Desert Air - 27. DA Ch 27 - Newman

“Awesome, no more school after December,” Rhodes said excitedly, and we all chuckled at his happiness, and I gave him a soft push to the side, then I ruffled his hair. “You will have to remember that if this does go ahead, then Jexon will be the boss at Limestone,” Dad said to Rhodes, “That is not a problem, I am happy to follow his lead,” Rhodes replied smiling.

“When I get back from Newman tomorrow, you can join Dad and Me as we are flying to Limestone after lunch tomorrow,” I said to my brother, “Ok, can I come with you to Newman?’ Rhodes asked and I looked at Dad for his approval before saying yes, and that we would be leaving at 7 am.

I sent and email back to the Vet clinic in Newman, informing them that I would be coming over to Newman in the morning, and asked if it would be ok if I call in to check out the facilities, and because of the lateness of the email, I was not expecting a response before we arrive there.

Mum and Joyce were already up when Rhode and I entered the dining area of the house shortly after 6 am, and we had a simple breakfast of cereal, tea and toast, and by 6.45 we were at the Corunna Downs airfield, and I was doing the outside checks, while Rhodes stayed in the vehicle where it was warm, until I was ready to get started.

Rhodes was thrilled when I said that he could take the co-pilot seat, but he was not to touch anything and to keep his feet off the pedals. Once I had completed my instrument checks, I radioed Port Hedland to give them my flight plan, from Corunna Downs to Newman airport, before we took off and headed south for Newman.

“Wow what a way to see the area at this time of the morning, it looks so different at this time of the day,” Rhodes commented, “Yes, it is pretty awesome, eh,” I replied. It took us one hour and 25 minutes to get to Newman, about an hour faster than if we had taken the biplane, which I was planning to take to Limestone Station later in the day, then suddenly I remembered that today is Good Friday, which meant that the Vet clinic would most likely be closed all weekend, as I swore to myself for being so forgetful.

I pondered about just heading for Limestone Station, but decided that it was a nice day to go flying so I would continue on. When we landed at Newman, just behind a commercial flight from Perth, I was glad to see that the Car Hire shop was open, and I was able to hire a vehicle for a few hours.

With a map of the town, I located the street where the Vet clinic is located, and we began the 11 kilometre drive into town. When we arrived there was a car parked in the car park and a lady pacing back and forth, “Oh, oh, this could be a problem,” I commented, as I entered the car park.

“Are you the vet, my dog has been bitten by a snake,” the lady said anxiously, “No sorry, but I do have some experience, maybe I can assist, did you call the vet, and did they say they are coming in?” I asked, “Yes I did, but she seems to be taking a long time,” the lady responded, and I followed her to her car, just as another car entered the car park and screeched to a halt.

“Sorry Mrs Higgins, I couldn’t get the car started. Are you Jexon Kendrik?” the new arrival said first to the anxious lady then to me, “I am he,” I replied, “Good, you can assist me, I can’t seem to get in contact with my staff, Jessica Harris is my name,” the new arrival said, and I picked up the dog from the back of the car and followed the vet inside.

“Who is the young man with you?’ Jessica asked, “My younger brother, Rhodes,” I replied, “Rhodes, would you mind keeping Mrs Higgins company in the waiting room, maybe get a cup of tea or coffee for her, the kitchen is first door on the left, we will be out soon, to let you k now how we are going,” Jessica said as I followed her down the hallway to the last door on the right, which is a treatment room.

“Get an IV pack from the fridge, while I weigh the dog and get the anti venom,” Jessica instructed, as I placed the dog on the treatment bench. Soon we had the dog attached to and IV line and Jessica injected the anti venom into its vein.

“That is all we can do for now, but wait and see if we caught it in time,” Jessica stated, and I nodded my head in agreement, having treated a few snake bitten dogs at the university’s vet hospital over the past year and a half.

“Dr Jessica Harris, Vet Practice owner, nice to meet you Jexon,” she said sticking her hand out to me, and I shook it smiling. “Nice to meet you Dr Harris, I am Mr Jexon Kendrik, soon to be DVSc and MSc,” I replied. “Master of Science; What in?” Jessica asked.

“Zoology, I have a interest in Australian reptiles and marsupials,” I replied, “I see, well we have plenty of snakes around, and the occasional lizards, but not much in the way of marsupials,” Jessica stated, as we exited the treatment room and made our way to the reception area.

“Mrs Higgins, your dog is ok at the moment, we have given her some anti venom and put her on a drip to counter act the snake bite, but it will be a few hours before we know if he has responded to the treatment, can I suggest that you come back this afternoon, at about 2 pm, and we will have a better idea of his condition by then,” Jessica said to the lady.

Once Mrs Higgins has left, Jessica gave me a detailed tour of her clinic, which has two treatment rooms, a medicine supply store between the treatment rooms, plus a staff room, two bathrooms and a small kitchen, plus a small office.

Jessica informed me that she had a full time vet up until two weeks ago, and he just up and left to return to the city, leaving her to do most of the work on her own with just two part time vet nurses to assist her. “Did you drive here from your home station this morning, Hillside Station isn’t it?” Jessica asked.

“No we sold that station, and we have partnered with our neighbours at Corunna Downs Station and we also own and run the Airbase museum, that you may have read or heard about, and we flew down here, as I have a commercial pilots licence, and the family owns a Twin Otter aircraft,” I replied.

“Now that could become very handy, are you planning to use your aircraft for work as well?” Jessica asked me, “Yes I am, I am in the process of building an aircraft hanger at Marble Bar airport, where I want to set up my practice there as well,” I replied, “So are you looking at this offer of mine as a short term thing?” she asked me sounding a little disappointed.

“Not at all, I was thinking being a flying vet to compliment your practice and mine, I have a good friend who qualified a year ahead of me, and after a disastrous six months Carnarvon, he is at home on his family farm, until a better offer comes up, and he is keen to join me up here in the Pilbara,” I replied.

“I see, well maybe he can fill in for me, until you are qualified, give me his contact details and I will arrange a video link interview with him,” Jessica said. “That would be great if you can, he absolutely hates being stuck on the family farm, which is between Geraldton and Kalbarri, his name is Marcus Sanderson,” I replied.

After saying goodbye to Jessica, leaving her to monitor the snake bite dog, we has a bit of a drive around the town, which was fairly quiet, with it being Good Friday, and we headed back to the airport, to check in the vehicle and head back towards home.

With just ten minutes before arriving at the CD – Corunna Downs runway, Rhodes convinced me to go to Marble Bar to check out Limestone Station, which at the moment, has one station hand, Jake Smithton, who is caretaking the station, keeping an eye on the water points, and keeping everything running, until Dad and Hedley get a bit more organised.

After circling the homestead, we approached the airfield from the south, and made a perfect landing on the fairly rough runway, which looks like it hasn’t been graded in a while, and I stopped just 50 metres short of the gate that leads into the homestead paddock.

As I shut off the engines, I saw a vehicle approaching, and I nodded to Rhodes that he can open the door, and lower the steps, as I followed him out, and the temperature had risen quite a bit since leaving Newman, and pulled my wide brim hat more firmly onto my head, and raised the collars to protect my neck.

“Hello, who are you?” the station hand asked us cautiously, “Your employer, my name is Jexon Kendrik, and this is my younger brother Rhodes. You must be Jake Smithton,” I replied. “That’s right, I was told you were coming after lunch today, at about 2 pm,” the station hand said.

“That was the plan, but we just flew in from Newman, thought we would pop in a little earlier. My father, Flint Kendrik will be coming over a little later, as you said,” I announced. “I guess that is ok then, jump into the Ute and I will give you a look around the homestead paddock,” Jakes said to us.

Once in the vehicle we passed over the cattle grid, and passed a small cottage on the left. “That is where I stay, the main homestead is the building dead ahead, and the old cottage is just to the left of it. Both of them are registered as historically important buildings.

The small building you see on the right of the homestead is the staff dining room and there is a small kitchen there too, so we can get snacks when we want. Another building on the other side of the homestead, in the guest cabin, just one bedroom, lounge, bathroom and small kitchenette.

There is a machinery shed and maintenance workshop just beyond that and on the left you can see two transportable cabins, which are used to accommodate extra staff during mustering time,” Jake said as he came to a stop just past the historical cottage, and we looked around us, before climbing out.

“We also just passed some yards, and amongst the trees is a two staff stables and tack room, which haven’t been used for decades, and are just used for storage space these days,” Jake said pointing to the stock yards close by.

“Can you ride horses?” I asked,” “Yep, I learnt to ride from the age of ten, and I was a stable hand at some racing stables, just south of Perth for a few years, which is hard work too, Jake commented, “So you would be happy if I bought a couple of stock horses to ride occasionally?” I asked, “Yes sir, I would be riding them every day if I am given the time of day to do it,” Jake replied happily.

“There are some cattle yards close by I believe, can you take us there?” I asked, “Sure thing boss, jump in again and we will be there in a jiffy,” Jake replied, and a few minutes later we arrived at the cattle yards on the left side of the driveway.

As I had a look around the yards we could here the rumble of large trucks passing nearby on the highway, “How far is the airport?” I asked, “Just on the other side of the highway, about 300 metres approximately,” Jake replied. “Really? That close? Does aircraft traffic frighten the cattle?’ I asked, “No, usually just the big trucks do,” Jake answered, and we climbed back into the Ute, and headed back to the homestead.

After thanking Jake for the tour, we climbed into the plane and we were soon in the air for the short trip back to Corunna Downs airfield, which took just over ten minutes. Once on the ground again, we tied down the aircraft, before driving back to the complex, just in time for morning tea.

“Your back already?” Mum said as we walked inside, where it is always nice and cool. “Yes, we happened to arrive at the Newman Vet clinic just in time to help with a dog with a snake bite, and after a chat and look around the clinic, we had a look around town before flying out, and we called into Limestone Station on the way home, and was given a tour of the homestead paddock and the cattle yards near the highway,” I replied.

“Did you get to have a look in the homestead?” Dad asked when he entered the room, “No, just around the outside, since we came unannounced, I thought we would leave that till later,” I replied. “Jake wasn’t rude to you was he?” Hedley asked as he followed behind Dad.

“No, just a little cautious at first, but he was calling me boss by the end of our visit,” I replied smiling, “That is good to know, since you will be the manager. What did you think of the place Rhodes?” Dad said to me and my brother. “Good, I am looking forward to starting work there at the end of the year,” my brother replied.