tell a Model A related story

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Today’s Sudan.

Sudan is a large North African nation surrounded by 9 other countries but is basically south of Egypt and the Red Sea. Since 2005 it is divided into Sudan and South Sudan.
The north is populated by Muslim Arabs and the south by African blacks. The two ethnic groups have been waring for years, the south rebelling over northern ethnic domination. In 2005 a separate state of South Sudan was formed and they are now having their own civil war between the President and the opposition leader. Two million are reported to have died of starvation.
Oil was discovered in South Sudan the following year I worked there in1977. Much of the revenue has been lost because of the current civil war and South Sudan remains one of the poorest nations on earth.
The internet shows 19,000 Sudanese live in Australia and I would think almost the entirety are refuges. Many have not integrated well into Australian society and formed unruly gangs. The usual old gang stuff, vandalism, robbery and assault. They have by far the highest rate of incarceration of any nationality.
Just a few observations on Sudan when I worked there in 1977. Irrigated agriculture is the main industry and cotton and peanuts the main products. They were Sudan’s main exports. Both are irrigated from the Blue Nile which flows northward and meets the White Nile at Khartoum. The irrigation area is known as the Gazera. I understand it was largely destroyed in the last (of several) civil wars.
The houses were mostly ramed earth or pissi. Some were round straw.
The main language, in the north is Arabic. South Sudan which is predominantly Black African has many dialects. Both have a few people who speak English which is a left over from the English Colonial days.

Some memories of Khartoum.
The odour of urine.
The beautiful London Plain trees growing on the banks of the Nile. General Gordon’s boat on the river.
The bullet holes in the bar wall at the Excelsior Hotel.
The disorderly flow of traffic.
Two good Piper Cub aeroplanes sitting abandoned at the airport. The pilots wore a track to them, looking at them and longing to take them home.
Old or redundant aeroplane scrap heap at the airport. Some simply gone unserviceable and not repaired.
About an acre of “lost luggage” piled high at the airport, and exposed to the weather. The bags busting and overflowing with good clothing.

The Sudanese company did their very best to provide for us and make us comfortable. Was I pleased to have done it. Yes, most definitely. Would I do it again. Under the same circumstances. Yes - drought at home. It was an adventure besides I needed to feed my wife and little kids.
What gave me the greatest pleasure –arriving back in Australia.

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Officer Brigg’s Hound Dog.

The picture at the bottom is my friend Pat with his truck that I can’t identify. With wooden spoked wheels I guess it’s mid to late 20’s and some of you readers will know.
The little town of Finley, 12 miles north of where I live now (in Tocumwal), had an anniversary which included a street parade of old vehicles. This is Pat with his entrant.The local highway cop pulled him up to check on the legalities and Pat was okay because he had a permit for that day. Never the less the cop whose name was Brigg read the riot act to him. Now Brigg was infact Pat’s neighbour and was despised in the street. Despised in the town. Despised in other nearby towns infact despised in every place he showed his face even amongst other cops. He was just a nuisance in the community.
Brigg had a pet dog. I doubt if even the dog liked him. There are interstate truckies in the town of Finley and my friend arranged for one to transport him north to the town of Dubbo which is about a seven hour drive and tip him out. If the dog was microchipped, as required by law, Brigg would have had both the expense and incontinence of fetching it. If not chipped I am sure the dog would have found a better home.


I've just checked out Pat's truck and it looks like steel spoked wheels. No doubt a reader might set me straight.

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tomorrow, a Youtube clip on the skill and precision of working dogs. Don't miss it. gary

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testing for larger picture


that didn't work did it. g

[woofa.express]

We all like dogs. their loyalty, their courage and their skill. The pictures are of my late woofa, you will recognise him from my avatar and Winnie with pubs from years ago. Don't miss this link, It's 4 minutes long and it has a stadium of 100K plus enthralled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txiR7oEVGd0

[DHZIEMAN]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

As a kid, probably around 10, not sure any more at my current age of 77, dad had to remove the cylinder head from our Model A Ford. I don’t remember the details of what he was doing but, when he went to put the head back on, the new head gasket had a problem Don’t know what????

So, he had not damaged the old one getting off the head, and he took it in the shop and did some cleaning and inspecting and got out some kind of silver stuff and brushed it on and let it dry briefly. He then smeared wheel bearing grease on both the cleaned head and cleaned block, stuck the “still kind of wet painted gasket” on the block and installed the head and got the car running, I know he retorqued the head the following week and that was that.

When I got to high school auto shop, at age 14 or 15, the teachings were use new gaskets!

Also, my dad’s old Model A, the day he sold it years later still had that used head gasket working just fine and no leaks.

Today, the way most of us operate, thinking about reusing a head gasket on an 88-year-old vehicle and taking a chance we would have to pull it all off again, on our special car we love, just seems to be out of the question.

Old timers, such as my dad, time was cheap, and depression era people just thought different than we do today!

[woofa.express]

It's good to see someone else contribute to this thread. DHZIEMAN's exposure goes back a long way. He was lucky to have a mechanical upbringing whereas mine was dairy cows and tractors. And watching cropdusters nearby.
Seems like most are too shy to write. Give it a go people.

[woofa.express]

Intriguing Englishman working at Rice Research Farm at Jerilderie NSW.

I’d worked with him a just a few times during rice sowing season. A pleasant fellow and it was known he had a title -- Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun. But Michael said it was bad enough being a Pommy in Australia let alone a titled Pommy. He had married a local girl and had a boy and I believe two girls.

Well the British channel 4 TV arrived at Jerilderie unannounced to interview him. I remember seeing this on TV. They rolled out a window blind with a lineage tree drawn on it. Michael’s name and title were clear . They then told Michael that a previous royal ancestor was illegitimate and another was ineligible. They asked Michael did he realise what that made him. He went white. Yes, he was the legitimate king of England. The TV producers didn’t provide hearsay evidence, it was all correctly documented. The Poms are fastidious about keeping records.

Well Jerilderie is a town of about 1,000 people and that notoriety put the little town on the map. The program producers did poke a little fun (ridicule) at the town. Like the rifle range adjacent to the airport and dirty boots piled up on the veranda at Michael’s front door.
Following the exposure, the excitement and notoriety the town settled down and returned back to normal. Michael said he wasn’t intending to make a claim on his royal lineage, living in Jerilderie was just fine by him. Michael died some years back and his son Simon who is a shearer is now the holder of the title ie earl and king. Father and son photos are posted below.
There are two links below, if any person is interested they can get this intriguing story from the internet. Reports from both Wikipedia and NationalGeographic. The Wikipedia report is comprehensive whereas the National Geographic is simple.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/should-an-aussie-be-the-king-of-england.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Abney-Hastings,_14th_Earl_of_Loudoun

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

Intriguing Englishman working at Rice Research Farm at Jerilderie NSW.

I’d worked with him a just a few times during rice sowing season. A pleasant fellow and it was known he had a title -- Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun. But Michael said it was bad enough being a Pommy in Australia let alone a titled Pommy. He had married a local girl and had a boy and I believe two girls.

Well the British channel 4 TV arrived at Jerilderie unannounced to interview him. I remember seeing this on TV. They rolled out a window blind with a lineage tree drawn on it. Michael’s name and title were clear . They then told Michael that a previous royal ancestor was illegitimate and another was ineligible. They asked Michael did he realise what that made him. He went white. Yes, he was the legitimate king of England. The TV producers didn’t provide hearsay evidence, it was all correctly documented. The Poms are fastidious about keeping records.

Well Jerilderie is a town of about 1,000 people and that notoriety put the little town on the map. The program producers did poke a little fun (ridicule) at the town. Like the rifle range adjacent to the airport and dirty boots piled up on the veranda at Michael’s front door.
Following the exposure, the excitement and notoriety the town settled down and returned back to normal. Michael said he wasn’t intending to make a claim on his royal lineage, living in Jerilderie was just fine by him. Michael died some years back and his son Simon who is a shearer is now the holder of the title ie earl and king. Father and son photos are posted below.
There are two links below, if any person is interested they can get this intriguing story from the internet. Reports from both Wikipedia and NationalGeographic. The Wikipedia report is comprehensive whereas the National Geographic is simple.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/should-an-aussie-be-the-king-of-england.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Abney-Hastings,_14th_Earl_of_Loudoun

He should have went after the kingship. Wouldn't that have tweaked the noses of the pretentious upper crust royalty!!

[woofa.express]

Monarchy or Republic.


Well 40Delux this is how it goes. There are mixed thoughts in Australia on whether to retain a monarchy or change to a republic. The last referendum retained the monarchy. I have mixed feelings. A change will necessitate government structural changes and I betcha a future referendum will be worded to provide them just that resulting in more power. Not power to the people. Already government answers to us only at election time there after it doesn’t take long for arrogance to establish again. Give them more power and that will worsen. Besides a third tier of federal government will make it even more difficult to govern.
At this time monarchy won favour with the with the visit to Australia by popular Prince Harry and his new American wife Meagan even though they are way down the pecking order.
Government arrogance is an age old problem dating back before the birth of Christ.. -- Socrates said, “the arrogance of government must be kerbed”. Socrates died in 399BC.
I don’t think there is any easy answer. 40 Delux do tell me what you think the answer is. Your view is welcome.

[woofa.express]

40 Delux wrote and thought I may have taken offence at his comment yesterday about royalty. No not in the slightest.

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Doing business with the Swede.

About 1990 I purchased a loading Truck from the Swede. The blokes name was John but because of his nationality he was known by the land from which he came. He was a likeable and humourous fellow and a con. I did help him several times and he treated me with principle, well mostly anyway.
As the rice sowing season approached I decided I needed another truck so I gave Swede a call. Do you want to sell that G.M. loader you have Swede.
What do you reckon it’s worth Gary?
18k John.
No, I reckon it’s worth 20k Gary.
I went to the bank for a 20k cheque and proceeded to Albury to complete the transaction.
On inspecting the loader I said to Swede “that bucket’s smaller than I figured Swede”.
Well we load the Thrust (ag aeroplane with a 400 gallon hopper) with it Gary.
I can’t see that Swede.
Would I lie to you Gary.
Well that put me in a difficult spot didn’t it.
I don’t suppose so Swede. I gave him the cheque and he nearly fell over because he had never had a transaction without a haggle.
Just sign the rego over and you can continue to use it for a while longer.
When I took delivery of the vehicle I found the bucket too small to load my Ag Cat and that had a smaller 280 gallon hopper. It required the hopper extending and I had that done.
When I saw his pilot I asked him how come it used to load the Thrush when it won’t load the Ag Cat with a smaller hopper?
The answer was simple. Two bucket fills every load.
Well did Swede lie to me? No. But he's a clever bugger. And still likeable.

The picture is of a simular loader. Not so the aeroplane.



Tomorrow is part 2 of this tale.

[woofa.express]

Following on from yesterday.
Doing business with the Swede. Part 2

Two bucket fills for each load. I wasn’t really dark on Swede, he caught me but it wasn’t the end of the world. A days work by an engineer rectified the problem.
But the conversation with Swede’s pilot further filled me in on the ownership. The previous summer season Swede said he hadn’t the money to pay pilot and would he like to take the loader in leiu of. Well something was better than nothing. I know the pilot was also wanting the experience so as to make a career move.
I’m not looking forward to this I told him. I payed him with a bank cheque and he signed over the rego to me.
In what state was it registered he asked.
NSW I replied.
Yes, he signed over the rego to me on Vic plates.
Pilot continued on to say he would not challenge me to ownership and I said I sympathise with him but I really didn’t want a fight over it.
Sadly the fellow was killed that season. He had gone from a light ag plane to a heavy one, probably I suspect without sufficient experience. And sadly too I do not recall the fellows name.


Tomorrow, Swede himself is conned.

[woofa.express]

Part 3, continuing on from yesterday.

Swede himself gets conned.

What is your idea of a con, well I’ve always figured it to be a likeable rogue. Whether correct or not that’s how both Graham and Swede fit my definition.

Graham had been an operator, the bloke from whom infact I bought my business in 1980. About two years later he decided to do just a few more rice sowing jobs around the Deniliquin area and secured two of his old clients. Now as he no longer had an aeroplane or equipment he procured these items and pilot from the Swede who he had employed and fired many years before. Graham did the job and duly returned the equipment but no money for the hire. Swede figured he’d go and collect the money from the client himself and thus ensure payment but when he got there the cupboard was bare. Graham had already collected. And flown.

Graham had conned Swede. He who considered himself the master had been conned by his adversary from whom he had learned his art many years before. No the non payment for equipment or pilot nor the bill for the gas was not the irritation. It was the extreme humiliation of being beaten and especially by Graham.

[woofa.express]

Tomorrow it's cattle theft, intrigue and murder in several parts.

[woofa.express]

This story is broken into several parts. Todays is long and I really can't brake this segment into more than one part.
Speewah 1968.

Speewah is a legendry outback property in Australia. Infact it is the name of an outstation attached to Dunham River Station in the East Kimberleys, south of the now well known tourist station of El Questro and south of Wyndham. North of Bow River on the Halls Creek road.
The year was1968 and I was the station pilot flying a brand new Piper Super Cub. My job was mustering cattle by air. It goes like this. A number of stockmen called Ringers would hold a mob of cattle we called coaches in a partly exposed position and I would run cattle into these coaches. The ringers would lay flat on their horses and the new cattle weren't aware at that moment they were being captured. Holding them wasn’t easy and it would take some time before they would settle and be moved on. Bulls were particularly difficult.
My memory has it there were eight ringers in that camp. One the head stockman whose name was John Collins who was the greatest exaggerator of facts and a bright lively story teller ( all lies) by the name of Vince Kelly whose claimed to have a celebrity sister. Paddy Carol, an aboriginal aged about 90 and Tiger. Paddy was important because he had local knowledge. He never rode faster than a walk and was addressed as “old man” as that was a title of respect. Paddy’s wife Mary, of comparable age, worked in the station kitchen. I never figured what she did but she was the “Queen of the Kitchen”.
On this particular day we had finished early and settled into dinner camp in the dry creek bed, about 100 yards from the old Speewah homestead. It was now rubble, tin and the original ant bed floor. A rocky outcrop on both east and west side. Well Collins and Kelly started their stories. Becoming more and more exaggerated, one endeavouring to out do the other. And as one would expect,mostly lies. Probably all lies. It was entertaining. I was 21 and was quite sucked in. Along comes Paddy Carol and Tiger who was carrying a portable radio. I can clearly recall what Paddy said, “maybe boss you might like to hear this”, one small step for man and one big one for mankind. You will know just what I am talking about. Well we all were intrigued. Blown away. We listened and listened repeatedly for a long time.
For some reason Paddy started talking about early days there at Speewah, where he had worked I figured, about 1918. The blacks used to spear the station cattle, seems like they developed a taste for beef. The station owner, a name many will recognise, had Paddy shoot the blacks. Blacks shooting blacks was not altogether uncommon. I was going to shoot this gin and piccaninny says Paddy but Mary hit me over the head with a billy can and laid me out. We all know a strike with a billy can would not lay a person out and I always figured Mary must have had it full with water or a good size rock in it. Well Paddy is laughing as he tells this story, each sort of giggle he’s jumping a little off his seat which would have been a stump or flour tin. Tiger wasn’t doing alot of laughing. Paddy seems to make the story fairly long winded and in the end tells us the piccaninny is Tiger, here with us today.
So here is a unique story. Man on the moon and man in our presents who shot blacks in this very same place we are now in the Speewah. The mythical land where men are big and workhard, bullocks grow big and one can erect many miles of new fencing each day. In fact there were no fences in the Speewah or any where else in the Kimberleys for that matter.
Now Tiger’s wife was also Mary which is a favourite name for gins. Station owners named the kids. Boys born during WW2 have a reoccurrence of Winston and Churchill. Some after a motor car manufacturer or aeroplane type. These station owners had great imaginations and may well have gone on to write labels for wine bottles . But that’s getting away from the story isn’t it. Tiger’s wife Mary was in the leprosarium near Derby WA. Tiger asks if I could please post a letter to her. Tiger could write even though the word leprosarium was written many times on the envelope. I would think a mission station had taught him. I commend the mission and also Tiger.
The aboriginals worked those days and they were likeable people. Welfare has degraded them like it does all people of all races.
A popular country and folk singer here in Australia named Slim Dusty has a song about Paddy from Turkey Creek. That is close by the Speewah and I have often wondered if it were Paddy Carol who was a gentle and proud person I once knew. I will never know now.

[woofa.express]

El Questro Station.

El Questro is the station mentioned yesterday. North of the Speewah. Access is gained between the two properties by a divide we called the jumpup. You Americans would call it an open canyon perhaps. El Questro cattle would cross the jumpup and to get to better pasture on the Speewah. A costly irritation for the El Questro owners.
I purchased my first aeroplane from an El Questro part owner. A Cessna 172 for some 6K. In return I agreed to muster for them for payment of $13 per hour the same as I had previously paid for it’s hire.
El Questro had a romantic homestead on a piece of flat soft ground, maybe a couple of hundred acres. Very close by it had a cool water gorge and a great place to cool off. On the west side was the Chamberlain gorge, a windy river with high cliffs either side. Stony ground with cattle but almost too difficult to walk them out as it needed to cross the rocky river just too many times. Up on the western side was an Afghans camp. Difficult to spot as it was really just a yard for camels I suppose. A bit of history. Afghans used to transport goods from way down south, some two thousand miles away commencing about the mid 1800’s to about the 1930’s.

El Questro was owned by a syndicate of 4, all well know people from far away Victoria. They were

Tom Connor was a farm machinery manufacturer. When once we were visiting his factory son Dennis took a liking to his electric 3 wheel bike. Full of excitement Dennis asked if he could have a job in this hospitable mans factory. Sure says Mr Connor who then goes on to tell us about several country boys who came to work for him. They were to make scarifier points, hot furnace work and repetitious. Tom said they all returned to school and took up successful apprenticeships and professions.
Des Lagoon had a gold dredge near Bendigo Vic and by chance I latter got to know his son Charles.
George Lancil's ancestors developed gold in Bendigo. The name is seen around the city.
Edgar Picklewas a farmer in southern NSW. His claim to fame was his WW2 service as a squadron leader in the 4 engine Lancaster Bomber. He operated 50 flights over Europe. He was decorated.
Edgar is quoted below.

“We did 15 trips on our first tour and we were the senior crew on the squadron … We’d lost the entire squadron except for two crews. That was pretty sticky. The squadron strength was about 24, I think. So we’d probably lost 20 or 22 crews by the time I’d done 15 trips.

Edgar purchased a Beech Bonanza and had what he described as an ILS (instrument landing system) installed on his farm. That was to leave the back veranda light on and hang a lantern on the airstrip threshold fence. It was, and still is, the talk of other local aviators.
Forward to 1969. In the beer garden of the Kununurra pub, when Patsy was 9 months pregnant Edgar asked her what child she would like. A 7 and half pound boy. Edgar promised me a bottle of Haig Dimple if she delivered. She did and so did Edgar.
Now back to El Questro. When the afternoon sun shines on the Cockburn Range on the northern boundary the vision is just spectacular.
Today El Questro is a tourist resort. I called the booking agent and enquired the availability and cost. I was connected with a woman in the US. and the conversation was both difficult and awkward. The cost per couple ran from $409 to $2450 per night AUD. I’m please when I stayed at El Questro I was paid to work there. That sort of cost would empty ones bank account rather rapidly.


To the north of the Cockburn range is Home Valley. That's tomorrow.

[woofa.express]

Home Valley station.

To the north of El Questro is Home Valley. 1970. It had been owned by Harold McNamara who had just sold and moved to Wyndham and bought a taxi cab - that was his retirement and now he was much older than most who retire. A bloke from Perth had bought Home Valley and he didn’t have much idea of how to run a rural property let alone an outback one. I went across to muster his cattle which Harold was taking possession of as part of payment. Harold told me about his earlier days. He and a few ringers had ridden 2 days and stolen a good number of cattle. It took him 3 days to get them home. He dropped off the branded cattle and got only clean skins back. The cops suspected Harold and went to Home Valley to do a search. Harold hired them a horse team and provided for them. Harold said they spent considerable time barramundi fishing . Very lucrative Harold said and we all enjoyed ourselves. Of course they didn’t find branded cattle. Do you think I’d be so stupid he asked. Harold certainly was a scallywag and knew what skulduggery was.
Cattle theft in America is known as cattle rustling. In Australia it is known as poddy dodging. I have known many incidents which never did come to the owners attention. There was no such thing as boundary fences. Aerial mustering could be used to poddy dodge. I didn’t know where property boundaries were and being young, keen and naive was easily hoodwinked. I’d muster where I was asked. Aeroplanes didn’t leave marks like a stock camp would.
Home Valley had a good quality herd, Santa Gertrudis or cross bred. They had been part of the Wyndham meat works stud.


I have deleted from here on as I have discovered part of the station history on the internet and some of it contradicts what I had written. I will rewrite it, possibly for tomorrow. It is even more interesting than I had imagined.

[woofa.express]

Home Valley station. Written Nov. 28 2018. Yesterday.

To the north of El Questro is Home Valley. 1970. It had been owned by Harold McNamarawho had just sold and moved to Wyndham and bought a taxi cab - that was his retirement and now he was much older than most who retire. A bloke from Perth had bought Home Valley and he didn’t have much idea of how to run a rural property let alone an outback one. I went across to muster his cattle which Harold was taking possession of as part of payment. Harold told me about his earlier days. He and a few ringers had ridden 2 days and stolen a good number of cattle. It took him 3 days to get them home. He dropped off the branded cattle and got only clean skins back. The cops suspected Harold and went toHome Valley to do a search. Harold hired them a horse team and provided for them. Harold said they spent considerable time barramundi fishing . Very lucrative Harold said and we all enjoyed ourselves. Of course they didn’t find branded cattle. Do you think I’d be so stupid he asked. Harold certainly was a scallywag and knew what skulduggery was.
Cattle theft in America is known as cattle rustling. In Australia it is known as poddydodging ( ie stealing unbranded stock). I have known many incidents which never did come to the owners attention. There was no such thing as boundary fences. Aerial mustering could be used to poddy dodge. I didn’t know where property boundaries were and being young, keen and naive was easily hoodwinked. I’d muster where I was asked. Aeroplanes didn’t leave marks like a stock camp would.

I have deleted from here on as I have discovered part of the station history on the internet and some of it contradicts what I had written. I will rewrite it, possibly for tomorrow. It is even more interesting than I had imagined.


Nov 29 2018. Continued.


Further to yesterday the story now continues. The bloke who bought Home Valley from Harold McNamara was Kevin Stansby. Not very bright and is more considerate of his importance and image than he has for addressing the property management. I went and mustered the cattle and Harold took possession of inleau of debt owed by Stansby.
A history of the station is on the website below for those interested. An extractfrom the web has been copied and pasted below in red.
https://www.hvstation.com.au/about/more-history.php

Historically, Home ValleyStation has been in existence as a pastoral lease since 1957 when HaroldMacNamara came from managing Mabel Downs for Naughtons to take up the lease.
Pastoralists of the day wouldsay that Home Valley was well known as a 'poddy dodger's' corner (a poddydodger being one who steals unbranded calves) as was the neighbouring stationof El Questro. These stations were known as being part of the Underworld. Oneway or another McNamara had 700 head on it when he sold to Kevin Stansby andreturned to work for Naughtons on Texas Downs.
In 1971 the ownership of HomeValley was in a state of flux; Kevin Stansby had brought the place fromMacNamara and then subsequently had to sell the stock to raise the funds to payHarold. Broke again, Stansby was looking for a buyer or a partner with money toinvest.
Today MacNamara would havedifficulty recognising Home Valley Station, as would Ian Sinnamon who next heldthe lease on Karunjie and Home Valley until 1999 and is regarded as theoriginal "designer" of the old foundations on which Home Valley'sarchitects built in 2008. Sinnamon created the Station's central hub nowreferred to as the Dusty Bar & Grill. Ian portrayed the qualities of agentleman when hosting special Sunday Dinners at Home Valley, inviting allneighbouring Station owners and staff from the area and requesting they woreties.

Home Valley had a good quality herd, Santa Gertrudis and cross bred. They had been part of the Wyndham meat works stud and I would guess poddy dodging had acquired the blood line of this herd years before. The meat works head stockman had been speared by aboriginals so the locals went after them. The aboriginals were said to have been thrown off a cliff face which later led to a Queens inquiry. I had always believed this to be at Home Valley but a fairly exhaustive search on the internet contradicts this and says it occurred at Forest River just to the north. Much has been researched and written by universities and other self considered morally superior uprighteous social left radical groups and I have an opinion on their bias. As this is not a political forum I shall resist putting this view forward. Bet you say “you just have gary”.

Today Home Valley is a tourist resort purchased by the government for aboriginals to operate and administer. It offers varying standards of accommodation. Australian urban dwellers really think they are in the outback on these properties even though they have mosquito nets, aircon, queen sized beds and table service. And for the property owners, it pays better than mustering and trucking bovine particularly in drought times. And the cost of staying at Home Valley doesn’t hold a candle to the cost of staying at El Questro.
For urban folk to understand rural, country and outback people a talk with them would be most informative and they, non urban folk would welcome it. Urban folk would be shocked to find no bitumen roads, sometimes hundreds of miles to medical help, no telephones for some, no facebook and no income at times due to the unreliability of rainfall. Urbane folk would find them informative, helpful and hospitable. Never miss the opportunity of getting to know these people.

[woofa.express]

I have been thinking about those days I spent cattle mustering in the late 60's and early 70's. Another name for cattle theft is "cattle duffing".

Writing these stories has provided a good opportunity in looking back at my life. Prompting my memory. Otherwise much may well have been forgotten. I think my grandkids will enjoy reading these stories in years to come. Hope so anyway. gary.