Chapter 5 Gunbarrel Highway Saturday 3 August Coolgardie To

Saturday 3rd August Coolgardie to Goanna Patch Approx 353kms

The rooster woke us again this morning but then some other noisy birds started squawking. Dean went outside with the camera and was surprised to find a large cage outside Room 1 with a pair of Princess Parrots inside. That takes the cake, travelling with your parrots because they would pine for you! There was no room in the back of the 4WD for any luggage.

We filled up our water tank with the revolting chlorinated water and got on the road again at 9.45am. The water was not considered revolting when it was piped up 557kms from Perth in 1903, in a very successful grand scheme initiated by C O’Connor. Now Dean was happy with the Oka we could continue our planned journey. We travelled back to Kalgoorlie where we refuelled noting the odometer was out by 10kms. Shopping for more jeans we found they had gone up by $12 in two days! Then we tried five different shops trying to get Dean a windcheater without a hood. No luck whatsoever. I wanted to put the one he was wearing fixing the Oka and covered in grease in the bin but I had to take it home and wash it. I washed it with ‘Richard’s Grease Stripper’ and I couldn’t believe it got all the grease out. He is still wearing it on the next car he is fixing, a Holden Commodore. Ughhh.

Finally heading north at 11.30am we continued along the familiar tracks of the Goldfields Highway and stopped for lunch at the old site of Comet Vale. There was nothing much to see of course but a few drums of old railway spikes and a pile of fishplates. We continued on through Menzies and Leonora yet again. A large mob of motor bike riders passed us going north to who knows where. Another hour or so later we tried to find a camp for the night, the light was fading and Deano had had enough. There was nothing on our map south of Leinster but we suddenly came upon a familiar place, Goanna Patch/Thunderbox. This was another historic place where drovers discovered enough gold to fill a powdered milk tin and didn’t return to the station with the sheep. But apparently the gold rush didn’t last long. We had lunch at this spot in 2010 on our way to the Canning Stock Route.

Dean cut some more wood and made a lovely campfire. Bringing back memories from the Caning Stock Route trip we then rang Sue and Phil Wild who had travelled with us. They were about to leave on a trip to Birdsville and Poeppel Corner and on to Emerald in Queensland and then to Cairns and Brisbane where they would meet up with relatives. We were surprised the mobile phone worked but we were fairly close to Leinster. Sue had been crook with a dreadful cold but was very excited to be getting away. Dean and Phil had a good long chat. Tea tonight was honey soy chicken stir fry followed by berry cheesecake. After a cuppa it was into bed. My book ‘Return to the High Country’ is a bit odd and quite different from the first, a bit too much overview and lovely dovey perfect, not normally the stuff written by blokes, and I can’t decide whether to finish it. (Actually I still haven’t).

One of Kalgoorlie’s Historic Buildings A biker mob going somewhere

Deano enjoying everything 2

Sunday 4th August Goanna Patch to Mingal Pool via Wiluna 272kms

As we were about 45kms south of Leinster there was a fair bit of traffic along the road overnight mainly trucks and 4WDs but we slept okay. We got away just after 8am and travelled steadily along the bitumen to Wiluna. The only significant place was the Mt Keith Mining site which appeared huge. Near here was Wanjarri Nature Reserve, once Wanjarri Station taken up by John Currie in 1920. He left it to his son in law Tom Moriarty who was more interested in bird watching and prospecting than raising sheep. When he retired he suggested to the Government that it should be a nature reserve. It was purchased in 1971 as one of the first pastoral leases in WA to become a nature reserve. There were a few wedge tailed eagles seen flying off from their gourmet meals of road kill. Bright purple flowers as well as bright yellow senna were also lining the road making it look more interesting.

We arrived at Wiluna at 1030am which boasts of being ‘The Gateway to the Canning Stock Route and the Gunbarrrel Highway’ and also the ‘Edge of the Desert’ and it is that. We checked out some of their notices boards and one of them was information on the Canning Stock Route and how Oka’s were not to travel on the sensitive area of the first five wells. This was what we were going to do but having lost a week or two in Coolgardie we decided to give it a miss this time. We met a young couple in a tray top camper who were travelling the Gunbarrel Highway too but we didn’t see them again until near the Warburton turnoff at the other end of it. Refuelling at the roadhouse we spoke to a fellow in a cattle truck who was going out to Wongawol Station on the Gunbarrel with a load of hay and supplies, and to take cattle mostly Red Angus, back somewhere south of Perth for fattening up before being sent to market. We left him filling his tanks so we could get ahead of him and keep out of his dust. We also found that our odometer was out about 8% which was not doing us any good with our daily mileage calculations.

Welcome to Wiluna and Monument to the last of the desert aborigines 3

Wiluna Police Station and Club Hotel

The road to the east of Wiluna, the beginning of the Gunbarrel Highway is actually the Wongawol Road or Wiluna Carnegie Road and is bitumen for about 10kms then a wide gravel road. It isn’t really the Gunbarrel Highway until Carnegie Station. We passed the turnoff to Granite Peak Station, Lorna Glen and Violet Station and Glen Ayle where we had to go in the Oka to Well 5 on our Canning Stock Route trip as we weren’t allowed on Cunya Station. A cattle truck was coming towards us with dust spewing out behind him decreasing visibility. Soon after, the road train driver we had just met at Wiluna came on the CB and said “Is that you Nigel, I can see your dust?” Nigel had come from Wongawol with a load of cattle and as the blokes stopped for a chat we didn’t have to worry about being too slow for the truck.

A cattle truck spews dust reducing visibility

As we travelled along the good road with the drone of the engine and non-changing countryside I was almost in the land of nod when Dean asked, where would we stop for lunch? I had to get my mind into gear and read the maps. I came up with Yelma Stockyard for lunch and Mingal Pool for our overnight camp, and both were good choices. Yelma Sation was apparently started in 1900 but is now part of Wongawol Station. By the road were substantial yards and a working windmill with an overflowing water tank. We enjoyed our usual salad sandwiches and a cuppa as well as a good break before continuing on at 1.30pm.

Yelma Station yards Banjo Creek

Interesting wildflowers

Cassia, and Dead Finish (wattle) that cattle eat as the last resort in times of drought

A little further along a salt pan was marked on the map but it now had water in it and it flowed into Banjo Creek. The scrub was the usual mulga and acacia scattered with a few eucalypts. Wongawol Creek was quite wide and sandy with pools to the left and right though the crossing was dry. Here there were more stock yards on the west side with a good looking camping spot on the east side. Several more dry water ways were crossed as we headed through the Princess Ranges. On the east side of the ranges we came upon Wongawol Station which is situated between a couple of major waterways flowing into Lake Carnegie to the south. Near the homestead there was evidence of the recent rainfall, perhaps the same as the deluge we had on the Anne Beadell Highway.

The road narrowed a little after Wongawol Station but was still pretty good as we then travelled through Charles Wells Creek, Wonabooline Creek and passed Scholl Bore. We noted some interesting purple plants we had not seen before and stopped for some photos but couldn’t identify them.

Further along, we came to Mobadoo Bore and yards near Scholl Creek. It was good to see there had been rain in the area. A Robinson Helicopter was flying rather low to the south so Dean gave him a big wave. I could see dust off in the distance and reckoned it was another cattle truck; Dean finally believed me when it came through the trees. Then at 3.15pm we arrived at Mingal Pool and stock camp. This is officially called Harry Johnson Water, a semi-permanent waterhole on Carnegie Station. We were not here to simply drive from one end to the other so we stopped at this very suitable campsite to enjoy the area. The waterhole was surrounded by beautiful red gums which were full of birds and walking around it I got a good photo of a galah. There were also some ringnecks parrots nesting, and honeyeaters flittering about like they do, as well as plumed pigeons and willie wagtails. I later spotted a young wedged tailed eagle in a dead tree across the road and I was able to get a few photos as he didn’t fly away.

Mingal Pool stock camp 6

Harry Johnson Water but nicknamed Mingal Pool

The old stock camp shelter with concrete floor and corrugated iron roof is still fairly solid. At one end is a very old unusable combustion stove with benches either side. In the middle of the shelter is a large table with bench seats. I suggest it hasn’t been used as a stock camp since horse droving days. There was a couple of wire framed bed bases concreted into the ground nearby as well. While we were setting up eight vehicles drove west, two Utes and six small old 4WDs, Suzuki’s I think, which were very battered mustering vehicles with roll bars. I should have taken a photo of one. Most of the guys waved or tooted. This explains the helicopter and the cattle truck spotted earlier, all heading off to muster cattle somewhere.

After positioning the Oka, then later moving it, Dean set up the fire and put water on to boil for showers, making the most of the opportunity. You never know when the next shower will be. Tea tonight was baked potatoes in the coals with garlic and chive pork steaks and salad. We washed it all down with a bottle of Yellowglen sparkling wine. We also had a vase of flowers and little tealight candles. Lighting from the Oka was enough as we didn’t have a portable light to put in the shelter. Something we hadn’t thought of, but as we said this is the shakedown trip to see what works and what doesn’t. We had dessert as well, gooey caramel pudding and custard. It was a very pleasant night, and after doing the few dishes and having a cup of tea we were in bed by 7.30pm and lights out at 8.30 after reading.

Juvenile Wedge Tailed Eagle and below Galah

Monday 5th August Mingal Pool to Geraldton Bore. 273kms

We were awake with the sunrise and the birds and after getting up we noticed three magpie geese flying off from the pool further around the bend. They were far too quick for photos. It was a lovely morning not cold at all and I was taking photos of the light on the pool and any birds I could find. We noticed the mustering vehicles returning in dribs and drabs and after our simple breakfast we got on the road at eightish. We travelled east towards Carnegie Station and the road was okay but we could see how slippery it had been.

Of interest along the way was an old valiant atop a mound of dirt some bored people must have put there. Some kangaroos were spotted on a clay pan and we passed a few bores by the road and at Leary Bore which is now powered by solar pumps, the local boys looked like they’d had drag races up the wide road and one vehicle had run into a road sign. We noticed a bustard bird on the side of the road and having the camera on my lap I managed a photo of it taking off. After we arrived at Carnegie Station we topped up the fuel tank with 60 litres of diesel at 2.70c per litre from the tank near the sheds. Parked by the sheds was a typical station vehicle, a battered old Land Cruiser with roll bars. We met John, around 30 years, who had spent six years in the army, and was here with his backpacker American girlfriend for eight weeks. He said he hadn’t seen any vehicles for four days. They supposedly have a few supplies but nothing was obvious. I later found they have a visitor centre but we didn’t venture close to the homestead. There were some lovely gum trees, fruit trees and a patch of green grass as well as a camping ground and some units for overnight stays. Once Dean got over the price of fuel we continued on our way where we noticed a large mobile cattle race on the back of another Land Cruiser.

Bustard bird or bush turkey flies off from the side of the road 10

Carnegie Station

The true Gunbarrel Highway begins

Following the road signs we turned right where the road deteriorated a little with speed reduced form 90kms/hr to 60kms/hr and where the true Gunbarrel Highway starts or actually finishes, as it was made from east to west. I doubt there is anywhere else in the world where you can travel 500kms without civilization. A little further along it became just a two wheeled track. It was wet in places and the track sometimes skirted the puddles. The road weaved through an area called the Keatland Hills which were sand dunes really. A large flock of budgies was seen and they are so noticeable with their bright green colouring in the light and are impossible to photograph. Grevillia, acacia, and heath myrtle lined the road.

At a spot called Mt Nossiter we drove the Oka part of the way up the steep track but walked the last as it was quite rocky and rough with a few holes. We don’t need any further mishaps. At the top we had good views over the surrounding countryside and there was a cairn by the mapping department from around the 1960s. The wooden post and corner slats were now broken but with our modern GPS I guess this is now out-dated. The posts were used for fixing points between hills, but I don’t know exactly how this works. Len Beadell used the stars for his astrofixes when he was surveying the roads as well as points from hills and the mapping department came along afterwards completing the survey of Central Australia. We were to see a few more of these before the end of the track. Using the ‘Outback Travellers Track Guide’ we had information that all these little places were coming up. 11

Mt Nossiter and below The outback football field

Mt William Lambert Quandong tree

Something a little different came up next. An old Ute canopy was on the side of the road with a few bits and pieces on the top such as a football and skeletons of animals. Painted on the side was W.A.C.A / M.C.G. This was beside a claypan currently a little grown over. Football teams from Wiluna in the west and Warburton in the east played matches here during the 1980s. There were two goal posts still standing and the oval was complete with a broken car. The aboriginal communities love their football and what’s more many of them are good at it.

Further along the track I noted some white snappy gums that we hadn’t seen many of. Various types of vegetation were still plentiful as we now were in the western end of the Gibson Desert. Mt Lambert was marked on the map but we took a track to nowhere for a few minutes before turning around and a little further along Mt William Lambert was fairly obvious and we drove to the top where there was a circled car park and another cairn was erected at top of the hill a short walk away. There was also an engraved plate placed by one of the original surveying party John Cole when he revisited in 1993. The hill was named after William Lambert a prominent public servant who was one of the pioneers of land valuation principles and practices in Australia. We had lunch here in the shade of the Oka while enjoying the never ending views of mulga. I noticed a tree here with small round green fruit that may have been a quandong tree. Along the track we noticed shells of cars from time to time but the Bedford Truck was rather unexpected. I guess this may have been used around the time of the football matches.

Coming to a crossroad, the road going north and south had been put in for oil exploration in the early 1980s. The northern end was called the Eagle Highway but the southern section which meets up with the Great Central Road near Tjukayirla Roadhouse, was renamed the David Carnegie Road in 1996. On this track near the southern end is the Empress Spring shown to him by the aborigines that saved Carnegie’s life. Marked on the map 17kms to the north was the abandoned Mungilla Outstation. Dean thought he would like to check it out but on arrival it didn’t appear to be abandoned at all. There were a few buildings and sheds and a caravan that may or may not have been used. Two trucks and two land cruisers that looked in working order were also parked here. There were also a couple of items on the clothes line. There were no people around but it had an eerie feeling to it so we hightailed back the way we had come.

To one side of the track closer to the Gunbarrel Highway was a carpet of purple/pink ground cover so I got out to have a look. They were tiny succulent type flowers spread over the clay ground which looked rather amazing. Reaching the Gunbarrel we turned east and drove over a hill into the Mangkilli Claypan National Park, surprisingly the actual claypan was half full of water and ducks could be seen paddling about. There were a few sections of wet road through here with some damaged from both rain and traffic. There were also lots of wildflowers and another stand of snappy gum trees.

Coming to two large truck tyres a sign stated this was the end of the Wiluna Shire. Oddly enough the road condition deteriorated and became more corrugated. Deano said “Now this is familiar”. It was slower going at around 30-40kms/hr. It was 3.15pm now and the light was diminishing already. At 3.20pm we came to the worst wet damaged section to date so Dean stopped and put the Oka into 4WD.

Carpet of wild flowers

Snappy Gums near the claypan, A rough section leads to corrugated Spinifex plains

Flame Grevillia and Hop bush

Pin cushion daisy

Long tails (Mulla mulla family) Cat tails

The track soon opened to broad Spinifex plains and not much further ahead at 3.45pm was our goal for the night, Geraldton Bore, visible by the stand of trees. This was a lovely site with a circle around a large fireplace between the trees and the working bore to one side. The bore was sunk by CRA exploration in April 1989 and the hand pump was installed by the DEC (Department of environment and conservation) and 4WD members in June 2007. Dean parked the Oka just so and as some wood had been left behind he decided to cut it up with his trusty chainsaw. But he frightened me to death when he walked around the side of the Oka and started it, not expecting it to start with the first pull. Dean made a smaller fire by the Oka and collected some water from the bore giving the zebra finches a drink at the same time. A large yellow wasp was pretty interested as well. The kettle was put on the fire for another shower.

We hadn’t seen another vehicle for two days so Dean just put up the tarp as a wind break and I proceeded to have a shower at the back of the Oka. I was just drying myself when bugger me dead another vehicle pulled up!! Deano got them to drive around the Oka so I could get dressed, then their mates pulled up. Dean directed them to the other side and said “That site is $5 a night and the other one is $10 a night”. I popped out with “And the Floor Show is $50!” They all laughed. While they set up their roof top tents Dean had a shower on the other side of the tarp. More water was put on the fire as it was plentiful and drinkable so everyone had showers. Steve and Melissa and Colin and Marie were from Perth and both had land cruisers and roof top tents but Steve said he wouldn’t rave about his.

Thirsty wasp 16

We had chicken sticks and salad for tea while Marie and Colin had pea and ham soup with a bread roll. Dean couldn’t believe they didn’t have another course, though I think Colin had a jellied fruit or something similar. The others were cooking something a bit more elaborate. I had made a walnut and carrot cake but as more water was put on for showers the coals were a bit hot. The cake took longer to cook than expected and ended up being burnt on the edges but it was cooked in the middle. Dean asked at one point if he was getting dessert tonight and I told him he would just have to wait. One course is not enough for him especially if we have salad. I cut off the edges of the cake and shared it around.

It is interesting the things you notice sometimes. These two couples had been camping together many times but the girls didn’t do their dishes together to save water like we did on the Canning Stock Route. It usually gets them done quicker too. They had all done the Cape York trip recently and they were not that impressed. We did that trip in 1979 and it is unlikely we would do it again because of all the changes. There are more roads and even a roadhouse on one of the once remote rivers. And you cannot drive across the Jardine River any more but have to pay to cross on a punt. It was great fun in 1979. Tomorrow these people were turning north along the Gary Highway which meets up with the Gary Junction Road. After chatting for a while we went off to bed.

Campsite Geraldton Bore

Sunset and the first of Len Beadell’s marked trees

Pea flower and unknown variety 18

Tuesday 6th August Geraldton Bore to Mangi Rockholes 172kms

After a better night’s sleep we awoke at 6.30am with the sunrise. There are no curtains on the Oka yet, though they are made. Dean got up first and gave me breakfast in bed which was lovely. It didn’t take long to pack up and we were on the road by 8am, leaving the others still packing up.

First we back tracked a couple of hundred metres to check out the Len Beadell Tree we missed last night as we were so busy looking ahead at the camp site on the opposite side of the road. Near the tree there were some lovely purple pea flowers and other white ones. While I was taking photos Dean let more air out of the tyres which was a good thing as the track was very corrugated. Just a few hundred metres from Geraldton Bore was the beginning of the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve, only the sign this end had been damaged by fire. The small section of the reserve that we travelled through was interesting as it was different from what we had been through so far and had different types of driving and vegetation over the day.

Western Australian section of the Gunbarrel Highway and the Nature Reserves

There were many more sections of water damaged road and in many areas we could see the road ahead straight as a Gunbarrel, one section in particular going between the two mountains ahead, Mt Gordon and Mt Everard. Using our strip map guide and Hema map and Westprint map and the GPS we were well guided and coming upon an abandoned trailer I found we had missed a plaque to Explorer David Carnegie. David Carnegie was the son of an English Earl and after failing to find his fortune in Coolgardie in 1894 he led expeditions into WA's uncharted interior in the search for pastoral lands. Then in 1896 he set off on a journey, to become the first man to complete an inland crossing of Western Australia from south to north. He left Coolgardie for Halls Creek with four companions, three Europeans and an Aborigine, eight pack camels and one riding camel. When the expedition returned 13 months later, they had travelled 4800 kilometres across some of the most inhospitable landscape known to man, including parts of the Gibson Desert and the Great Sandy Desert. Carnegie's account, ‘Spinifex and Sand’, gained him international recognition. In London, he was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's prestigious Gill medal. David Carnegie is not as well known in other parts of the country. The large Carnegie Lake and Carnegie Station are named after him. 19

Abandoned trailer Rough Road

Mt Gordon and Mt. Everard ahead

Plaque at Everard Junction Mt Everard

Our next stop was at Everard Junction where the Gary Highway heads north to the Gary Junction Road (where our fellow travellers were heading). The Garry Junction Road goes from just north of Alice Springs to the Gary Highway hence Gary Junction but the road from there is called Jenkins Track and continues west to Kunawarratji and on towards Marble Bar. At Everard Junction there is another Len Beadell plaque and a visitor’s book which I filled in. 20

With the absence of trees this plaque was placed atop a 44 gallon drum. Reading a few snippets in the visitor’s book I found that Len’s daughter Connie Sue had bought a party through here in June. She and her husband Mick run ‘Beadell Tours’ through different areas of the centre travelling many of Len’s roads.

Mt Everard was a little further ahead and we had no problem identifying it. We pulled up near the base and I walked a little way up the rocky incline for photos. To the north was the smaller Mt Gordon. From here the road weaved between the hills with Dean navigating the many rocks, washaways and side tracks. From Mt Everard the track went south east and countryside became much more desolate looking, though not devoid of vegetation. Various species of plants flourished and many varieties of wildflowers added much colour; white, yellow, pink, red, crimson and purples. Overall I have a large collection of photos to try to identify later. Once we were past the last of the washed out sections the road became very corrugated and we averaged 30- 40kms/hr. We did manage to find a shady tree to have morning tea under and polished off the remainder of last night’s carrot and walnut cake.

The rough road continued as we approached Mt Beadell, which was unmistakable. We noted a track up the side and Dean managed to get the Oka up the steep grade even though he was in the wrong gear, to the cheers of three fellows on motor bikes from Wonga Park in Melbourne on the plateau of the hill. At around 40 years of age they’d left their wives and kids at home for a three week trip. Their fourth mate fell off in deep sand near Docker River resulting in a fractured clavicle (collarbone) and concussion.

Of the people who stopped one was a nurse so she looked after him for a couple of hours while waiting for him to be airlifted by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A fuel truck driver took care of the bike for them. The boys were heading to Wiluna then up the Canning Stock Route over eight days (We did it in three weeks). Bikes can do it quicker but it is all about the journey not the road, though bikes cannot carry much in the way of food and water, as we watched them eat their muesli bars and lollies. We chatted for a while and then a Nissan Navara came up the other side of the hill.

Two varieties of tomato bush

Spider Grevillia The end of the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve

The two blokes in the Nissan had come from Jackie Junction where we were heading and had four bustard bird feathers taped to the corners of their Ute that they had collected from the site of a vehicle breakdown, where they suspected the locals had caught the bird, plucked it and cooked it. The fire and feathers were all that remained. These endangered birds are otherwise protected, but we had seen the same scenario in Halls Creek one year. As they were driving they were listening to the CD of Len’s book ‘Too Long in the Bush’ describing the making of this road which I thought was a good idea. I have read this book twice before, but you can’t remember it all, and I brought it with us.

Chatting with the boys from Wonga Park

A very short walk took us to the peak of the hill where there was another stone survey cairn and a memorial to Len Beadell. This was in the form of a replica theodolite, only it was enclosed in a wire cage and you could not photograph it properly. Larger mesh would have been helpful. 22

This mountain (along with Mt Nossiter and Mt William Lambert) was named by Bill Johnson a senior surveyor of the National Mapping Party in 1958 and the memorial was set up a year after Len’s death on 12th May 1996. It was erected through the combined efforts of four-wheel drive clubs from every Australian state and 163 people with 71 vehicles attended the memorial's unveiling ceremony. The view from the top was the same never ending mulga scrub and the road stretching east and west. It was warmer in the sun now and was quite pleasant.

Everyone else went on their way west and we continued east a few kilometres to a spot called Camp Beadell where Len and the boys must have camped at some stage while making the road. This was a little way off the road and had some lovely shady trees. Lynette Bore at this site put in by CRA mining had been capped. We had a break from the corrugations and had lunch of ham and pickle sandwiches. The road continued through the bleak looking countryside and also continued to be very corrugated with two or three side tracks, from people trying to avoid the corrugations but they were all the same.

Mt Beadell Theodolite memorial

They all go the same way and are all corrugated 23

Reading my notes, ahead there was a wrecked Citroen car. Dean a bloke, asked what sort, ie model. Me a sheila, said red and white with four doors (as seen in the photo in my guide book). When we came to it, it was a rusted shell from the fire that had swept through in the last year or two. Here the spinifex plains had been burnt with regrowth of various other plants and there were small clumps of spinifex as well as the blackened branches of the mulga trees.

Wrecked Citroen note the red bonnet Notable Hill

Young Desert Poplars Kapi Bore

Our next cairn was on Notable Hill, a rise above the surrounding area, again used during the mapping survey. From here the sandy road wound through the sand dunes and spinifex plains with more fire recovery noted and also young desert poplars shooting up. The sand was quieter than the corrugations. A herd of a dozen camels was seen near the road after we had seen many tracks in front of us. The sand finished abruptly and we were back to a rocky/clay surface with mulga scrub.

Kapi Bore was signposted where there was a camping area along with another marked Len B tree and a few other small trees. It was now 3pm but we continued to the junction of Heather Highway which heads south to the Great Central Road and Warburton. This road was built by the Hunt Oil Company (1960’s) and named after the daughter of the superintendant of Warburton at the time. We were now 720kms from Wiluna.

Kapi Bore and marked tree

Abandoned Gunbarrel Highway Mt Samuel

From here the old abandoned Gunbarrel Highway continued east and this was where we were heading. This section of the Gunbarrel traverses aboriginal land and is not travelled much. A special permit is needed which we had obtained from the Central Lands Council. So now we continued east where the track travelled through a very narrow section of road encroached by mulga and was a little eerie but then went through a rocky area and climbed gradually up Mt. Samuel. At Mt Samuel where there was another survey cairn. The mountain was higher than it looked as we viewed the vast mulga plains from the top. Here the couple we met briefly in Wiluna were camped but they had gone for a walk down the hill so we just waved to them. Not wishing to cramp their camp we continued on after taking our photos.

According to our map the Manji Rockholes were 2kms from the junction but they were in fact 12kms along an interesting track. This is where the GPS came in handy. Manji Rockholes were set in an expanse of rocky terrain. One hole was about three metres across while a smaller one was less than one metre. They both had water in them but you would only drink the water if you were suffering from severe dehydration like Len Beadell was on one of his reconnaissance trips.

Interesting cottonball plant, Emu bush and a rock fuchsia 26

The smaller one had a fair bit of green weed in it. We set up camp by some mulga trees and Dean got the campfire going. I had a cup of tea and tried to get this journal up to date. After a couple of beers Dean grumbled about not having any nibblies so I told him to get his own, which he actually managed to do while I continued writing.

Manji Rockhole

The smaller rockhole 27

Dean rang our brother in law Graham who was in Hervey Bay in QLD with their van and had an en-suite site at one of the caravan parks. Graham was skiting about football, his team Collingwood beat Ros’s (my sister) and my team Essendon. Our older sister Margaret and her husband Alan who also barrack for Essendon had actually gone to the game. He then went on to say that Dean’s team Hawthorn, on top of the ladder were beaten by someone, but couldn’t remember who and suggested it was Melbourne at the bottom of the ladder! My sister Ros, a member of the Phillip Island Garden Club had been to the Hervey Bay Botanical Gardens today and was most disappointed. I was able to skite that I had seen more wildflowers out here in the Gibson Desert than she had at the gardens. By the way, Hawthorn went on to win the grand final beating the Freemantle Dockers by 15 points in quite a good match. So skiting did Graham and Collingwood no good!

The cheese and bickies Dean made was followed by chicken and corn soup, sausages and hamburgers with salad, then fruit and jelly, four courses!! I continued to write while Dean did the dishes then made the cup of tea as well. He could hear dingos howling in the distance but we hadn’t seen any in this area. By 8.30pm I was all done with my journal and it was lights out.

Dean checks out tomorrow’s journey at our camp

Wednesday 7th August Manji Rockholes to Lake Christopher 257kms

As we are now heading back east the sun is up earlier each morning and today it was up at 6.15am. After breakfast, packing up and the engine check we were on the road at 7.50am. The strip map we had been using didn’t cover the old Gunbarrel Highway so I tried to make my own, which will only be useful if we do this again. This section of road was closed as the Great Central Road was built in a direct line south west between Giles and Warburton in 1977. Also the Heather Highway was made going south east to Warburton from the intersection reached yesterday.

We had an interesting drive today through different types of terrain. From the rock holes we followed along a 36km straight rocky ridge to Mt Charles though the condition of it changed at times. Near the beginning we passed a wrecked valiant. For 9kms of this section of track we were crawling through rough sections of washed out track, over rocks and through mulga woodlands encroaching the track. Then the track diverted for 5kms from the deep narrow washed away road and weaved through the scrub which was very slow going. The water was the runoff from the Todd Ranges, the peak of which was Mt. Charles that we couldn’t exactly pick. At the top of the ranges another track went south to Warburton reported to be in poor condition. The track we had just come along was in poor condition too but Dean would say not atrocious. You just have to be careful. We then reached a plateau where the track now continued for 47kms to Jackie Junction.

The plateau was sparsely vegetated and we soon came to the spot where the fellows in the Nissan had seen the broken down Ford Explorer and the bustard bird feathers. The Ford was not there so we presumed it was fixed but the remains of the fire were and the feathers were still scattered about. We collected a few feathers too and while Dean was pottering around he found what looked to be empty bags of renal dialysis fluid, very strange. Continuing on we appeared to descend a little from the plateau and came to a sandy track that weaved through more sand dunes where we were back to 35kms/hr.

A short section of road had large shady mulga trees so we stopped for a cup of tea and for a break from the noisy drive, which was worse over the corrugations. This was a good call as we then drove through a large burnt out area. We spotted a wrecked Nissan Patrol, G60 says Mr Encyclopaedia. (That’s what I was supposed to come out with about the Citroen). But with the fire having been through it was just a rusty shell. Leaving the sand and coming into clay the corrugations returned as we continued across the plateau arriving at the T intersection of Jackie Junction which was named after Len Beadell’s third child. Here the original signpost gave directions to Giles and Warburton in miles and there was another of Len’s aluminium plaques, only this one was original dated 1958.

Different sections of the old Gunbarrel highway

An old Valiant and G60 Nissan Patrol

Unknown wildflowers and Yellow everlastings

We turned left (north) where the road, still the Gunbarrel, was well formed and maintained as it headed to the aboriginal community of Patjarr. Dean changed into 2WD and rocked along at 80km/hr through the spinifex plains slowing down a few times as the road weaved through sand hills. Several old car wrecks were scattered along the 87km stretch to Mippultjarra Junction. It was getting warmer and I was getting drowsy along this section of road.

Reaching the intersection a road continued north west to Patjarr on the edge of the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve, while the Gunbarrel Highway went east where we turned and followed the sign to ‘water’ thinking it was Mippultjarra Rockhole. There was just a parking/picnic area and a shelter with rainwater tanks but the rockhole may well have been near here somewhere. Continuing on we passed Million Dollar Corner, where its significance is not known, then saw a herd of camels with several young ones. Dean pulled over to let a Land Cruiser full of locals pass and we travelled along a sandy track noting a flame grevillea forest and paddocks of heath myrtle in flower and yet again another lone camel. A beautiful stand of desert oak trees that we hadn’t seen along this part of the track greeted us and we stopped in their shade and had lunch. Just another 2kms further a good road went south, not on our map but on the GPS, to another community. The old Gunbarrel Highway continued east and narrowed and deteriorated somewhat.

Jackie Junction

Camels in the heath myrtle Lunch stop under a desert oak

Engaging 4WD we were back to 40kms/hr. The track now weaved through more sand hills and reminded us of the Canning Stock Route. There were open plains between the dunes at times. Another family of three camels was seen and the vegetation varied with desert oaks, desert poplars, grevillea and patches of heath myrtle. There were also several spots among these desert oak trees for camping. One section was rather eerie with fire damaged oak trees.

We missed the first Len Beadell tree that was marked on our map but found the second one. Birds flitted about here and Dean photographed a masked wood swallow while I spotted some budgies. Another 13kms further on there was another marked tree where we could see the Rawlinson Ranges in the distance. It was noted on the map that it was in this area that Alfred Gibson went missing while exploring with Ernest Giles in 1874. In poor condition Gibson was supposed to return to base camp with Giles’s horse after his own collapsed but he didn’t make it and was never seen again though the dead horse was found. Giles just made it back to camp on foot. I wouldn’t like to be in this area without food or water, even with an Oka. A different sight again was a swale between the dunes with small ant hills. 32

A section of anthills between the sand dunes

At 3.30pm we passed another good camp site among the desert oaks but neither of us committed to stopping, though both were ready to. Less than a kilometre later the road became rocky with not much in the way of trees to be seen near the Rawlinson Ranges ahead. Dean decided a U turn was called for and I hastily agreed. We set up a lovely camp under the trees and I am sad to say I didn’t photograph it. There was some wood here so Dean cut it up noting the beautiful colours and grains of the desert oak and we collected a couple of pieces for a friend’s dad who does woodwork, thinking it may make some lovely drink coasters. After Dean set up the fire I put corned silverside in the camp oven on the coals. While this was cooking we proceeded to unwind with a drink or two. Dean did the radio schedule noting on the map we were near Lake Christopher which was just to our north. Dean also informed Howard at the base that we were cooking silverside to which he had a chuckle.

A friend of ours, Paul Kibble told us to ‘Blog’ on the internet before we left home so he could follow us. We couldn’t even send emails let alone Blog! So Dean rang and said “Hi Paul, I’m on the Sat phone blogging you”. Paul was pretty chuffed and took a while to find us on the map but they had a good chat.

There was a pleasant sunset and I took a photo from the sand dune. We sat down to a lovely meal of corned silverside and mustard sauce, mashed potato, cabbage and carrots. All washed down with a bottle of Yellow Jewel sparkling wine. The only problem with this meal is there are too many dishes but it was worth it. I found some tiramisu in the fridge for desert. The weather was lovely and mild and we enjoyed a cup of tea before retiring to bed. 33

Thursday 8th August Lake Christopher to Surveyor Generals Corner 249kms

After sleeping well we got up and had spaghetti on toast for breakfast this morning. Even though Dean said we could have a later start we still left camp at 8.10am. There was an instant change in the terrain as noted last night to a rocky track with little vegetation due to a fire having swept through a while back. Dean stopped to move a small fallen burnt mulga tree from the track that he reckoned was knocked over by camels, as prints were scattered all around.

We head towards the Rawlinson Ranges after leaving camp

The Rawlinson Ranges that were pink in last night’s fading sun were blue this morning and photography was not ideal. This morning’s journey took us 70kms south east beside the Rawlinson Ranges to meet up with the Great Central Road and Giles Meteorological Station. Mt Forrest is the highest in the ranges at the western end and opposite another of Len B’s marked trees, a bloodwood this time. Though the photo doesn’t show the correct perspective. The vegetation changed from time to time with spinifex plains and burnt areas, mulga and occasional stands of eucalypts, which were scrubby multi trunked types. There are hundreds of species of Eucalypts and really there is not much chance recognising more than the main ones. Some of the noted ones are the leopard woods and bloodwoods, the snappy gum and white or ghost gums and river red gums lining the creek beds. Another couple not seen out here are the mountain ash and the snow gum which we saw recently (11th October) while on a weekend at Mt Hotham for friend Kevin’s 60th birthday, where it actually snowed. A total contrast to where we were now!

There were also large sections of desert oak trees with camping areas amongst some of them. After 22kms we noted a large section of road that had been washed away up to a metre deep and a few metres ahead a creek bed cut across the road. Then the road became very corrugated, travelling at around 30-35kms/hr. There were 21 creek crossings that I counted, mostly small and rocky, draining from the Rawlinson Ranges into the sands of the desert. 34

Other things of note along this section of track were mulga parrots, a brown falcon and a few small anthills, some even in the middle of the road. Various wildflowers were seen, large patches of a pink variety, purple tomato bush, the purple pea flowers, native fuchsias, desert cassia or senna which are very similar, as well as large patches of heath myrtle. There were also large areas of green mulla mulla.

Plaque on a bloodwood tree with Mt Forrest in the background. Washed out track

Stripe breasted brown falcon

Closer to the end of this section of the Gunbarrel we stopped at a strange little outstation a hundred metres or so off the track. There is a windmill with a new plastic tank holding water as well as an older unused iron one. There is a three roomed dwelling with a separate laundry and bathroom which had a donkey hot water heater, as well as the outback toilet. 35

Dean found something dated 1997 but it has long since been abandoned and the area was overgrown. We had morning tea here before getting back on the road.

Outstation

Before long we came to a confusing intersection but we were able to sort it out. The sign on the road we had just come from said “Road closed. Unsafe from this point”. There was also a sign pointing to Warburton so decided this was an older section of the Great Central Road. By the road there was a lovely specimen of Honeysuckle Grevillia. We continued onward where we joined up with the new Great Central Road which was built in 1977 linking Giles to Warburton in a direct route. It was a wide formed road and I read on my map a notation saying there were plans to make this an all-weather or sealed road linking the east and west coasts. I wonder what will happen to all the permits to travel through the area then.

Road Closed. Unsafe from this point 36

Pink Velleia Honeysuckle Grevillia

Great Central Road

Warakurna Roadhouse turn-off loomed after a further 16kms. The roadhouse was a little off the road and was opened in 1991. Established here first was the Giles Meteorological Station, after an aerial survey by Len Beadell and Doug Stoneham in December 1955. Working for the Weapons Research Establishment Len Beadell needed a ground survey to determine the shape of the earth so that missile tracking instruments could be placed in the right position. So began the road building enterprise in 1955 which started at Victory Downs near the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The meteorological station was needed to forecast weather conditions suitable for nuclear weapons testing at Emu and Maralinga. (Though testing was carried out in Emu in October 1953). Giles Meteorological Station was built in 1956 and was close to the centre-line of fire from the launch site of Woomera. Beadell firstly surveyed and built the airstrip and chose the name Giles for the weather station after the explorer Ernest Giles, the first white man to travel through the area.

The Warakurna Aboriginal Community was established nearby in the mid 70’s after both Docker River and Warburton became overcrowded and is managed by white Australians. The Ngaanyatjarra Land Council manages much of this area and is 37

where we need to get our permits. Many of the Traditional Owners experienced their first contact with white Australians in the late 1930’s with the establishment of the Warburton Mission while for others it was in the late 1950’s with the Native Patrol Officers working for the Weapons Research Establishment in Woomera, South Australia. The Giles Weather Station was established on an area excised from the ‘Reserve’ in 1956 for this purpose. Not sure which reserve as I don’t think these aboriginal reserves were established then but probably Warburton further south which was established as a mission in the 1930s. Docker River community, the closest was not established until the 1960s. This excision of Giles was handed over to the Ngaanyatjarra Council in 1991 who now sub-lease it back to the Commonwealth. Which sounds a bit strange to me. Surely the land is Australian!! The Ngaanyatjarra Council was officially incorporated in 1981 and covers about 600,000 square kilometres with diverse cultures, traditions and language groups. Warburton, Irrunytju, Warakurna, Jameson and Blackstone (further south) were the first members of the Council.

Warakurna Police Station

There is a police station opposite the roadhouse which looks lovely and neat, though no officers were seen. I was not able to take a photo of the roadhouse or the fuel pumps due to some of the locals being there. The fuel pumps are locked in solid cages and we filled one tank with 87litres of diesel at 2.30c /litre. The roadhouse also incorporates an art gallery for the local people. There are fairly limited supplies at the roadhouse and I wondered if there was another store, but the locals seemed to come here to purchase goods. There seemed to be more supplies available at Ilurlka on the Anne Beadell Highway which I think has less traffic and the community there is about 50kms further away.

Out the front of the roadhouse we met three families from Lismore in Land Rovers and camper trailers waiting for their cousin who is the manager here, to show them around the area. There were a few little kids between them. They had come here from Alice Springs along the Gary Junction Road and the Sandy Blight Road where we were heading in due course.

Leaving the roadhouse we called in at the Giles Meteorological Station where unfortunately there was a sign out telling us there were no tours today. But we were able to visit the little information room which had a fair bit of stuff in it and a couple of Len’s original cartoons. Wreckage from the first Blue Streak Missile which was launched from Woomera in June 1964 and found 50kms south east of Giles in 1980 is on display here so we had a potter around outside and had look at this. The other thing of interest here was Len Beadell's grader, which is estimated to have travelled over 30,000 kilometres in the course of making the roads for the National Geodic Survey. It was also towed to Giles for repairs after breaking down on the Gary Junction Road at 5kms/hr. It was retired in 1963 and was restored as part of the bicentennial project “Exercise Lennie’s Cat Cage” by the Australian Army who built a shed to display and protect it.

Part of Giles Meteorological Station including the visitor centre

Sunshine recorder Wet and Dry bulb thermometer 39

Len’s mural at the visitor centre and a photo of Len at work on the mural

Gunbarrel Road Construction Party Grader Blue Streak Rocket remains

After examining the displays we travelled back to the Great Central Road around 12.30pm and turned east. We soon spotted two more wrecks by the old road, a very old Viscount caravan and a Holden from different incidents. After traveling 26kms from Giles we turned south on the Giles Mulga Park Road which is the older section of the Gunbarrel Highway. The first section of the Gunbarrel Highway was from Victory Downs near the Stuart Highway in South Australia and extended across to the WA border before heading north. This afternoon we were following this road south venturing to the where the state borders meet at Surveyor Generals Corner, a distance of 148kms. The road was in good condition as again it services many aboriginal communities of the Ngaanyatjarra Council. We eventually found a suitable place to have lunch at 1.30pm under some shady trees in a cleared area opposite one of Len B’s marked trees. We enjoyed silverside and pickle sandwiches and a lovely cup of tea before continuing on.

We turn south to Wingellina Dean with a very wrecked Land Rover

We passed many old rusted Holden and Ford wrecks but when Deano spotted a Land Rover he had to stop for a look. He tried to put the rusted bits back together but had to give up. We passed through several land marks of hills and mountains as we drove along, and then turned left at an intersection. You think you are in the middle of nowhere but the roads dissect the land travelling to the remote communities dotted throughout the aboriginal lands. Knowing this we stopped to check on a stationary blue Mitsubishi with five aboriginal boys standing about and one was smoking. They were all okay and had stopped for a rest and were not broken down.

One of the boys asked for “Some water please Miss”. We were able to supply that, and then one asked Dean for some apples or oranges as they were hungry. I found this an interesting request but I had three large apples I could give them to share. Three between five means someone will get a whole apple and I noticed one boy trying to hide his! I guess they would not see too many out here and they would be like lollies to a little kid I reckon. The boys were from Jamieson Community and were going home after playing a football match against Wingellina community. Unfortunately they lost. It is fairly typical that they would not be organised for the 145km trip home with food and water. Dean talked to them about who they barracked for in Australian Rules football and one was happy to show Dean his Docker River Eagles jumper. (Docker River is another community. I interpreted combining West Coast Eagles with Freemantle Dockers). One of the lads didn’t seem to know what was going on, possibly a result of alcohol syndrome, petrol sniffing or just bad genes. While their vehicle had a number plate it didn’t really look road worthy and soon after another one passed by with no number plate and a very broken windscreen. We left them enjoying their apples and continued on our way.

It was not far from here to Surveyor Generals Corner but with no signs we used our GPS and then a bit of logic to find the actual spot 6kms from the ‘main’ road. Arriving at 3.30pm there were four other vehicles here parked over in the scrub. At the car park there was a picnic shelter with a table and bench seats and a water tank. There was also a fire place out the front. As we pulled up a couple of ladies were having a wash in different places. The one near the tank had her clothes on but the one in the bush didn’t. I called Dean back when he was going to talk to the bloke down there. 41

One fellow advised us there was a good camping spot a few hundred metres further away but we made ourselves at home next to the shelter. Dean was very quick to set up the fire, put the kettle on and set up the shower.

Surveyor Generals Corner markers

There was one survey post on the track out the front of the shelter and the track circled a tree a couple of hundred metres away where there was a second survey post. I walked down to have a look and photograph both posts while the kettle was boiling. As I am unable to put the explanation of the two marking posts into words I have used an excerpt from the Gunbarrel Highway Westprint Map as follows:

Permanent Markers were built on the Western Australian Border in 1922, one at Deakin on the transcontinental railway line (south) and another near Lake Argyle in the Kimberley. These were deemed to be on the 129th meridian and would be used to mark the border regardless of where any later survey might prove the exact position of the meridian to be. The border was surveyed in a true north south line extending from both markers. Surveyor Generals Corner was officially marked on June 4th 1968. The resultant survey shows the border running 1,211 kilometres from the Timor Sea to the western concrete marker at Surveyor Generals Corner then turning east for 127metres to the eastern concrete marker then south to the Great Australian Bight. So we see two corner posts with true north south lines running from two slightly different starting points which are 1,583 kilometres apart. The concrete posts are set up in a manner similar to the earliest survey markers seen throughout Australia. Underneath each marker at considerable depth there is a concrete slab which is the actual marker for the survey, as a backup. The most easterly monument common to all three jurisdictions was named Surveyor Generals Corner at the suggestion of the Director of National Mapping. The site is not named after a single Surveyor-General, because there were a number of them present.

The other people came to collect water from the tank from time to time and we had a chat. One woman was actually annoyed that we had camped here. But they could have just as easily all camped around the shelter with one vehicle on each side with a communal fire and table. We didn’t mind that they came to get water. 42

The track into Surveyor Generals Corner

Enjoying a cuppa by the campfire

The shower was lovely and I saved the used water and did a little bit of washing as it was warm enough for it to dry. Surprisingly there was phone reception here probably as Wingelina community is 10kms south of here, so I rang my daughter Kim. She sounded very happy as she was off to Samoa for 10 days with one of the orthopaedic surgeons to do some charity work on September the 11th. She also sounds like she will have a new job in orthopaedics at Williamstown Hospital where the speciality moved from Sunshine Hospital recently. Further to travel from home but late shifts only to 8pm and no ‘on call’. Tea tonight was lamb steaks and salad followed by crème caramel, sitting by Dean’s lovely fire.