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Ayers Rock Sept 1950

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11 years 10 months ago #81706 by ronhorse

Not sure if this belongs on this forum but thought I would stick it in anyway
This is loading supplies from the Ghan, me on the truck, for the Knox Grammar School expedition to Ayers Rock. This was Ossie Andrew's '38 Ford truck, he owned Curtin Springs cattle station and we hired him and his truck to carry most of their gear, students watching as they had never seen manual labour up close!
The school had been studying and organising this trip for many months getting permit's for setting up a radio station and getting permission to enter an Aboriginal reserve which was hard to get from the Native Affairs Dept, ( this is not to be cofused with native affairs that ringers had on outback stations, though a step up from a calf's nostril I suppose) A lot of hours went into every detail, bit like Bourke and Wills!
They had considered using camel's as there were no roads but on speaking to Len Tuit he said "no worries, I've got the right gear to get you all out there, (he lied) All he had was a 1938 Reo side loader coach and a 2 wheel drive blitz, when they got off the train at the Finke River station and saw our daggy vehicles I think they were too exited to notice ::)

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11 years 10 months ago #81707 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

Noted explorer Charles Mountford, back to camera, came with us as he knew all the Aboriginee history and language, dog scalps on the bumper, so we set off for the Rock, it was a big event at the time, made all the newspapers even in 'merica and England. Mountford set up signals from the Rock to bring in blacks from the bush who in one of the caves put on a song and dance act for us, they sat in a circle around a fire beating a stick on the ground and chanting songs, like, Don't take your guns to town son, They were all naked and took a leak onto the red dirt to make markings on their body, I noticed when some were standing aroung they would tug on their dick's like a regular person would tug on an earlobe, made me realize why our arms had evolved to the length they are. :-[

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11 years 10 months ago #81708 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

Getting there was half the fun, never made it without the kids helping ;D

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11 years 10 months ago #81709 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

I was following looking desperately for some way to help ;)

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11 years 10 months ago #81710 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

Here I was being pulled across in the blitz, for a bit of humour thought of putting it in neutral but though I would get busted :-[

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11 years 10 months ago #81711 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950
One day I took several students and a couple of blacks out in the sticks where they could show them their hunting skill's, throwing spears etc, they showed them how to use a woomera spears, to give the spear leverage, as a digging tool, weapon, changing tyres. At lunchtime I gave them some flour, (plower) and they made a damper, rolling it into dough, flattening it out, smoothing ash out placing it on them and covering with more hot ash, came out ash cocered and brown, broke it up and ate it, being 16 and a know-it-all I thought I would make one also, came out black as a dogs guts and milky inside!! :-[
Kurt Johannsen had taken a party named Foy, owned a store in Adelaide, in the 1930's, on top they had left a coffee jar with about 7-8 names in it including a dog print, by my right ankle

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11 years 10 months ago #81712 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

anything above the reasoning of a mongrel dog is a waste of time

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11 years 10 months ago #81713 by BK
Replied by BK on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950
Great pics and story Ron, a 2 wheel drive blitz is a bit like an ashtray on a motorbike.

Trust me

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11 years 10 months ago #81714 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

Thanks BK, good analogy of the ashtray!
We eventually got back to Alice and they all flew home to tell of their great adventures, imbelished I'm sure! About a month later I was given the job of taking a party out to the Rock, I picked up the passenger list at the office and they were all listed as Miss, thought that would be interesting, got around to Underdowns Hotel and they all walked out, 7 retired lady schoolteachers!! Len's wife Pearl came with me to do the cooking etc for them, I towed a jeep trailer with supplies. The Bedford had blitz wheels on the bck, 900x16 as the bolt patern was the same and helped through the sand, we were gone about 2 weeks, no contact with anybody, bit risky when I think back, don't know why one of the older drivers didn't take it. It was very difficult to get permission to go on the reserve and I know for certain Len did not get it, perhaps that's why he sent me and his wife being expendable!! they were all good sports and we would sit around the campfire singing old songs, all climbed to the top of the rock, ladies all wore skirts in those days and had to sit going backwards up the steep parts, I followed up behind them to be of assistance, fortunately they all wore underwear so being a young lad I was not traumatised by sights foreign to me. I rigged up a shower for them consisting of a 4 gallon kero tin full of nail holes at the bottom, filled it up at maggie Springs where we camped and threw a rope over a branch and pulled it up like we did with the Knox mob, I offered to hold the rope but they said they could handle it. We were very lucky we had no problems on the trip with no communication to anywhere, camped at Bob buck's place on the way back, sat up half the night talking, interesting man, involved with Lassiter.

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11 years 10 months ago #81715 by ronhorse
Replied by ronhorse on topic Re: Ayers Rock Sept 1950

Ossie Andrew and his beloved Ford ute, we became good mates later on. The Andrew family were great pioneers, left Pt Lincoln when the father Abraham heard of land for lease in the NT, left town with two trailers hauled by many donkeys, kids educated n the way, worked building wells and cattle yards for stations, rough life especially for the women, eventually leased a peice of land 60 mile by 20 mile, Old Abe wanted to name it Stalin Springs as he was a bit to the left but being wartime decided on Curtin Springs after the Australian Prime minister. Like most bushmen they were very clever and hardworking but lacked bussiness experience, kindest people and help anyone out, salt of the earth but lived day to day and eventually lost the place to the lenders, one of their family sent me a book on the Andrew family called"red dust in my shoes" unbelievable hardships but always kept their sense of humour, it was a privaledge knowing them
.

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