Desert Air - 44. DA Ch 44 - Changes

I arrived back at the homestead just before noon, and there was no sign of Jake having arrived yet, so I relaxed and waited for him to arrive, which was less than twenty minutes later. I helped him to unload the supplies for the station before letting him get settled into the same cottage that he has lived in before, and I had lunch prepared by the time he arrived back in the homestead.

“So what would you like to do now that you are back?” I asked Jake, “Anything that you want me to do boss, but I have a few limitations due to partial damage to my left leg,” Jake replied smiling, “I see, well would you be happy to be my cook and groundsman for now? My clinic is open every afternoon, except Sundays, so I will be there at those times, and it is located near the airport,” I responded.

“Sure thing boss, it will be just great getting back to some kind of work, instead of staying with relatives in the city, the loud noises and smog are not to my liking,” Jake commented. “Yes, I know, after some time down their with my university studies, now as of the middle of next week, my brother Rhodes will be living here, and working as my station hand, so there will be the three of us living here,: I announced.

“Ok, so he isn’t going to do his final year at school?” Jake asked, “No, he wants to be home and working at Limestone for me,” I replied. After lunch I headed over to the clinic, and checked on all of the animals, before making a call too Jessica in Newman.

“Hi Jess, are you free to chat for a bit?” I asked when she answered the call, “Oh, Hi Jexon, no sorry not right now, I will give you a call when I have finished,” Jess replied, and we ended the call on that note, and I checked the website to see how many people had visited the website.

I made a call to a signage company in Port Hedland, and arranged for two large signs to be made, which I would get Dad to collect next week, when he drives into town and flies to Port Hedland in the twin otter plane, to collect my brother.

Next I called the shire council to ask about putting up two signs to promote my Veterinary clinic, and I emailed an application for them to be installed, after giving the measurements that the signs would be, and a verbal agreement was made to the application, with one sign to be placed on the road junction of Limestone Road and Marble Bar Road, and the second sign would be placed on the side wall of the Iron Clad Hotel, with the permission of the owners.

Later in the afternoon, Jess called me back, and we chatted for a while about her practice and mine, and we came to an agreement, to share the clinics to Tom Price and Paraburdoo, with Jess or Marcus doing the one at the start of the month, and I would do the one in the middle of the month.

After the phone call, I made a list of all the cattle stations, in a line north of Nullagine, within the shire of East Pilbara, which I was a little disappointed to see was just ten, including the two indigenous owned stations located north-west of Limestone, and not including Corunna Downs and Limestone Stations.

Once I had that list, I searched for email contact details for each of the stations, not including Corunna Downs and Limestone, and once I had them, I made up an introduction letter to send to those stations, to inform them of the veterinary services now available, with aerial transport for fast travel.

Once I had sent the emails, I closed down my office computer and headed home, and as soon as I walked into the homestead, I could smell a delicious dinner, “Wow, what smells so good,” I commented when I entered the kitchen and dining area. “Roast lamb and vegies,” Jake replied smiling, and he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and handed it to me.

After a delicious dinner, I helped with cleaning up, before settling down in the lounge to relax. “Just a few things to get you updated on what is happening in the near future…” I said starting the conversation, and I let him know of the plans for the area north of the homestead, where there is the ex mining lakes.

I also informed Jake that I wanted to update the stables area, so there is space for up to three horses, with a proper exercise area, so it would be best to relocate to a new area just north of the homestead area, where there is plenty of space.

Although there are no trees in that area, I plan to build a number of shade structures, for each horse yard, with misting sprays, so they can shelter from the sun, and there will be a narrow lane between each of the horse yards, where trees will be planted, that will eventually provide plenty of shade.

I managed to get into a routine of station work in the morning and vet work in the afternoon, usually starting at 6 am, with checking all the animal at the clinic, and when not doing water checks, I was beginning to dismantle the wrecked buildings north of the homestead, and placing them in a heap next to a part of the lake that will be eventually filled in.

On the Sunday morning after a sleep in, I checked on the animals, before I returned to the homestead to relax for the rest of the morning, and after another check of the animals, I drove down to the complex to have Sunday lunch with the parents.

Rhodes would be arriving home on the Thursday morning flight, so Mum and Dad would drive to town and fly to Port Hedland in the Twin Otter, taking with them a couple of eskies for the cold food that needed to stay cold, with some of the shopping being for Limestone, and the rest for the complex.

Late on Wednesday afternoon, Mike Bindi and family arrived to collect their dog and her pups, and I let him know that I had found homes for all of the pups, with Jake also wanting one. I asked Mike if he would be interested in being a stockman for me on Limestone station, and he immediately said yes.

“Would he need to stay where we are or do you have accommodation for our family?” Mike’s wife Sandy asked me, “If you are happy to move closer, you are most welcome to move into one of the station houses,” I replied smiling, and I invited them to come and have a look at what I have available.

After locking up the clinic, I lead the way down to the homestead, stopping outside the homestead, and I waited for Mike to park his family car, which had seen better days. I had two modern cottages that could be used, but they were only two bedrooms, which is a problem, as they have four young children, then I remembered the house nine kilometres up the road.

“These would probably not be suitable now that I think about it, since you have a large family, but I do have an alternative, if you can wait until the place has been renovated,” I said to Mike. “Where is it from here? Can we go and have a look?” Mike responded, “Sure, jump into your car and follow me, it is a bit over eight kilometres north of here, but closer than were you are at the moment,” I replied.

When we arrived in the area, I stopped outside the bigger of the two houses, which includes its own carport, and I lead the way to the house. “It needs a few repairs, and a lot of tidying up, which I already have on the list of things to do, and I am happy to modernise it a lot too, so your family will be comfortable,” I said to Mike as we entered the house.

I stayed near the door and let Mike and his family explore the four bedroom house, and when they returned to the front door, Sandy was smiling. “I love it, when can we move in?” she said to me, and I smiled to her.

Once I have had some work done on it, I won’t have my staff living in a hovel, so it will be in about a month hopefully, but Mike can start work as early as Monday if he likes?” I replied. “You got it… Boss, I will see you on Monday, what time do you start?” Mike said to me, “I start at 6 am, only because I have animals to feed first, so let’s make it 6.30 for you if that’s ok?” I replied.

Once Mike, Sandy and family had left, I headed back to the homestead, to let Jake know that I have employed Mike Bindi as a stockman. “He is a nice bloke, I have chatted to him from time to time, when I have seen him in town,” Jake said, which I was pleased to hear.

A phone call interrupted our discussion, as I answered it in the kitchen, “Hey mate, can we talk,” the familiar voice said when I answered, “Yes, sure mate, you sound a bit upset, how can I help,” I replied, recognising that Marcus didn’t sound too good, and over the next ten minutes he explained that as of the end of the month, he would no longer have a job with Jessica, as she had accepted an offer for the purchase of her business, by a well know veterinary group, who already had half a dozen veterinary clinics in the city and the Pilbara district.

I also learnt that Jessica was taking up a junior vet position at a vet practice in Broome, and that there was no offer of a position for Marcus. I knew of the company that has most of the veterinary practice in the Pilbara district, and I wasn’t too pleased about having to compete against them, and I asked Marcus to come and work for me, and he happily accepted.

After the phone call, I let Jake know that I was heading to the clinic to check on the animals, before heading to the clinic. After checking on the animals, I headed for my office and did a bit of research, and I stumbled across a website for veterinary practices for sale in Western Australia, and I was surprised to find one available in Kununurra, and I rang the practice, only to get an answering service, so I left a message for them to call me back.

Two days had passed since Marcus telephoned, and on the third day I arrived at the clinic to find Marcus waiting for me. “G’day mate, did you end your job early?” I said as I approached and shook his hand, “You could say that, I told her that I am not impressed with how she is treating me and told her I quit. I had already started packing, and so I headed to the flat, packed the rest of my gear and drove here, staying overnight at the caravan park,” Marcus said.

“Well, you could have just rang me, and you could have stayed at my place, which is just under a kilometre away from here, as our family own the cattle station that surrounds town,” I replied, as we headed inside and I led the way through to the centre of the building, where I turned on the airconitioner and lights to the building, before heading to my office.

“After your call the other day, I realised that I am against some very stiff competition with the new owners of the Newman Vet clinic, so I did a search of other Vet clinics for sale and came up with a little surprise. If they answer my enquiry, how would you like to join me in working at a practice in Kununurra?” I said to Marcus.

“Wow, up in the tropics, I don’t know if I can stand the heat and humidity up that way,” Marcus replied, “I just got to check on some animals I have in the back yard, I will be right back,” I said, as I headed out of the office, and as I approached the back door, I heard the phone ring, and I stopped to listen.

“Limestone Veterinary practice, Dr Marcus speaking,” I heard him say, and I smiled as I exited the building, to check on my two patients, who have recovered very well, and it was now time for them to return to the bush, as I picked them both up and carried them inside, and placed the lizard in a cage, while I carried the echidna, who didn’t mind me carrying it.

“I see, can you please send us some information of weekly patients numbers and types of patients, that sort of thing, I am sure that my boss would be very interested in buying the practice, but he needs that sort of information first, and he will get right back to you as soon as he has read what you have emailed him… yes, thankyou for your call, goodbye,” I heard Marcus say from outside the office, and I waited a few moments after he hung up the phone before I entered.

“First job for today is to release this little fella, and the frilled neck that I have in the other room, who does not like airconditioning,” I said to Marcus as I entered. “He seems to like you,” Marcus said, and I smiled.

“Yes, he has been a very well behaved patient,” I replied, as I placed the echidna on the floor and he walked over to check out Marcus and his shoes.