Our First Walkabout by Harry and Paulene Foster

How we met, and our hitchhiking adventure from Sydney to Darwin to Perth in Australia in 1966

The setting for the beginning of this little story is Sydney, Australia, the day is Saturday February 12th, 1966 and the start of our hitchhiking trip to Darwin, which is 3,200 miles to the north-west. 

But first, a little information about the principal characters involved in this, shall we say, expedition and how it all came about. I was on a working holiday to see some of the world before settling down to the working life. Leaving Canada I went to Hawaii then the Fiji Islands, and then on to New Zealand. I had a through ticket to Sydney, Australia but had a day and a half stopover in Auckland. This day and a half stopover though, lasted just over five months.

My stay in New Zealand was a great highlight and a fortuitous place to start the adventure. The hospitality of the New Zealanders is something that has to be experienced to be believed. It is also a country of unequalled natural beauty. I soon got a job in a Hydraulics company in Auckland as a Fitter and Welder, and stayed happily working there for my time in New Zealand

It was one evening in New Zealand while talking to some newly acquired friends (this happens all the time) that I mentioned I might be soon moving on to Australia. One of them mentioned that if I was going to be staying in Sydney for any length of time I must go and stay at a place called Rotorua House in Bondi Junction (a suburb).  He said it was a sort of boarding come guest house with mixed accommodation (boys and girls) run by a young New Zealand couple. Most of the inhabitants were young and travelling. Naturally I filed this information away in the back of my mind. 

As it happened it was only a couple of weeks after this that I decided to move on, New Year's Day as a matter of fact. As I still had my ticket to Sydney I had just to make the necessary reservations and hop on the jet.  I arrived in Sydney at 11 a.m. January 1, 1966. While coming in for a landing after flying over the Tasman Sea I was looking down at the coastline with its many beaches and then at Sydney itself. I had an overwhelming feeling come over me that I would enjoy Sydney and Australia very, very much. I then took a limousine into downtown Sydney and left my bags with the Quantas Airlines people, grabbed a cab and headed for Bondi Junction.

When we arrived I asked the driver if he happened to know where this Rotorua House might be. He didn't. I then got out and wandered around and asked a few more people without success. Naturally I was feeling a little sad that I couldn't find this place. I sat down and thought well, I'll need accommodation any way and if I can find some here, all the better as it is near the world renowned Bondi Beach. 

Through a newspaper it wasn't long before I found a room in another boarding house. Even though it wasn't exactly what I wanted it would suffice until I got my bearings. 

I was only there two days when while walking down to Bondi Beach I struck up a conversation with a girl (very pretty) and would you believe, she had a number of friends who lived at Rotorua House, Needless to say I went straight over in the morning, had a talk with the landlady and moved in that afternoon. 

This was without a doubt one of the most interesting places in which I have lived. There were 32 of us and all in the age group of 20-29 years. There were people from all four corners of the globe, and a most interesting bunch, as we were all in various stages of travel. There were very few places in the world where one of us had not been. This was where I met the other three individuals that would make up the hitchhiking party to Darwin. 

Paulene Sinclair: A very special girl from Hastings, New Zealand and my future bride.

Norm Campbell: From Ottawa, Canada, who like me was on a working holiday in this part of the world. 

Jodie Bothwell: Norm's girlfriend who hails from the City of Perth in West Australia. 

The way I actually met Paulene was funny too, as we were sitting on the floor in the TV room of the boarding house one evening when Paulene pulled out a cigarette. Me being the gentleman that I am, reached over to light it and not only lit the cigarette but her lovely blond hair too. Quick pat pat pat pat to put it out, and one could say that was the start of the romance which continues to this day.

We all held jobs in Sydney but there were many days off called 'Sickie's' for trips to the beaches and surrounding country. In short we had a ball. Sydney is one of the most alive towns I've had the pleasure of living in. If we had a day where a gang of us planned to go to one of the beaches or the mountains for an outing, one of the girls in the boarding house would go around with pad and paper, get peoples bosses phone numbers and the excuse why that particular person would sadly not be able to make it in today.

It was actually two weeks before our date of departure that we decided to go to Darwin. Naturally we were all interested in seeing more of Australia, but one of the main reasons that prompted our leaving Sydney was in effect money. As long as we stayed in a town like Sydney, we would  save little or none of the money that we earned. As much as we all loved the atmosphere and the fun to be had, it would put a damper on our future plans for travel.
We chose Darwin as it is high up in the tropics where none of us had ever lived or worked before, and the fact that the wages are the highest of any where in Australia,  it would be a new and very interesting experience to say the least. The wages in Darwin are higher because it is so far isolated from the rest of Australia and for the fact of its severe climate.

It seemed like years for those two weeks to pass. But pass they did and on the final day our excitement was beyond description. There was a farewell party for us the night before, and what a party that was. 

The next morning we were all up early. Who could sleep with a 3200 mile hitchhiking trip ahead of them? We still had to put in most of the day as our first ride, which was prearranged with one of the fellows living at Rotorua House wasn't going to start until 5.30 pm. Norm and I went down to Bondi beach to get a couple of souvenir photographs. This was quite amusing as it was a dull and chilly day and when we arrived at the beach there were only about 5 people on it. Never had we seen it so deserted.

After lunch the four of us took in a movie and before we knew it the time had gone and it was time to go.

The farewell in front of Rotorua House was very sad and a few tears were shed. Doug Sheridan was heading north to Port Macquarie for a holiday and offered to give us a lift as far as he went which was about 260 miles up the coast and a very big help. Here is Doug, his vehicle and our group.

Being all packed we had just to put our gear in Doug's car, a Holden Utility. This vehicle could only seat three inside, so two would ride out back in the tray. Norman and Jodie started off in the back, then after a little over 100 miles Paulene and I got in the back for a spell so Jodie and Norm could warm up. When we left Rotorua House Norman and I converted a bed mattress to put in the back of the truck. With this, a blanket and a tarpaulin we could get very comfortable. 

The trip itself to where Doug left us, was uneventful except for many laughs. The place was called Oxford Highway Junction and we arrived about 1.30 a.m.

After the good-byes there we were, right in the middle of nowhere. We had thought we would shoot right through but as it happened there was very little traffic.....like none. After about an hour and a half with no cars going by we decided to try and get some sleep. We had taken the mattress out of the truck with the rest of our gear and we put it at the side of the road and the four of us promptly collapsed on it. We slept off and on sporadically until 5am. There were many laughs as we must have been quite a sight as there we were just 8" off the highway, trucks and cars zooming close by. With all the deadly snakes in Australia, there was no way we were going to go into a field and lie down. We awoke looking a little disheveled but soon rectified that using the water from our canteens for washing etc. 

After tidying up a bit and disposing of the mattress we were raring to go and expecting a ride that would take us right to Darwin Ha Ha. Two hours later a fellow in a beat up old truck stopped and gave us a lift 3 miles up the road and put us out, again right in the middle of nowhere, but the scenery was different anyway. 

By this time we were beginning to get a bit peck ish, and as there was a corn field across the road we helped ourselves to a few ears. With a bit of imagination raw corn can be quite nice you know. Not to worry, fifteen minutes later a fellow in a bread truck stopped and gave us a loaf of bread. He was an awfully nice and interesting person who stayed and talked for a few minutes. I asked him if he would break bread with us but he said as he had more deliveries to make he had better be on his way. He was the first of many fabulous people we were going to encounter on our trip. 

After a further wait of an hour and a half without getting a ride, we decided something had to be done. We figured that if we split up our chances of getting a lift would be greatly improved.

Paulene and I hoisted our bags onto our heads and staggered down the road about a mile. Within a short while two boys picked us up and took us through to Kemsey where we had a wash and something to eat. 

Our next ride was with a chap travelling north about 100 miles. He also had another hitch hiker in the car, a Kiwi heading for Cairns. Half way the car had a puncture but otherwise the trip was uneventful. 

Thumbing once again, and this time very successfully as the man who stopped was going to Brisbane, although we had arranged to meet Norman and Jodie at Coolengatta which is about 50 miles south of Brisbane. He had a Utility with two beautiful Boxer dogs on the back. Very interesting guy as he had done a lot of travelling around Queensland and the Northern Territory.

We arrived at Coolengatta about 7.30 p.m. - we were now at the New South Wales/Queensland border. Luckily we met up with Norman and Jodie within a short while, so after a clean up and a meal, deposited ourselves on the beach for the night. We were already noticing the change in the temperature. 

Woke around 6 a.m. and while Paulene and Norman had a swim and Jodie slept in, I went for a walk around Coolengatta to find a Laundrette and where we could have a shower. 

On the road at the disgraceful hour of 10.15 a.m. and then a long wait in the heat. Our first ride was with a fellow who had lived up in Darwin and the Territories for many years. It wasn't really a ride but he saw our sign "Darwin" so he picked us up and took us to the other side of town and showed us around, plus giving us all kinds of information and addresses in Darwin. If all the people up there are like him then it should be fabulous.

We were then picked up by a young boy going to Brisbane, which was a large, sprawling city, which we found most uninteresting. We couldn't wait to get back out to the bush.

At the outskirts of Brisbane we were picked up by a guy in another Holden Utility. We passed Norman and Jodie a little further down the highway so he stopped and they piled on the back. He took us to a small country town Caboolture, where the four of us split up again, Paulene and I getting a ride on a truck to Nambour, which was a really beautiful little town in the heart of the pineapple and banana plantations. Our next ride was very slow but he was a nice old man and he took us through to Bundaberg, arriving about 9 p.m. As we were still reasonably fresh we decided to keep hitching through the night if there were any rides. 

Out of the darkness a funny looking chap appeared, a little under the weather. He told us we were standing in the wrong place to get a ride and so helped us with our bags around the corner and along a road to a much better position. After saying goodbye we were just deciding which would be the best tree to sleep under as there were no cars, who should arrive back but him, inviting us to his place for coffee. Not knowing what to expect, we accepted. We met his Mother and his dying Grandmother who were very kind to us, giving us a lovely meal of cold meat and vegetables, and insisted we stay the night. After a good breakfast we set off the next morning about 7.30 a.m. feeling very refreshed. We were certainly very grateful to Terry and his mother. The house in the middle is where they lived.

The first car that came along stopped, it certainly seemed our lucky day. It was driven by a Commercial Traveller who took us to the bypass which was about 13 miles out of Gladstone.

The traveller gave us an address of an Engineer in Darwin and also the address of a friend of his in Hobart, Tasmania. Well we only waited for 15 minutes at the Gladstone by-pass when we got a ride with a Traveller going through to Rockhampton. 10 miles south of Rockhampton we passed the Tropic of Capricorn. Got out in Rockhampton and were walking through town when a woman stopped and gave us a lift to the outskirts where we just happened to meet Norman and Jodie.
 
We jumped up and down and there was much excitement and lots to tell each other about our experiences in the last 24 hours. Jodie and Norman had been in Rockhampton standing in the sun since 10 a.m. it was 12. noon when we met them.

We then split up and tried to get lifts again. We all stood out in the sun till 2.00 p.m. It was 105° and so on the verge of total collapse decided to find a pub and have a drink and a feed. 

At 5.00 p.m. we split up again. 15 minutes later a car stopped for Norman and Jodie and they called us to come. 10 minutes later we were all off to Townsville 516 miles away, time 5.30 p.m. Feb. 15/1966. 


We arrived in Townsville at 11.45 a. m. Feb. 16/66 after being in the car for 18 hours. We stopped alongside the highway in the middle of the night for 4 hours. Paulene and I put a rug on the roof of the car, covered ourselves with mosquito netting and had a good sleep (or at least I did). This little experience has never left me, as at no time before or since have we ever witnessed the night sky so alive with stars and planets, we felt we could reach up and touch them. This must have been the best Dark Sky situation. We passed through some real outback country one place there was a stretch of 200 miles with nothing in between except one service station at the halfway point. The fellows we rode with were George who was 17 and apparently had run away from home in Sydney. The driver and owner of the car (Austin Westminster) was Jim, 18 years old but quite a nice and very sensible sort of guy. 

When we arrived at Townsville the first thing to do was find a Motel with a swimming pool where we could get a good rest for our long trip ahead. This was our halfway point and we wanted to treat ourselves. We found a nice motel called the Coolabah, with a marvellous pool, banana trees, and pleasant rooms. 
We booked in and were shown to our rooms. George came and saw our rooms then he and Jim just disappeared, and Paulene saw them drive away. We had not even said goodbye to them. Anyway we sort of put them out of our minds and thought oh well I guess we won't see them again. So we all had a shower and a swim in the pool then flopped down for a rest. I had my wallet beside me on the dressing table and Norman had his beside him on his bed. After a couple of hours of sleep Norman was woken up by these two guys who came into our room. I was still asleep, and the fellows spoke to Norman and asked if they could come back in an hour and watch T.V. Norman said OK, as they had given us a lift for more than 500 miles, so that was the least we could do.

Norman got up 10 minutes later and went to iron a shirt, I was still asleep. Now in this interval of 6 minutes while Norman was gone and I was asleep George and Jim must have returned and stolen both Norman and my wallets. Norman's containing all his papers plus £3 (he keeps his money elsewhere) and my wallet which to me was priceless and £21 (two thirds of my money). 

We talked it over for a while amongst ourselves and decided it had to be them, So we called the police and they sent a detective around. Sgt. Det. Watson. He was a nice sort of bloke, and we gave him a most detailed description of the car and the boys and their names. I also told him of the Deputy Sherrif's badge I had in my wallet that was stolen too. I was given that badge when a friend and I had hitchhiked around the US when we were 16. We spent 3 weeks in San Antonio with friends of my buddies family and while there helped him in his Hay Bailing job. When we left San Antonio and continued west, I was given this badge as a memento of our stay there. We were told by the police that they were looking for these two lads in connection with a job in Southport. In all probability our ride of 560 miles to Townsville had been in a stolen car. We kind of moped around for a while feeling sorry for our misfortune, but then realized there was nothing we could do about it, so we went about really enjoying our stay at the Coolabah with lots of swimming and plenty of good food. A photo of Paulene, Norman and Jodi beside the pool, and one of Paulene with a bunch of Bananas growing right there at the Motel. They did not even taste like the bananas we are familiar with, rather like a fruit salad taste, Awesome!!

Thursday morning after a huge breakfast of steak and eggs and a swim, packed up and left. The four of us got a cab to the outskirts of town. It was very hot, about 95° and high humidity. We tossed a coin for the best position on the highway and Paulene and I won. We only had to wait about half an hour then got a lift to Charters Towers 80 miles away, arriving at 1.30 p.m. He left us in the middle of town, not on the main road. I didn't like the look of the position from a hitch-hiking standpoint, but we stayed for a couple of hours without one single car going through. In this time a couple of old men came along to talk to us. They were sun wrinkled old men with cloudy far away looking eyes, but very pleasant. One of them talked to Paulene for about 10 minutes before remarking oh you're a lady, he thought he was talking to a couple of boys. Then a little boy came along and asked us if we wanted a drink of water. Paulene and I went over to his house and met his Mum who was very nice and very hospitable. We had a drink of cordial and a very interesting talk with her as she and her husband had lived all over the Territory. It then started to rain so we brought our bags over and put them into the garage. After the rain we thought we would walk around and have a look at the town and maybe find a better position for getting a lift. Charters Towers had been a boom town in the gold rush days and had 70 pubs (a lot of them still standing). It was still the same, nothing seemed to have changed or modernized, it looked as if it had come right out of the wild west.

We walked towards the outskirts of town and as we came around a corner who should we meet but Norman and Jodie, so there was much rejoicing. Paulene and I then walked back and got our bags. A few minutes after we returned Norman and Jodie got a ride to Pentland and shortly after, a land-rover stopped for us and told us he was going through to Mt. Isa. It was full of his gear so Paulene rode in the front and I piled on the back. This was 5.30 p.m. Thursday. We got as far as Pentland where by some good luck I saw Norman on the front porch of the pub.We stopped and I ran back to speak to them. Norman came back to the land-rover with me and within 10 minutes we were all piled in the rover heading for Mt. Isa. 
That night we got as far as Hughendon. We slept in the Land-Rover a couple of miles outside of town which wasn't very comfortable either. Couple of photosThe fellow we were riding with owns and services a fleet of jute-boxes throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory, so in Hughendon he had three machines to attend to. Oh yes there was a little place before Hughendon that we stopped at, (2) as a matter of fact. One was a pub and the other a restaurant both in the middle of nowhere. How these people could live in those conditions I will never know. The bugs (all shapes and sizes) and flies were just unbelievable and the filth. After a few hours at Hughendon we pushed on to Richmond, as he had a few machines there to attend to. Richmond had quite a nice swimming pool so after a shower we all retired to the pool for a couple of hours. After a feed we pushed on to Julia Creek. The road or track was 2 marks of tyres and grass growing in the middle - was bloody horrible. We bounced around the land rover for 100 miles. Our backs all felt broken and my flight-bag got battered and ripped. The road was also washed out in quite a few places and it was just as well we were in a land-rover or we wouldn't have got through.

We arrived at Julia Creek about 12.45 pm. It had been a hell of a trip from Richmond and we were all very hot and dry so the first thing we did was have a beer. Steve had five machines at Julia so we dived into the swimming pool for a couple of hours. 
We left Julia Creek at 4.45 pm and had a good trip through to Mt. Isa with bitumen road all the way. The scenery was different, more mountainous with millions of ant hills, some 6-7 ft tall and 3-4 ft thick. Also saw skeletons of dead cattle on the side of the road that had died from the heat. We arrived at Mt. Isa at 7.15 and after Steve driving us around for a while we thought it better to book into a hotel rather than sleep on the side of the road. This we did at the Boyd Hotel, it looked like it was plucked straight out of a wild west movie. Cost £2.10s. each. We had a walk around town and spoke to the police about the Townsville incident. Lots of pubs and people, mostly guys, everywhere. All kinds of noise and song flowing out of the pub windows and doors, guys staggering along the streets and even an odd one sleeping on the sidewalk. A very wild and woolly frontier town. We all had a good night's sleep at the hotel and under mosquito netting, which was real a treat.

Woke about 8 am, got cleaned up and were on the road again by 9.15. We split up again about 1 mile apart. Paulene and I stood there for about 2 hours, a few people stopped but were only going as far as the local lake. Then this cute redhead came along on a motor scooter not wearing very much considering the sun.  We talked for a while, then she invited us back to her flat for lunch. Problem was our baggage, so off she went to the Barkley, the poshest Hotel Motel in town and came back with the Manager who transported our luggage back to her flat. Jo was a fabulous type with a tremendous personality, also supplied us with a delicious lunch and watermelon. We were introduced to her flatmate (well travelled who gave me addresses in Europe) and then Rachael and her boyfriend drove us out to the outskirts of town to a good position at a Rodeo ground.

We were at the Rodeo Ground about 2 hours when Jodie and Norman came along. They had had a rough afternoon and were very hot and tired. Together we waited about 1/2 an hour when 3 came along in a Utility, so we all piled on the back and they gave us a lift 120 miles to a place called Camooweal, arriving approximately 8.30 p.m. The town consisted of 2 pubs, 2 cafes and a few assorted shacks plus about 14 zillion bugs of all shapes and sizes. Sleeping out as we had intended doing was out of the question, so we got a room for 10 bob each (after a bit of bickering) in a ghastly old pub. Well, what a room - the skungy old beds were about 2 feet wide. Walking across the room, your feet would not actually touch the wood, one was walking only on bugs. There were more bugs in there than in the whole of Canada. I had a 9 ft mosquito net so managed to keep a few bugs off Paulene and I but poor Norman and Jodie were eaten alive. It was a hell of a night, the humidity was in the thousands, and even though I had the net the bugs still had a feed. Lazed around until noon of the next day until we were put out of our room. There was absolutely no traffic whatsoever in either direction. The flies were out in force and the temperature was over 100°. Paulene and I sat on the verandah of the hotel with a mosquito netting over us which made quite a picture (wish I had one). Norman and Jodie bought little mosquito nets to fit on their hats and cover their faces. Looked like a couple of beekeepers. Shortly after we invested in some, they were the greatest invention in the world. 4 pm came along and we figured we would be there for a few days, dead, or worse, because only five vehicles had passed in all that time and for various reasons they couldn't take us. Then I saw this big truck rambling into town and he pulled up a ways up the road. I went up and asked him where he was going and he said 'Darwin'. I asked him if we could hop aboard and he said sure, but it won't be comfortable. I told we had roughed it before, so we climbed on.

It was a big trailer, with three horses, horse feed and petrol. We sort of made ourselves comfortable on the bags of chaff and this is how we stayed for 2 nights and 2 days. The truck was driven by the owner of a big station (ranch) near Adelaide River. With him was a new man he had hired to boss the Jackaroos (cowboys) on his station. Behind the truck followed his wife and 2 young boys in a Holden Station wagon towing a caravan. 

They were very interesting people and told us all about station life and life in general in the Territory. Our meals consisted of canned meat (stews etc.) fruit, and bread. One time we even filled  our canteens with water from a puddle.The countryside was absolutely flat and the road was as straight as an arrow for hundreds of miles. We joined the Stuart Highway at a place called Three Ways. I wish I had taken a picture here but perhaps I was out of film. The photo would have been of an older aboriginal man sitting cross legged on the grass cutting it with a pair of scissors. Heading north now when we reached Katherine we started to climb and we noticed the difference in the vegetation, as it was changing to more tropical type trees. 

The truck let us off at Adelaide River and we immediately had a ride straight through to Darwin. We arrived in Darwin at 5.30 pm. on Wednesday 23rd February and as we got out of our last car it poured with rain and I'm sure we looked a very bedraggled crew, but…. we were in Darwin.

We went straight to the Welfare office and I said to the fellow behind the counter 'We need help' He laughed and said 'get outa here' go and see what you can do before coming back here. We finally went to a boarding house and they gave us 3 days lodging, with my funny old camera as security.  Paulene and I got jobs the next day, hers was at the Welfare office, turns out they had an ad in the local paper looking for the skills that Paulene had.  I got a job as a Welder-fitter in a shop where I was the only non Italian. It wasn'ta too longa befora I was a speakinga brokena english just likea they did. They were a great bunch and the boss often lent me an open syle Army jeep to go and meet Paulene at lunch time for a break. She looking like she came off the pages of a fashion magazine and me in my sweat and dirt stained coveralls. We both stayed in these jobs for the 5+ months we were in Darwin....saving all our money for the trip by sea, from Perth to Italy we would later take.

Norm and Jodie decided not to stay in Darwin and headed back down south after a week or so. Norm came back to Ottawa eventually and I made contact once when we finally got back here but that never kept up. Would love to know what happened to Jodie though as we both really liked her.

 

Walkabout number two, Darwin to Perth

 

The day is Wednesday the 20th of July 1966 and the start of our trip from Dawin to Perth 2400 miles away. At 1pm we called a taxi and took it to the outskirts of town near the airport. We only had to stand there for an hour and in that time we made a sign with Perth on it and a few cars stopped and offered us lifts, but were only going a few miles down the track. Then a white Holden station wagon happened along and he stopped, but he was so full of suit cases and boxes it didnt look like he could fit one person in, let along the both of us and our gear. But, he said let's give it a try. We took about 25 minutes rearranging his car and we finally managed to fit everyting in. We climed in and introduced ourselves to each other. This fellow called George was a traveller (salesman) about 25 years old of east European decent and turned out to be a most interesting fellow. His line of good were ladies sportswear and dolls etc. His home base is in Brisbane and his territory is all of Queensland and the Northern Territories, going right up the coast from Brisbane to Cairns, across to Mt Isa then west and north to Darwin and as far south as Alice Springs, plus all the real outback country of Queensland.

Regarding our ride with him, it would be south to Three Ways, a distance of 625 miles from Darwin and a great start to our trip. On the way south we went in and saw the war Memorial and cemetery which was very beautiful being in a Jungle atmosphere with lots of galey couloured birds about.

Further south we stopped and took a few pictures beside a termite mound that was close on 20 ft high. Travelling along the road we saw many dead Kangaroos,a couple of wild pigs and a dingo.

We arrived at Katherine about 5:30, so picked up a few groceries to eat in the car, then pressed on. We had a lot of fun with George and in a couple of hours it seemed like he was an old friend, not someone we had just met. We got to about 30 miles of Three Ways early in the morning and decided to sleep. George got his lie-low out and a few blankets and he slept outside while Paulene and I slet in the frontseat and sleep we did for about 4 hours. Even this little difference south we noticed the change in climate as it was quite cool sleeping.

July 21, 1966

We rose with the sun and in short order on our way again. We arrived at Three Ways about 6:45 am. Three Ways is just a little road house at the junction of these roads going North,South and East. There was not a sign of life when we arrived but the washrooms were open so we were able to have a good wash. About 8am a fellow got up and went out back to start the motor that powered his generator. A few minutes later George was able to get his car filled up with fuel and then we bid each other adieu as he headed east while we were headed south.

Paulene and I then went in and had a nice big breakfast and a pot of coffee. We then positioned ourselves on the higway. It was a beautiful morning clear, cool and not a cloud in the sky. There was hardly any traffic at all on the road so I was able to wander up the road a few hundred yards and talk to the other fellow who was hitchhiking to Darwin. He was a Kiwi bloke about my age who was working his way to India where he was going to study Yoga. Quite an interesting fellow to talk to. I then saw a car in the distance so ran back to where Paulene was waiting.

As the car approached I held out our sign and he stopped. He was only going as far as Tennent Creek, 16 miles south but we decided to take the lift as there might be traffic heading south from there. This fellow was a middle age guy and a very cheerful sort. His home was in New South Wales but was up here doing some oil exploration work. Very kindly he drove us through town and let us out at the outskirts. So, here we were at Tennent Creek and what a horrible dusty little place it is. The only reason it is here is because of its gold mine and a few other minerals. The surrounding country is very flat dry and dusty. There are very few trees around and if some of the buildings are painted a different colour from each other, it is hidden by the thick layer of dust that covers everything. We had horrible visions of being stuck here for a couple of days, but we only stood there for about 1/2 hour, when we saw a big transport coming into through town.

We flashed our sign and much to our surprise he stopped. I asked him if he was going as far as Alice Springs and he said there is nowhere else to go. So I tied our packs on the back and we piled in. The driver was a Kiwi bloke about 27 years old and seemed a nice lad. He had been in Australia 2 years and had been driving the Territory for 9 months. Now, this truck he was driving was to say the least, very interesting. It was a big Fodex deisel and behind the cab were 3 huge trailers with 53 tons of native copper from the Pekoke mines worth $30,000. These large trucks were sometimes called Truck Trains as some had up to 5 trailers behind the truck.

Our top speed in this truck because of the load was only 40mph and it took us an awfully long time to get to that speed. We would be travelling along a seemingly flat section of road when he would shift down a gear or two as there was a slight incline, even though we could not see it. We stopped at a place called Barrow Creek where we had a couple of sandwhiches and a cold fruit drink. Barrow Creek is an old telegraph relay station situated only 30 miles from the exact center of Australia. The weather so far has been beautiful, clear and warm in the day and cool at night. we stayed at Barrow Creek about a 1/2 hour then pushed on. One thing I forgot to mention about this truck is that behind the seats is a big sleeping compartment and about 1 1/2 hours after we got in the truck Paulene retired to this very comfortable area of the truck and remained there for the duration, sleeping most of the way. The scenery on this part of the trip was quite monotonous, being very flat and awfully dry country. It was interupted south of Tennent creek by the Devils Marbles. This is a big formation of huge round rocks in some very interesting formations. They look so out of place stuck out here in the middle of nowhere.

These truck drivers in the north are a very interesting lot and they sure don't lack a sence of humour. Our driver pointed out to me big signs that had been errected in the middle of nowhere. One had on it Tindall's lumber yard, as this was where a driver named Tindall had tipped over large truck load of wood. At another place was a sign Jameson's Hamburger stand now open. This was where a fellow had tipped over trailers loaded with buffalo meat.

At about 9:00 pm we were about 20 miles from Alice and the country was getting a little hilly and the road was winding this way and that and up and down. This is where we saw our driver really handle this long and heavy load, it being a real joy to experience the skill first hand.

We arrived in Alice at 10:30pm, unpacked our gear and said goodby to our Kiwi friend. Now we had to find ourselves some accomodation.

I slung my pack and off we trotted, the centre of town of town being about 3/4 of a mile away. Alice Springs being a real tourist town we had a bit of trouble finding accomodaion. After a bit of enquiring and a few phone calls we found a motel. It was a bit expensive at $12.00 including breakfast, but we needed a good rest. It was a lovely motel, quite luxurious even, having a large swimming pool and beautifully appointed rooms. We woke up eary the next day and afer a big breakfast we both felt 150%.

Now, the road south from Alice to Port Agusta is gravel and dirt all 800 miles of it, so very few people take their cars over it, instead they put their cars on the train, which runs twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays. So, if worse came to worse and we could not hitch a ride, we would take the train to Port Agusta. Seeing we had two days before the next train, we would try hitchhiking anyway. We took a cab to the outskirts of town to a very pretty place called Heavitree Gap.

The Heavitree Gap

The Heavitree Gap, or Ntaripe in the Arrernte language, is a gap in the MacDonnell Ranges of Central Australia.

It is the entrance to the city of Alice Springs and in addition to the Todd River it carries the main road and rail access to the South.

The Gap was and still is a most important sacred site for the Arrernte people of the area.

History

On 21 April 1886 The Heavitree Gap Police Station was established which is of significance to the Northern Territory as the first permanent police base in Central Australia. Initially, the police station comprised of bough wurleys and a tent for stores. By 1887 a thatched log hut had been added and in the following year an old hut from the Telegraph Station was erected for use as living quarters. Today, owing to flooding from the Todd River, railway construction and use of the area for Telstra cabling, no trace of these early buildings remain.

There are old stories of non law abiding people that would travel 100's of kilomettres to flee the south of the country heading to the north end where they might escape the clutches of the police, only to be nabbed at 'Heavitree Gap' as it was the only way though to Alice and points north.

The morning was clear and the sun would soon warm the air up. We both felt so good and happy we didn't care if we had to stay there a couple of days and take the train. But, Paulene and I being as tinny as we are with hitchhiking only stood in this beautiful little place for only 3/4 of an hour. A few cars went but were only Dept of Works people only going down the track a couple of miles. Then, a semi trailor with two fellows in it went by but stopped up the road around the corner a few hundred yards. Both guys got out and started checking their tires etc. I decided to go and have a natter with them.

As I was approaching the truck this big fellow looked up with a but smile on his face. I asked him if he could possibley fit us in. He said, "we were just thinking about that". Just then his mate came up and the both looked at each other then said ok, let's see what we can do. So I ran back up the road to get Paulene her gear and my pack.

Now, here is how our new home woked out, the truck was a big International with a big flatbead trailer behind. On top of that trailer was another trailor just like it and on top of that trailer was a big Dodge deisel truck facing backwards. That Dodge truck was to be our new home. I tied my pack on the lower trailer and they gave me a big rug to wrap around it that would protect it from the dust. We then climbed way up to the top to our truck and we were away.

The two drivers were German and at this stage seemed very pleasent and kind. Within a few minutes we were off the paved highway and on the rough road, or as it is called a track.

We had only gone about 25 miles when there was a great rattleling noise. They stopped and found that one of the spare tires had broken off. The smaller of the two walked back up the road a couple of hundred yards and collected it. But then further investigation showed us that we had lost not one spare tire had broken loose, but two. Where was the other one? We sat and waited for awhile and a car driven by a couple of girls on their way to Ayers Rock happened along and told us the tire was 20 miles back. So we turned around and drove back and collected our other spare.

By this time we had more of a chance to get to know our new friends, and the more we talked to them the more we liked them. They were both fine looking Germans, quite aristocratic looking. They also both were real gentlemen and extremely well mannered.

We drove on all day over a very rough track but it was very pretty as the earth was so red and much redder than we had seen before. About 3 weeks ago this area had received its first rain in 8 years and little shoots of grass were growing all over what had recently been a desert. I can't help but thinking that some day they can bring and control the rains or somehow irrigate this inland part of the country, Australia is going to be very very rich indeed. In this country that hasn't seen rain in 8 or 9 years the cattle what little there are left have been living on lord knows what, and when the rains came and a little grass grew the cows did not know what it was and kept on dying needlessly of starvation.

About 6pm we came to an outpost. (What ever it is called now, it surely would not look the same as the highway is paved and the fuel stops are pretty posh looking compared to the rough track we travelled over.) Here we filled the truck up with petrol and got ourselves some tucker to eat later on. All this place consisted of was a store, a police station and the headquaters of a big station (farm). Also at this little outpost we picked up two more hitchhikers. These two fellows were also German and had only been in Australia 9 months so didn't speak very good English. They had been at this place for 3 days and had not been able to get a ride, this will give the reader and idea of how much traffic passed through this remote outback. Mind you they were a different class of Germans and weren't very neatly dressed.

These fellows rode on the bottom trailer, spreading their sleeping bags on top of some canvas tarpaulins. At night they had a very cold ride as out here in the desert the temp dropped like a stone at night. So, within half an hour we were on our way again. We only drove about 3 miles out of town to where we would build a fire and have dinner. We built a big fire and wached a very beautiful sunset, and enjoyed a fabulous dinner and a billy of coffee that only an open fire in the outdoors can produce. We sat around the fire for about 2 hours.

Our German drivers had both led very interesting lives, one had been a parachute instructor in the French Army when they were in Viet Nam and had spent 4 years in Saigon. Right now he is making plans to return as he has had a fabulous offer there. We then got back on the track and again headed forever south. The track was terribly rough and we had to go through some really bad washouts. This was our view as we drove through the desert, the fine dust roiling up behind us. It was going through some really bad ones that we almost tipped over. It was so close that Kurt had to stop the truck he was shaking so bad. We up top didn't realize it had been so close, all that happened was we got tossed about a bit and felt the truck swaying to and fro, but thought we had just hit a series of bumps. If it had of tipped over, we would have been in the worst possible spot.

In the way of wildlife, this evening all we saw was one Kangaroo. At about 4am them stopped and we had about 4 hours uninterupted sleep. We awoke with the sun and in short order were on our way again. We sat up in our perch enjoying the scenery and the birds which were abundant. About 4 in the afternoon we were approaching Copper Pedy and we could see the scattered diggings not far from the road. Cooper Pedy is very famous for its Opals. Most people live right down in their mines, both to protect their issues and it would be cooler too. Big mounds of earth scattered everywhere with cars, trucks or Landrovers parked alongside.

In a few minutes we rolled into the town itself and what a surprize it was too. To say the least it was wild and wooly indeed. There were a few scattered buildings around, the miners store and bakery, plus a small hotel. There were also Aboriginals here and there, the likes of which we had not seen before. They were much different than the ones we had been used to up in Darwin. The men had quite long matted hair that mixed inn with their beards and cotten bands around their heads.

We attracted quite a lot of attention when we rolled into town and especially when Paulene and I got out of our truck cab way up on top of our load. We had to fill up the truck with petrol, notice Paulene still up in the top cab. The first thing I did was grab my camera and take some black and white shtos then change the film to color slide. We them got down from our perch and wandered around a bit and bought some more provisions. This is what the main street looks like now as compared to when we were there.We were almost temped to get off here and try our luck at Opal mining. There are lots of stories of people coming up here for a couple of weeks and getting very rich. We stayed for about 3/4 of an hour and then pushed on. About 2 miles out of town we stopped and had sometiing to eat and this gave us a chance to explore some old diggings and collect some rocks with not quite mature Opals in them.

Then we again headed south and as the sun was setting we saw all kinds of Kangaroos, they were truly beautiful as they either sat up and watched us or hopped away and hop they can too. Night came and we kept driving seeing a few more kangaroos by the lights of the truck. We arrived at Port Agusta at 4:30am and stopped at an all night road stop. Our drivers had a feed and we then said goodby. The two German hitchhikers walked off toward town. Paulene and I went in and had a good wash then sat down to a delightful cup of coffee. Over this we decided what we would do next. We thought we would wait here until 9am then find a motel and have a good rest and leave again first thing in the morning.

Then we noticed a Falcon Station wagon pulled up with N.S.W. plates on it. I don't know why but I went out and asked them if they were going west to Perth...and they said yes. I asked if they could fit us in and the driver said "I think we can work something out". I went back inside to Paulene not knowing really what to think, as I didn't particularly like the look of these two fellows. One of them, the owner of the car had a funny look in his eyes. I told Paulene and asked her to have a look at them, she didn't think they looked too bad, so we decided we might as well go. They came in for something to eat so we had a chance to talk. They were both German too. The owner of the car was about 40 fairly tall and plump, the other guy ws short and seemed very quiet. What happened next was a first as far as my hitchhiking experiences were concerened. He asked me to put our names and last addresses on a piece of paper so he could check us out with the local police. This he apparently did and he gave me the paper back a little later.

Anyway, in 1/2 an hour we were on our way again. I still felt a little uneasy about these two and it was a feeling that was to prove itself and stay for the length of the trip. We made good time right to Ceduna which is right on the coast of South Australia. Benny, the owner of the car thought he detected something wrong under the hood, so we stopped and he took the valve cover off and found not enougn oil was getting to the rocker arms. He and Wolfgang then proceeded to rapair it the best they could as all the garages were closed for the day. Because of a few showers of rain we were there for about 2 hours, then were on our way again.

It wasn't far out of Ceduna that we left the bitumen and got on the rough gravel road that we would have right through to Norsman 1202 Kilometers away. Benny drove for about 25 miles then asked me if I would take over, I said sure, so I went up front with Wolfgang and Benny went back and sat with Paulene. We drove and drove and I watched the mileage pile up and it was soon dark as we forever headed west. Wolfgang and I talked about everything from soup to nuts and I found he is not a bad sort once you got to know him. Paulene and Bernie were talking away in the back and it was later that I found out that he made a bit of a nuisance of himself from time to time, but nothing Paulene could not handle. (with her Karate skills).

About 8:30 we stopped in the middle of nowhere at a little way station and bought some petrol and filled our thermoses with coffee. I also purchased a boomerang at a very reasonable price, it being made by some aboriginals at a mission nearby. In about 20 minutes we were on our way again, Paulene coming up front to join me for awhile.

This is where I took advantage of a gift from the Truck drivers we had from Alice Springs to Port Agusta. They gave me two small pills he called Stayawake pills. I took one about 9pm while driving and did it work, I have never felt so awake. We talked and sang and the miles kept rolling under us. The road was very rough though and our top speed was around 45 mph. I made a game of dodging the pot holes, which made things more interesting. There were also Kangaroos that were everywhere and one had to be careful of not hitting those too as they sometimes jumped right in front of the car. These Kangaroos out here were big too, somtimes 6ft or more high and weighing up to 200 lbs, you don't want to hit one with your car.

About 1am I took the other pill that we had and kept driving and did so until around 5:30am when we had to fill up with gas. We came to this place and it was in complete darkness and thought we might have to wait until later to get filled up. Wolfgang and I hammered away on the door and finally a voice answered. An elderly sort of fellow came out looking very sleepy eyed and filled up our car and then we were on the way again. Wolfgang took a turn at the wheel and Paulene and I sat up front with him.

He didn't try and dodge the potholes but just drove through and over them, the springs and shocks bottomed out many times. Rocks were thrown up at the underside of the car so hard you thought they would come through. One time we hit a series of bumps and there was a load bang and we all thought the car was falling apart, but it wasn't until we reached Perth that we noticed a hole as big as my fist right through the floor in the back seat area. We had not noticed it before as there was so much gear strewn around. Wolfgang drove until first light and then Benny took over and shortly after we came to the Bitumen, which we would have through to Perth. We saw a few more Kangaroos in the early morning but besides that there was nothing except the never ending straight as an arrow road. It was about 10am as we were approaching Norseman and the gas tank said empty and Benny didn't have the Gerry can filled up. We must have been running on fumes but we made it and pulled up at a gas station restaurant. There were no washrooms so Paulene and I walked over to another place to have a wash and eat, while Benny and Wolfgang stayed at the first place.

We had a good wash and ordered a nice breakfast when we saw our two guys heading over to where we were in the car. They pulled up in the car and Paulene waved at them we would be few minutes, they then departed. I thought they were just going to turn around as they looked a little impatient. I asked the waitress if she could make our meal to take away, but the guys didn't come back and we waited and waited and started to wonder if they shot through and just decided to leave us there. We decided to wait an hour and if they did not come back we would call the police. About 5 minutes before the hour was up then showed up and we were on our way again.

The car by this time was a real wreck and hardly had any power, but we plodded on. We arrived at Coolgardie around 1:30pm. Coolgardie being an old gold town, now virtually a ghost town. I photographed the Denver City Hotel with a 30 something car out front. There was lots to see in this old town and we drove all around, seeing as much as we could. This shot shows what the Hotel looks like now, all nicely restored.

Except for stopping one time to do some shooting with the 22 rifle they had in the car, the rest of the trip to Perth was uneventful and we arrived at 10pm.

We asked the guys to stop at a Motel on the outskirts of town as we were in dire need of a good clean up. We were almost red from the Bull Dust of the Nullarbor Plain track getting into our very souls. We must have presented a picture and as we approched the desk of the Motel and asked if they had a room. The fellow said, I'm sorry but we only have the ambassadors suite available. I said we would take it!! The shower floor and walls turned red and we got back to reality.

We stayed in Perth for 3 weeks before our ship was due to depart. Our home was a dirt cheap hostel with one 3ft wide bed. We did a lot of walking in those three weeks, got to know and love Perth too.

So, we did this hitchhiking trip of 3400 miles in 5 days for an average of 680 miles a day or 1094km.

The ship we would embark on for a voyage of 5 weeks was the T.S.S. Fairsky of the Italian Sitmar Line. She was requisitioned by the Americans in the 2nd world war and turned into an Escort Air Craft Carrier. After the war she was returned to a passenger liner, though very small by today's standards. For her history http://ssmaritime.com/sitmar2.htm

Hope you enjoyed this account of when Paulena and I met, and our hitchhiking trip around Australia. I sure enjoyed bringing it to life, never thinking that would happen. One good thing from the Covid 19 virus and how it changed our lives.

 
 

Web page design and production:   Harry Foster

Created :  May, 2020