After working on the reconstruction of Darwin which was devastated by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974, I decided I needed a break in January 1978.
I travelled to Melbourne, (2,300 miles to the south), with my partner Ann. Not adjusting well to life in the big smoke, I decided to buy an old horse drawn milk cart and build a wagonette. With this job done in five months, we purchased a horse from one of the last dairies in Melbourne that still used horses to deliver milk.
We named him ‘Strider’ and headed off with my kelpie dog, Yoben for the adventure of a lifetime. Three thousand miles by road to get back to Darwin. No timetables, little money and not a lot of experience. I was prepared to find jobs en route to finance the travels. This proved quite easy, as our presence created interest and a willingness to help by locals as we traversed their communities.
It took us three days to get out of the city suburbs and into the country we loved. I recall the first night. We pulled onto a vacant suburban house block to make camp. You can imagine the nearby residents peering through gaps in their curtained windows, wondering what those ‘gypsies’ were up to?
After four months Ann took ill. We thought it was German Measles. Ann left me to return to her Mum’s in Adelaide. It was later evident that she was pregnant with our only child, daughter Sky.
With my faithful mate, Yoben, I headed north. Jobs were undertaken to feed the team and build a nest egg to continue. I worked in a foundry, labouring jobs at a piggery, on road construction, as a roof painter and other diverse tasks. Nothing was rejected. The funds enabled us to continue on our merry way, free of landlords, bosses and timetables. At times, if there was a fork in the road, I allowed the horse to decide which direction to take!
We averaged 14 miles a day. Strider trotted out for a mile as we set off, but soon settled to a walk for a leisurely day’s travel. I was travelling country I wasn’t too familiar with or had never seen before. I relied on locals directions or what felt good. We needed to access water regularly. Sometimes we would only cover a couple of miles. If we came across a water source, river, creek or billabong too nice to go past we would make camp. Water was our main concern. Too heavy to carry more than three days supply. Strider required 10 gallons a day for drinking and washing down after a day’s work.
Strider loved his work and often fell asleep as he walked along quiet rural roads or tracks. Yoben and I would walk also, enjoying the landscape, fauna and flora. Strider responded to verbal commands, (mostly), so I wasn’t required to hold the reins continually.
One day I won’t forget was in the Murrumbidgee region of New South Wales. Very flat irrigation region, virtually treeless environment, given to cropping. We were on a very quiet country lane. I hadn’t seen a vehicle for two days. I needed to answer the call of nature, and spotted a tree which would offer shade. I watched as Strider walked along, obviously dozing as he did so. I then realised there was a rock the size of a grapefruit ahead in the path the nearside wheels were taking. You guessed it! Me with jeans around my ankles, the wagon 50 yards ahead of me, when it had to happen. The front wheel struck the rock, shook the shafts and woke Strider, who immediately broke into a trot!
With a barking, leaping and excited Yoben, I hitched my jeans up and took off in chase screaming, “Whoa Strideer” repeatedly with little result. It took a mile for him to settle and me to catch up, quite breathless. I can still see the episode so clearly, 31 years later. Very funny, would have won Funny Home videos hands down!
There were lots of laughs, but at the same time some desperate situations to deal with. The sun didn’t shine every day. Wet conditions provided some miserable days. Living by campfire was fantastic, sheltering from continual rain was at times demoralising. It meant being enclosed in the confines of the wagon which was virtually a mattress and tools & food storage. I carried a rifle and rabbit traps to suppliment our food source.
We obtained three Bantam fowls, and a rooster to keep them happy. They roosted in a cage I made above the rear axle, and were allowed to free range when we made camp. The egg supply was constant and they also loved their life. Of an evening Salt, Pepper, Bitch & Roadie would return to their cage to roost. I locked them in and fed them. Roadie would start crowing at dawn about 18 inches below my sleeping head. Try that for an alarm clock!
I spoke at small rural schools and some wonderful memories relate to those occasions. Kids who bussed to these small one room country schools would spread the word that they saw a ‘swaggie’ on the road near their farm. Other kids living in other directions would be all ears, as those that saw us for a couple of days related our progress towards their school The teacher would usually investigate and ask if I would share with the school my experiences.
The animals were offered ‘treats’, I received home cooked delights and gifts from the kids, including drawings of our presence in their community. Little schools with names like Ma Ma Creek and Banana were memoralbe. Banana was named after a bullock that drowned in a dam on the outskirts of the town in the days when bullock drays were the only means of transport to the region.
Strider went lame after an incident in a severe thunderstorm one night at Gatton. Sky was born in Adelaide. I bought a mare who proved not suitable to the job, having been in the paddock for too many years. I ended up trading both these horses for the best horse of all time ~ Luke. A fine, 18 hands, Clydesdale/ standard bred cross, black gelding with white blaze and socks. Luke had the most fantastic looks and temperament. He was my joy for a further 18 months. I rode him bareback, worked him snigging logs, but above all he worked at ease anywhere I wanted him to go in harness. I had to shoe him once after spelling for a few months. His hooves were quite overgrown and needed trimming. Being the size of dinner plates, his hooves would take a lot of manual work with hand rasps and paring tools. I decided to try a 9 inch electric angle grinder. He stood like a statue and the only reason I had to stop was because of the smell………phew
The journey ended in Central Queensland after meandering more than 2,500 miles of varied countryside. I would have walked most of it with my dogs. I was given different pups after I lost Yoben to a strychnine bait dropped by aircraft to control wild pigs. One of the saddest days of my life. (RIP ol’ mate). My bantams had been killed by wild dogs. My spirit had flagged. I was dropped off from work one evening, at my camp beside a billabong on the outskirts of Dysart. It was dark, I climbed into the wagon and found everything of value stolen. My greatest loss was my journals. Over two years of notes, maps. newspaper articles, photos and memorabilia of the trip gone! I was nightblind with retinitis pigmentosa throughout this adventure and could do nothing until daylight.
To cut a long story short, after more than two years of living this lifestyle, I decided that I would ‘call it quits’. I gave the wagon to a local farmer who was involved in the Lions Club. He wanted it to conduct hayrides at fundraisers. As a condition he bought Luke and the harness. They had a good home and I moved on. I met a lady and drove back to Darwin with her in 1982.
Many, many wonderful memories over those years. I hope I have painted some small mind sketches of the experience. I have only a few photos at hand to remind me of those very different times.
Rainbows and smiles,
Dave
Bantams ~ small breed of colourful laying chickens
Billabong ~ a water hole isolated from a main stream
Dray ~ a large bullock or horse drawn freight wagon
Call it quits ~ cease what one is doing
Kelpie ~ a sheepdog, usually liver coloured with yellow eyes wonderful, intelligent working dogs
Snigging logs ~ pulling logs with harness & chains
Swaggie ~ an itinerant hobo as in the depression years