Travelling Vets - 17. TV Chapter 17

Less than a kilometre down the track, we saw signs, and we stopped, and taking the torches with us to see, we all climbed out to look around, mainly to find a place where we would set up camp. “Down here, there is a creek, with a little bit of water in it,” one of the boys called out. After a bit of a look around, we saw in the distance to the south of the site, a water tank, windmill and yards, so we drove down and had a look there, and after some discussion, we up camp for the night.

The following morning, Marcus and I were up early and we had a bit of a look around, taking the approximate 1.5-kilometre walk to the historical site, to have a good look around, and we took heaps of photos on our phones, not just of the historical site, but of the area in general. When we were near the bus on our way back, a motorbike approached from the south and stopped near the back of the trailer.

“Good morning and welcome to Neutral Junction Station,” the young man said to us. “Thank you, and we are sorry to intrude on your station like this, we saw the sign for the WW11 site, and we decided to have a look at it, but due to the lateness of our arrival, we decided to set up camp and check it out in the morning,” Marcus replied. “Are you guys the travelling veterinarians we have been hearing about?” the young man asked, and this made us both chuckle, “Yes, we are them, and we have my two wards who are also my cousins with us, we are based in Kununurra and are on our way home,” I replied.

“When I saw the bus, I called back to the homestead and told them that a big double-decker bus was parked at this waterpoint, and he said to let you know that he is on his way here to speak to you both. My name is Parker Hartley by the way” the young man said to us. “Nice to meet you, young man. I am Dr Marcus Sanderson, and this is my husband and business partner Dr Jexon Kendrik, Veterinarians and we too own a cattle station in the Pilbara region of WA,” Marcus responded, and I was pleased to see that he did not react at all when Marcus introduced me as his husband.

“How long until he arrives?” I asked, “It won’t be long, as I spotted the bus about twenty minutes ago and I went across the creek to check on something else while waiting, no more than ten minutes if he took the highway route,” Parker said to us. We invited him to join us for a morning cupper, which he accepted, and I went inside to prepare it, while Marcus set out the chairs and table that are stored in the lower section of the bus.

I returned with a tray, with the kettle of hot water, cups, tea, sugar and milk for six, in case there is more than one to arrive soon, and I heard the sound of an approaching vehicle as I stepped out of the bus and a man and a woman exited the Ute. “This is my boss, the station owner and his wife,” Parker said as they approached, and I smiled when I recognised them both.

“Well, hello there James and Kristy, it’s wonderful to see you both, we haven’t seen you since university, if I recall,” Marcus said and he wrapped them both in a hug, which made me laugh. “Hey, hands off my husband,” I said to them, which had everyone laughing, and I shook hands with our classmates from our university days, and invited them to take a sit.

“As soon as Parker said that there was a double-decker bus parked on the property, I knew right away who you were, as the grapevine in the pastoral community has spread like wildfire about you two, and I relayed this to James, who insisted that we come and say hello,” Kristy said to us. After a quick cuppa and a thankyou, Parker excused himself to continue work, and we continued to chat until the boys finally appeared from inside, and I introduced my cousins to my former uni classmates.

We were invited back to the station homestead, which is 40 kilometres to the south via the highway, or 25 kilometres via the station track, and we opted to take the highway, after accepting the invitation, following them back to the station, where they led the way past a total of six cottages on the left, and we turned right after passing the main homestead, and we were directed do a loop and to park down the side of a stand-alone double garage, where there is a newer house located.

Leaving the trailer attached, we parked about three metres from the garage, to allow plenty of shelter space for the outdoor area, once the awning is opened up, and like clockwork, we quickly set up camp once again, and Kristy appeared just as we had finished setting up the outside table and chairs.

“I doubt you will be needing those much while you are here, you are invited and I insist that you have all your meals with us,” Kristy said to us. “Thank you, we will be happy to do that, but this is also for the boys, as they have to continue with their education studies while we are on the road,” I responded. “That is fine, but we have our very own school here, with fifteen students, so your boys are welcome to join in with the classes, which go for three hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, six days a week,” Kristy informs me.

“That would be great thank you, the boys will enjoy that,” I replied, and I asked the boys to follow Kristy to get familiar with the schoolhouse, and while the boys are doing that, Marcus and I would talk to James. “We also have a 26-house community on the property called Amerre, which has a population of 58 and is just 1.5 kilometres north of here, that is why we have so many houses located here at the homestead, plus there is the community store that provides all the supplies needed.

The additional houses accommodate 2 nursing staff for the clinic, a teacher’s and teacher’s aid, and there is accommodation for other government agency staff when they visit, and there are a total of eight station staff, of which four of them live in the community,” James informed me, and after a bit of a chat, we accepted to join James for a tour of some of the station while he does a water check.

Returning to the homestead for a late lunch, the boys appeared and told us that the school was great, and has mostly indigenous students, except for them and two others. “By the way, while you were out, I had a visit from two of the community elders, and they are wanting to offer their services to paint your bus with an indigenous mural, and I said I would pass on the message when you returned,” Kristy informed me.

“Well, I think that is a great idea, but we would like to see a drawing of the mural on paper before any work begins on the bus,” I replied, “I will let them know, and they will be back in the morning to discuss it with you,” Kristy answered. Once I had given my approval of the mural design, paint was ordered, and would be delivered from Alice Springs two days later, and the mural would begin right away.

James suggested that we move into the homestead while the mural is been painted and that the trailer be disconnected, and the bus moved to a more open area, to make it more accessible, which we agreed to do, and the following day after moving some of our belongings into the two guest bedrooms in the homestead, I drove the bus to the southern side of the power station shed, which gave some shelter from the northern sun and winds.

Early each morning Marcus and I would walk over to the power shed to see the progress of the mural, which was starting to look stunning, and we were pleased that we had gone ahead with the offer, agreeing to pay for all of the paint and paint supplies needed to do the job. After two weeks, the job was completed, with the sides, front and rear of the bus, plus the whole trailer, painted in a stunning mural, and we were very happy with the result, and during this time, Marcus and I spent time with James, working on the station, doing stock checks, as well as doing health checks for the community animals, and station work dogs too.

With the mural completed, the bus and trailer returned to their first location for two further days, as we moved back into the bus, and during this time we planned where we would be heading next on our journey home. Our first stop would be the town of Tennant Creek, to get some more fuel and food supplies, plus empty our sewage tank, and top up our water supplies, and this took us two and a bit hours to reach there.

Our new paintwork seemed to attract a lot of attention, as tourists began to take photos of our bus, as we sat nearby watching them all getting excited about the unusual bus. “So are we going to continue north to Katherine, and across to WA on the Victoria Highway, or do you have an alternative direction?” Marcus asked me, and I thought about this for a while.

“I was wondering if we should go via the family stations on the Buntine Highway, via Top Springs & Kalkarindji, and on the Buchanan Highway with the turnoff to the Stuart Highway located just north of Dunmarra Roadhouse, which is just 355 kilometres north of here,” I replied. “I think we better ask the boys if they want to endure travelling on more gravel roads or not?” Marcus replied.

“Hmmm, you do have a good point there, I think we better stick to the sealed roads from here onwards, which means North to the town of Katherine, and west on the Victoria Highway,” I responded, “Good answer,” Marcus said to me smiling, which made me laugh.