entered the general campsite where the competitors and their crew were camping for this event, and I was pleased to see that the two campsites next to the toilets on either side of the track were empty, so I decided this was an ideal location for the first two gazebos, and we left the gas heaters and gas bottles at that location.

Giles and I jumped back into my vehicle and headed out of the property, stopping at the gate to organise for someone to post a guard at the campsite to make sure that those two vacant spots remained empty so that the gazebos could be placed there when they arrived at about lunchtime, before we headed back to the estate on the other side of the river, to be there when the Ambassador and his family arrive.

We had just crossed over the river on Julimar Road in West Toodyay when my mobile rang and with it set on hands-free I pressed the accept call button. “This is Cooper speaking,” I said, “Hello boss, just wondering your current location,” I heard Davies ask, “West Toodyay heading back to the estate, and I have your son with me. What is the problem?” I responded, “Just wanted to let you know that the Ambassador and his family arrived about forty-five minutes ago, and they are being well looked after at the Watch Tower.

There is one problem though but not in regards to them… I have just had a call from the WA Police, asking us to let the Governor and his wife enter the property to watch the race from the estate,” Davies said which made me groan in annoyance. Is my father there yet?” I asked, “Yes, he arrived at the same time as our guests,” Davies replied.

“Ok, tell my father to expect a call from me in one minute,” I said before ending the call. “Bloody people who think they can just push their way into an event that they are not invited to,” I complained out loud, and Giles just chuckled at this, as I pressed a few buttons on my phone to call my Dad. “Hello son, I have just been informed of the situation, and let me deal with it. I am presuming they are not invited to enter the estate?” Dad said when he answered the call,

“Yes that is correct, they did request permission to enter the property to view the race, which I denied, as I wanted it to be a low-key event at the watch tower. I only allowed the Ambassador and his family to attend because I am friends with his son from university,” I replied. “Understood, leave it with me, I will deal with it,” Dad said before he ended the call. “Thank goodness my Dad is here and I don’t have to worry about that,” I said, as we continued onwards.

“What are we going to do when we get to the front gate and they are still there?” Giles asked me and I smiled, “I am not sure if you know, but there are a few other ways onto the property apart from the front gate,” I replied, as I spotted the sign for the Bush Fire Brigade and I slowed down and turned left onto Parkland Drive, and 3 ½ kilometres down from there, I stopped in front of an access gate, next to private property driveway. After unlocking the gate and driving through, I locked the gate behind me, I continued for 800 metres along a narrow access track until I arrived at a boundary gate, with farmland ahead.

“This is the estate’s eastern boundary emergency gate, your Dad and I have the only set of keys to access both gate locks,” I informed Giles as I handed him the keys so he could unlock the gate for me, which he did so I could drive through and he locked the gate behind me. “Where on the estate are we?” Giles asked once back in my vehicle, as I turned left to follow the fire break along the boundary.

“Just over two kilometres due north of the Watch Tower,” replied smiling and Giles laughed at this news, as I sent a text message to my Dad. “I’m back on the estate, via a back emergency entrance, heading for the Watch Tower,” and I soon received a reply. “Ok, good to hear, all sorted here, I have sent the unwanted visitors to Toodyay, with suggestions that they try somewhere there to view the race. Dad.” I laughed as I read this before I drove onwards and arrived at the Watch Tower fifteen minutes later.

After meeting the Ambassador and his wife, Jasper gave me a surprising hug, saying he was glad to be back here, as he had enjoyed his visit here earlier, and I began to relax and enjoy the view of the Avon Descent race, as boats came speeding down the river towards the finish line nearby. With great background live music and delicious food thanks to Leah’s excellent cooking, we all had an enjoyable day, with the majority of speedboats arriving before lunch and most of the paddle boats arriving by three pm.

This was also the time the Ambassador announced that it was time for him and his family to return to Perth, and we thanked them for coming along today to watch the end of today’s boat race, which concludes in Bayswater sometime tomorrow. Dad informed me that with the trouble earlier, he had decided to follow the Ambassador and his family back to Perth and asked me to borrow my vehicle, so the family travelled separately in the family car, a little after they had gone. Jasper said that he would be happy to return tomorrow afternoon to collect me and bring me back to Perth, and I happily accepted the offer.

An hour after the Ambassador and his family with my Dad escorting them back, Mum and my siblings left in the family car, and I assisted Leah with the final bit of cleaning up the Watch Tower from today’s events, which wasn’t much, as Mum had helped with the cleanup also. A little later, I watched from the patio to see how things were going on the property across the river, and my mobile rang with Geoff as the caller.

“Good afternoon Geoff, how did today’s event go for you and your crew?” I asked, “Very well thanks mainly to your generosity, we have just completed a senior staff debrief, and everyone was happy with how things panned out. Thank you for the gazebo and gas heaters, they will come in handy tonight and tomorrow morning,” Geoff replied, “You are welcome, I hope the rest of the race goes without any problems. Any word from the race officials?” I asked.

“Yes, I spoke to them an hour ago, they are very happy with how things went today, especially with all the facilities that you have provided to make it easier for everyone,” Geoff responded. “Good to hear. Well, thanks for the update on how things went, I will chat with you and the board next week sometime, to get an idea of how the whole camp situation panned out once the race is over and done with,” I said.

I just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, mostly reading a book and listening to the chatter and activities happening across the river. I received a text message from Davies inviting me to his home for dinner that evening which I accepted, and it was an enjoyable evening and a good way to end our part in the race.