Country Retreat - 22. Station Hands

When my mobile rang again and I saw that it was Gramps, I decided to ignore the call, as I climbed back into my vehicle and returned the way I came until I was back at Marmion Ave and headed south for home, which was a 50-kilometre drive. I stopped off to see Jarrad on the way, but he wasn’t home, so I just headed home, where I found the house empty, and a note on the table to say that Gran and Gramps had gone out.

I had no idea what I was going to do for the next four weeks, as I scanned through useless information on the internet until I stopped at something that caught my attention - “Station Hands Wanted”. After reading the advert for station hands on a cattle station near Newman, I immediately began to respond to the advert, stating that I come from a farming background in the northern Wheatbelt region, that I have some diesel mechanical experience but no formal training and I am a strong horse rider.

About two hours later Gran and Gramps arrived home, and I helped them to bring the shopping inside and put it all away, before going and having an early shower, while Gran prepared dinner. “Your mobile has been ringing while you were in the bathroom,” Gramps informed me, once I had showered and dressed, and I headed back to my bedroom, where I had left my mobile.

I saw three missed calls from an unknown number, and I decided to go outside, before dialling the number, but my phone rang as I stepped outside. “Hello, this is Oscar Kingston speaking,” I answered, “Yes hello, I am calling about your application for the position of station hand near Newman, you didn’t mention how old you are, although you do sound young,” the caller said to me. “Yes Ma’am, I am 18 years old and in my first year at university doing a Diploma in Agricultural Science & Technology, and I am currently on a four-week semester break,” I responded.

“I see, so you are only looking for a casual position for those four weeks?” the caller asked, “Yes Ma’am, I have my four-wheel drive vehicle, so I can travel up as soon as required. My father is a diesel mechanic and works part-time at his workshop as well as running the family farm, so I have learnt everything that I know from my father,” I replied.

“Well, we have been desperate for staff, so we will give you a go and see how it pans out. You will need to find your way here at your cost, our station is located a 3-hour drive northeast of Newman, and once you are here, all meals and accommodation are paid for. Give us a call when you arrive in Newman, so we know when to expect your arrival,” the caller said to me.

Once back inside, I headed to my room to look up the station online and worked out the distance and travelling time to get there. At 1,320 kilometres, it was going to take me two days to get up there with long days of driving, and I would need to stay overnight at Meekatharra after an eight-hour drive, and from there it would be a 7.5-hour drive to the station. As I sat down at the table for dinner, I looked at my Grandparents, before making the announcement, that I had been offered a casual job at a cattle station northeast of Newman for the duration of my Semester break.

Although this was a surprise for them, they were pleased that I had found something to keep me busy during the holidays. Straight after dinner, Gran insisted that I start packing right away, as I would need to be on the road early in the morning to get up there as fast as possible. While doing this, I sent a quick text message to Jarrad, “I’ve got a job at a cattle station near Newman, I will be back in about four weeks. OQK.”

Gramps grabbed my car keys and took my car down to the nearest fuel station, and had it filled up, as well as checking the radiator, oil, tyres including the spare, and he came back with a heap of extra items, including a spare fan belt, spare radiator hoses, two fuel containers full of diesel, a water container, and a puncture repair kit.

The next morning, Gran had a full-cooked breakfast ready for by by seven am, which I took my time to eat, and as I was, Gran answered the front door. “Hello Mrs K, is Oscar still here?” I heard Jarrad ask and moments later he appeared in the kitchen. “Hello, did you decide to give me a personal farewell?” I asked, “No, I wanted to know if I could come with you, and would there be a job for me too?” Jarrad replied.

I pulled out my mobile and dialled a number, “Hello Mrs Ashton, this is Oscar Kingston speaking, just wanted to let you know that I will be leaving here in about an hour to travel up there, and I estimate that I will be arriving late tomorrow afternoon,” I said when the call was answered, “That is wonderful to hear, so your vehicle is good enough for the long-distance journey?” she asked me.

“Yes Ma’am, all ready to go, with extra supplies added in case of any emergencies. I have just one question thou, my good friend Jarrad is asking if there is a casual job for him too. He too can ride horses, but he was brought up in the outer suburbs. We went to the same high school together.

He is the same age, and he too is attending university, but he is studying Criminology and Justice,” I informed my new employer. “I see, well I guess having another horse rider may be an advantage, so I will say yes to him. What is his name, and can he send me a resume please,” Mrs Ashton asked. After the phone call, with Jarrad thrilled that he would be joining me, even thou it was going to be a long two-day journey, he announced that he had already eaten and was already packed and ready to go, although he needed to stop and get a few items first.

Once I had finished my breakfast, we loaded up my gear into my ute, and after saying goodbye to my grandparents, we drove around to Jarrad’s place on Cathedral Rd, which is an 8.5-kilometre drive around, even though he lives directly behind us on the other side of the river. When we had loaded up Jarrad’s gear and he said farewell to his parents and siblings, we headed down to Midland, where we needed to stop and pick up a few items. My Toyota Fortuner was already decked out with a few items, including a snorkel, roof rack, side steps, bull bar, tow bar, recovery gear, air compressor, UHF radio, plus a portable radio and a side awning attached to the roof rack.

When we arrived at the camping store, I quickly looked at and selected a 95-litre dual-zone car fridge, also a 2 x 2.5-metre tent that attaches to the awning. I also selected a cube awning ensuite tent, that attaches to the back of the roof rack, I also selected a portable hot-water system, a gas bottle, a portable barbeque, and a portable toilet, and the chemicals needed for it, a large first aid kit, foldup camping table and two chairs, and a couple extra storage boxes.

Meanwhile, Jarrad bought some work trousers, workboots, and we both bought a wide-brim felt hat and king single swags. Once it was all paid for and loaded into the back of the now crowded back of the vehicle, we set off northwards, with Meekatharra as our first overnight stop. A bit over two and a half hours and 240 kilometres later, we arrived at the town of Wubin, where we refuelled the vehicle and had a meal break, while also unpacking everything that we had purchased earlier, to get rid of all the packing boxes that we had.

Once we had placed all the boxes into the large dumper bin around the back of the roadhouse, and had bought a twelve-pack of water bottles, we set off once more, with Mount Magnet as our next stop, which is 300 kilometres away, with Jarrad now taking over driving duties. It was almost 4 pm when we arrived in the small remote town, and after stretching our legs and topping up the fuel, with me driving, we continued northwards to Meekatharra, 195 kilometres away.

I had already booked a twin room at the local motel, so when we arrived in the late afternoon, we grabbed just what we needed for the overnight stay, checked in, and took turns showering and changing into some fresh clothes, before heading to the restaurant for some dinner. Once we were well-fed, we headed back to our room, and retired early to bed, as we still had another long day ahead of us, with the latter stages of the trip will be gravel roads.

During dinner, we discussed the following day’s journey, which Jarrad would do the first shift to Newman, which would take us about 4.5 hours. From there, we would have three hours of driving to the station, which would be mainly gravel, with the first 60 kilometres being bitumen on the Marble Bar Road, before turning East. We would be on that gravel road for 76 kilometres before turning north for the final 45 kilometres.

Leaving Meekatharra at 6 am, we grabbed some breakfast at the roadhouse on the way, as well as some sandwiches and fruit to eat on the way as we wanted to get to the station as early as possible, and we arrived in Newman shortly after 10 am, since Jarrad sat just over the speed limit the whole distance of the open highway.

After refuelling, we went to the supermarket, where we picked up some more bottled water, some fruit juice, some more fruit, and biscuits, and the deli section had some ready-made sandwiches, which we bought two rounds each for our lunch. Once the food and drinks were loaded into the fridge, and after making a quick call to the station, to let them know that we were leaving Newman, we set off once more, with me now driving, and I set the UHF radio to channel 38, which I was informed is the channel for the station.

The Marble Bar Road was bitumen, so it was easy driving for the first half an hour, but when we turned east onto gravel, we found that I had to slow down because of the bad corrugations in the road. Nearly twenty kilometres down the road, we came across our first challenge, a creek crossing that looked to be about forty metres wide, and there was a little bit of water, with most of the river being sandy.

After lowering the air pressure of all four tyres, and putting the vehicle into 4-wheel drive, we began the crossing, which was a little easier than I expected, and we kept the tyre pressure the same, as I knew there were more crossings to come, we continued onwards with the next crossing just two kilometres away, and this one had a bit more water in it, but the crossing was not a problem.