Tag: Mt Barnett

Working and Living in Derby

December 1, 2009 /

Well, we are back in sunny Derby for a four week working stint at Derby District High School. We seem to keep gravitating back to this part of the World. This time around, we are not teaching as much as doing IT related work. We love the staff at Derby and always feel welcome and appreciated.

Our second home in the Kimberley is Mt Barnett. We started off this trip by driving into Mt Barnett direct from Perth. It was a long haul of around 2800km with two overnight stops at Newman and Roebuck. By the time we got to Wananami (the school at Mt Barnett), we were just about done in but it was straight into the work and we soon had 4 projectors and interactive white board systems installed and working. This mostly involved drilling and cabling into overhead locations so the shoulder muscles got an extra good workout but the end result was very satisfying. We were not the only visitors in the school. A couple of film makers, Samantha Martin and Michael Butler from SacredOz Productions, were working in the school with a group of children making a wonderful film about life around Mt Barnett. We got on well with them and invited them to stay with us when they got to Derby.
By Saturday morning we were all done and ready to drive back to Derby. Gary and Ethel McKivett were heading out to Manning Pool with their daughter Andrea for a swim so we couldn’t resist the chance to join them in one of the most beautiful places in the whole Kimberley. We have spent many hours over the last 5 years relaxing and soaking in this wonderful location and this trip was no exception. Despite the fact that it is near the end of the Dry Season and the falls have stopped flowing, the water levels and quality was still excellent. We swam, soaked, floated and relaxed.

mess-stick-group.jpgThe trip back to Derby was one of solitude because we drove separate cars, Christine in the Land Cruiser and me driving an old Toyota HiLux belonging to one of the Wananami teachers. She is leaving to head back down South so it had an appointment with the car transporter back in Derby. Thankfully, the air-conditioning still worked.

In Derby, we set up home with our meager possessions in a comfortable house that we had managed to rent through a contact at the school. We prefer to camp but at this time of year an air-conditioner is a must so a house is most welcome. Michael and Samantha soon followed and between us we managed to set up a comfortable establishment. They were looking to stay in Derby for a fortnight for a family funeral so we had a while to get to know this wonderful couple. They are currently travelling Oz in a wonderful old Land Rover called the “Message Stick Vehicle”. This machine is around 50 years old and started life as an army ambulance. Michael has taken it around Australia before, creating documentaries and spreading the knowledge about the indigenous cultures he has encountered. The whole vehicle is covered with a wonderful display of paintings and autographs from an amazing cavalcade of people who have made an impact on our World, including Nelson Mandela.

The days past quickly. We went to work during the day at Derby District High, working in a mostly IT role, with Christine covering a Pre-primary class on Fridays. We would come home to touch base with our house friends in Michael and Samantha and swap many yarns about the wonderful places we have visited. Samantha has an encyclopedic knowledge of Kimberley bush tucker and we shared some of our Kalumburu experiences with her. We found that we had a few friends in common, with Samantha being a Wyndham girl and going to school with some of our Kalumburu friends. With Michael we shared a fascination with electronic gadgetry and the delights of a carton of Tiger Beer. We got together and swapped yarns as they planned a trip from Derby to Phuket in Thailand. We had a terrific time together and will miss them dearly as they head off on the next phase of their journey. We felt that our time together was a true sharing of knowledge, that we both learnt an enormous amount from each other. I am sure our paths will cross again sometime soon.
mess-stick-vehicle.jpg
Meanwhile, we have loved catching up with our great friends in Derby, the Thorsby Family. Chris Thorsby and I have been fully occupied with a mechanical project of immense proportions as we strive to fit “cruise control” to our 80 Series Land Cruiser. I bought a DIY kit on eBay, knowing full well that it would probably turn into a saga but that Chris would rise to the occasion. We have spent many an evening under the car finding just the right spot for the magnetic sender or finding the best way to route the network of wires behind paneling or under carpet. Any day now, the project will come to a head. We will prevail.

The work is wonderful, the weather is excellent and we are thoroughly enjoying our time in Derby. We will have to see what the next two weeks bring.

Along the Gibb

August 16, 2008 /

It has certainly been a long time since we last posted anything. It is at least good to know that a few people have remarked on our lack of communication. We have just emerged back into civilization, having been “out on the Gibb” for quite some time. Everything is very dusty, we are 2 tyres down and we have a huge pile of washing to do. We have set up camp in Kununurra and will remain here until we feel recovered enough to hit the road again. Since it is now Week 4 of the school term, I have to think back to what we got up to since I last posted anything……

For the last few days of the school holidays, we lazed around Fitzroy Crossing, taking advantage of the free rent at Trevor and Emmas (it’s nice to get something back from your kids) and did a spot of fishing (what else). Trevor managed a nice barra in the gorge whcih we promptly despatched to the stomach on getting home.

The start of school saw us out at Muludja, staying with our friend Jackie, another escapee from Kalumburu. Muludja is a community on the banks of the Margaret River on land excised from Fossil Downs Station. It is only about 35km from Fitzroy Crossing so it is quite convenient. Even so, we took the camper out and set up our own home. All the houses in Muludja are built on raised stilts for protection from floods so we set up under the house, giving plenty of shelter and shade.

The school has two classes, K-3 and 4-7 with an enrolment around 25 or so. The kids were absolutely delightful, having both a respect for teachers and an appetite to learn. We spent our time in the junior class, which seemed to have more Year Ones than anything else. Of course, the two bears came to class with us and proved an instant hit. They were mauled all day long, as one child after another took possession of them to hold while working. They read about bears, did maths with bears and read stories to the bears. We brought out all our electronic gadgets, made a movie of the school, had a wonderful time and got paid for it. What more could anyone ask? We still seem to spend a lot of time preapring for the next day’s lessons but as we go along, we gather more and more resources and ideas so in theory, the work will get easier and we will become more efficient. Jackie spoiled us each evening with her hospitality and we spent a couple of terrific evenings with her and Jenny Evans from the District Office catching up on all the news around the Kimberley schools. The movie we made will be shown at Wannanami (Mt Barnett) in a few weeks time and we will make a similar movie there to send back to Muludja kids.

It was back to Fitzroy Crossing for the weekend, before once again farewelling Trevor and Emma and heading off for a camp at Mooridah Crossing on the Fitzroy at Looma. We spent 3 lazy days fishing (with little success), sleeping and reading. Christine turned 54 and I pointed out that she is still below retirement age so she needs to keep working hard. That went down well. Then it was back into Derby to replenish supplies before crossing the Gibb River Rd to Mt Barnett for another week of work.

Along the way, we stopped for the night at Silent Grove and Bell Gorge, one of the most spectacular in the Kimberley. At the end of a day’s driving and an afternoon exploring the gorge, we were greeted by a flat tyre on the track back to Silent Grove. It was a very grubby and rather short tempered Terry that crawled into camp just on sun-down. We did some running repairs on tyres at Imitji and pulled into Mt Barnett the next day. Camp was set up at Manning Gorge campsite, some 7kms from the school. It was worth the comute though because we were able to have a relaxing swim in the best swimming hole in the North every afternoon. Watching the stready stream of campers come and go each day is also a great little distraction. The variety of camper trailers, tents, swags and even caravans is testimony to the financial power of the grey nomads.

Wananami School is wonderful. Gary and Ethel McKivett are frinds from Wyalkatchem days (they were at Cadoux). Gary is the Pricnipal and Ethel is the Registrar. Once again, they laid out the hospitality red carpet and kept us well supplied with the luxuries of life like ice. The staff is friendly and there is a real collegiate feel to the place. They have 3 classes, K-3, 4-6 and 7-12. We loved the kids and had some terrific teaching experiences in our week with them. Three very talented and engaging students worked on putting together a video about Wananami that we sent back to the kids in Muludja. Working with aboriginal kids who want to work and learn is a hugely rewarding thing to do. Mt Barnett is a very isolated part of the world. It sees a steady stream of off-road campers and 4-wheel drives but the average length of stay is only around 15 minutes or so. We met a few characters who live and work around the roadhouse. In the main, they are like us, itinerant and free to stop or go on.

From Mt Barnett, we back-tracked a little then headed South to Mornington Wildlife Conservation Centre, near the headwaters of the Fitzroy. This one-time station turned nature -lovers retreat caters for campers to luxury safari tents. As we worked our way along bumpy tracks to Dimond Gorge, the map told us we were only 90kms from Fitzroy Crossing, but nearly 400kms by road. One look at the King Leopold Ranges towering over us told us why the roads don’t exist.

Dimond Gorge was a bit of a let-down, as was Sir John Gorge. Perhaps we are a bit “gorged-out”. We packed up and commenced the 400km crossing of the Gibb River Road to Kununurra. Along the way, we stopped to help 3 British girls in a “Wicked Van”. They only had one spare, which was flat, and the car seemed to be shaking so badly that it would not steer straight. I suspect the rear shockies were blown. Cars like this should not be allowed out on the Gibb and the rental companies have to take some responsibility. We got the girls to the Durack River, were they could camp, swim and wait for help before driving on to Home Valley Station and reporting their plight to the Wicked Rental mob. They thanked us and said they would deal with things so I hope the girls were going to get some assistance.

Enough for now. Time to start cleaning everything in sight.

Kimberley Cup

July 17, 2007 /

Saturday 30 June to Friday 6 July

We have had a wonderful week, covering more than 2000km on a Kalumburu-Broome and return trip and enjoying the company of 3 other teachers and 13 students from Years 8 to 11.

We left early on Saturday morning, expecting a long slow trip South to the Gibb River Road then West to Mt Barnett for an overnight stop. In fact, parts of the road were the best we had ever encountered. The recent rains had smoothed out the corrugations and some grading work had removed the worst of the rock outcrops. We had three drivers with the necessary 4WD qualification and so we set up a 2 hour rotation system. This also allowed us to change cars, which was a good thing because the kids had only brought one tape per car and the music became very repetitive. I’m not sure how the kids manage to sleep in the back of a Troopie pitching and bumping over unsealed roads but they manage. While awake, they never tired of spotting all manner of wildlife and encouraging the drivers to &quotbump&quot anything from a brahman bull to a monitor lizard. We encountered a fair bit of mud and slush along the way so the white Troopies were soon a uniform orange. After a lunch stop at the Gibb River crossing, it was on to Mt Barnett to set up camp in the classrooms at Wannanami School.

The next day we pushed on to Broome, much of the journey being quite boring having reached the bitumen some 50kms out of Derby. The camp school at Broome is incredible. Situated right next to the Cable Beach Resort, it commands beautiful views of Cable Beach and has bunk houses and tents well designed for the climate. We had been allocated two large tents and I found myself sleeping on a top bunk in the first time in many years. The food was first class, with varied ample meals, coffee and tea facilities for staff, packed morning teas and lunches every day and friendly staff. The first night was easy, with only Kalumburu and Fitzroy Crossing in camp. The kids occupied themselves with a basketball game while we renewed aquaintances with teachers that we had worked with at Fitzroy. The following morning saw the arrival of kids from La Grange, Wyndham, Oombulgurri and Looma. Broome SHS, St Marys Broome and Kununurra DHS rounded out a big competitive field. With so many schools in camp, meals were staggered and we were unlucky enough to have the 5:45 breakfast slot. This meant getting up in the dark, although being so far East, the sunrise was not too far off.

Day One of sports saw both the boys and girls thrilled with first up wins in basketball. Unfortunately, they were brought down to Earth again with losses in Indoor Soccer. The day was long and hard. Most other schools had enough students to field separate teams for each sport and have plenty of subs. We were forced to play the same teams for basketball and soccer with only one or two subs. By 5pm, the students returned to camp very tired. Some of students were lacking warm clothing, socks and towels so Christine and I snuck away from the sports in the morning to go to St Vincent de Pauls and stock up. They were very good to us once they knew where we were from and we got some much needed clothing very cheaply.

Day Two was a light one for sporting fixtures so we slotted in a walk on the Broome Jetty and a bit of shopping. It was back to St Vinnies for some real bargains. Down in China Town, we broke into small groups and prowled the shops for sports shoes, DVDs, sweets and other items that teenagers everywhere crave. The matches we did play saw some further defeats so talk of finals was on the back burner. After a quick shower and change, we headed out for a meal at the Roebuck Hotel. The kids really enjoyed eating out. Fish, Chips and Salad or Fisherman’s Basket was the main attraction with a couple of jugs of squash. The kids were on their best behaviour and several other diners were complimentary.

Day Three saw the girls soccer team back into finals contention. Playing in finals would mean staying on until after lunch on Thursday and a night drive back across the Gibb so it was with mixed feelings that we watched the girls draw their last game and lose the chance at a finals berth. All teams had performed very well, with a good number of wins against some much bigger schools. It is a hard and tiring week of sport and a great credit to the organisers that everything runs so smoothly. After tea, the kids went off to the pictures. Christine and I dropped them off and took a much needed break to ourselves with a paper to read and a soda water at MacDonalds. As expected, half the kids fell asleep during the movie anyway.

The trip back went very smoothly and we make excellent time, reaching Mt Barnett around 4pm. The weather had improved and the night at Barnett was noticeable warmer than the 5 degrees of the night spent on the way out. The following day, we made excellent time, arriving back in Kalumburu just after lunch. With gear sorted, cars cleaned and students disbursed, it was off to an early night. We had an early morning charter flight booked and most staff were heading off on holidays so there was little in the way of social wind up. One of our fellow Kimberley Cup teachers was driving out the next morning to Broome, going straight back over the ground he had just driven. Distances seem to take on a new meaning up here. As we took off for the return to Kununurra, we both felt pleased that we had once again returned to Kalumburu and had such an enjoyable week with kids we knew from our years here. One gets the feeling that the worst of the days are now thankfully behind Kalumburu and the pain that the community is feeling now is at least the begining of a rebuilding.

Manning Pool

October 3, 2006 /
During our 2005 trip along the Gibb River we stopped at Manning Pool for our first time and were struck by the beauty of it. We were on our way to Kalumburu to visit our parents and had travelled from Newman, picking up Derek in Broome, and settled camp at the Pool.

While we were there fishing, I tested out the panoramic function on my Nikon digital camera, taking about eight images, and then promptly forgetting about them. About six months after the trip, Derek mentioned he had spliced the images together in Gimp, and then six months after that I finally saw the finished product.

Needless to say, it has been blown up, framed and sits proudly in the entrance to our house. The first of many TJ & DM collaborations? Probably not, but it does look great.

A Trip to Mt Barnett

October 3, 2006 /

During the last June/July holidays, we travelled with our Fitzroy Crossing friends Kevin and Rachel along the Gibb River Road to visit Manning Gorge, near Mt Barnett.

As part of the trip we also visited Bells, Adcock, Barnett River and Galvin’s Gorges. The trip entailed plenty of sight-seeing, hiking and fishing (with plenty of Sooty Grunter and Cherebin on offer).

The trip was also our first chance to road-test our new 4×4 off-road camper-trailer. It passed with flying colours, through numerous creek crossings and heavy corregations.

Bells Gorge is a beautiful series of cascading waterfalls, similar to Mitchell Falls, but on a smaller scale. We camped the night at nearby Silent Grove before spending the morning wandering around Bells itself.

Manning Pool, Manning Gorge and Manning Falls are where we spent most of our time. We camped for four nights at Manning Pool, using it as our basecamp for the other gorges. Manning Falls is very relaxing place to spend time.

Galvin’s Gorge was a a little surprise package – only 500 metres from the main road, it was a small but spectacular pool and waterfall, complete with lazy water monitors, big bream swimming around and Aboriginal rock art.

© 2026 hinchy.org

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑