by Dawn Millen
As Gavin walks to the rubble pile I open the window of the truck so that I can hear the conversation and can back Gavin up if necessary, between my legs I have a .22 rifle, loaded and with the safety off and ready to use.
“Hey Steve, what’s going on mate?” Gavin calls out to the tall, slender man in Police uniform standing on the top of the barricade.
“Hi Gavin, the town is in lockdown, no one in or out due to disease, we can’t have it spreading. Doc says it’s Typhoid and he suspects Cholera too. We are just too few to bury all the dead here and disease has taken hold fast. How many are you and are you all well?” Steve calls back down to Gavin from the top of the 15 foot wall of rubble, his short red curls gleaming in the sun.
“There are two hundred and fifty nine of us and everyone is well in our group.” Gavin replies. “Is there anything we can do for you guys?”
“Not much can be done here at the moment, we have 400 survivors and 300 are sick at the moment, even Doc is not doing too well. Have you heard anything from anywhere we might get help?” Steve asks.
“Not a bloody word mate, there is no working internet, phones or power all the way back to John Creek and we have heard nothing over the radio network either.” Gavin replies. “Can we get around the outskirts of town mate, we are heading for the coast and will just pass through, and we won’t stop as it is too big a risk for our mob?” He questions quickly.
“You can get through round through Bloomfield Street and back onto the Oxley Highway at Wentworth Street, the one at the end of Kitchener Park. Where are you headed, once the risk is over from disease I am hoping to get the survivors out of here too and we may be able to join you?” Steve gives the information required and asks for our destination.
“Heading for Gordon on the coast, it is about two hours north of Williamsville. We are all parked up 25 miles west of here currently and will not be moving on for a couple of days. We have elderly members with us who need the rest break, not to mention the rest of us who are getting tired too.” Gavin grins at his friend as he says this.
“Okay, I know the spot and when I am able I will head for there with whatever crew are left from here. I can’t believe how many we lost in the first and second quakes and now there are people dying from disease. I wish they had taken notice when I first mentioned moving out of town and out of the buildings.” Steve’s face tells of his sadness as he speaks of the loss of friends within the town.
“Our next major stop is going to be at the George Falls on the escarpment, there is good camping there and we will have a decent break before some of us head towards the coast again and see if it is habitable. I will leave you directions as to where we are heading next at the kiosk there.” Gavin tells Steve.
“Thanks, Gav. I will look for it when we get there. Hope it’s soon too. See you on the coast mate.” Steve says.
“See you there mate. Take care and stay well.” Gavin replies before turning and heading for the vehicle.
“Oh shit, I am glad we got out of town and that I had so much support.” These were the first words out of Gavin’s mouth as he climbed back into the cabin of the Police vehicle. “Things would have been just as bad for us if we had stayed in Smithtown. I don’t think that we could have coped with the loss of life that Steve is dealing with.”
“I know mate and I’m glad that we had such a strong committee and got organised in a hurry too.” I say leaning over and giving his shoulder a quick squeeze. “Now let’s make tracks and head back to the others and fill them in on the situation. We are no worse off now than we were yesterday and that at least is a blessing.” I finish quickly and look through the passenger window so that Gavin can’t see the tears that spring to my eyes. The loss of life in that large country town overwhelms me to the extent that I am now feeling real grief for the first time since the earthquake struck on New Year’s Day.
I watch the bush glide past the window as we drive back to the campsite and the tears dry quickly and I am ready to put a smile on my face and turn back to the front again. I take a deep breath and resolve to keep positive once more.
The trip back takes much less time as we follow the wheel tracks we made heading into Gunnedah and we have already cleared any obstructions. We are soon at the camp and Gavin calls a meeting of the committee to fill them in on what we have found out. There are gasps from the others when he tells them of the typhoid and cholera in Gunnedah and sighs of relief that we will not be staying here, but going forward towards the coast the day after tomorrow. Gavin asks that we tell the rest of the campers to all meet at the cooking fires after dinner and we will explain to everyone then what the current situation is and what has been happening at Gunnedah. People are going to have to be told of the plans for the diversion around the town and where we are going to be taking our next rest break.
Lunch time comes up quickly and we eat and go about cleaning our gear, checking vehicles and catching up with friends and family throughout the afternoon. I take the dogs for a long run and just enjoy some quiet time and solitude. This morning has shaken me to the core and the realization of how close we came to disaster is setting in for me now. I need the time to think and to sort out my emotions so that I am able to show a strong face to the group tonight. I sit down on a log beside the creek as the dogs wander and sniff around and I start to cry quietly. There is no one around to see my tears and I am thankful for that. The quiet of the bush envelops me and my mind soon calms and my tears dry. I stay sitting though my head in my hands while the peace and tranquillity of the running water soothes my soul. It is then that I hear the footsteps behind me and the snapping of twigs. My solitude has been broken.
I turn my head slowly, I don’t feel threatened as the dogs are still lying in the shade of the log and have only cocked their ears up. They know who is there and they sense no problems. This is a friend and I will be safe. From behind the screen of bushes comes the tall figure of Gavin, a smile on his face and a thermos of coffee and two cups in his hand.
“Hi Jenn, thought you might like a cuppa and a chat now that you’ve had some time on your own.” He says as he flops down on the log beside me. “You’ve been gone two hours and Sandra was worried about you, so I volunteered to come and look for you.”
“I’m okay Gavin, I just needed some quiet time to process what we saw and heard this morning, and it kind of rocked me to know how bad things are in Gunnedah. I still find it hard to believe what we heard from Steve. I say gently. “You know too that I am used to being alone most of the time and I do find it hard to be among the crowd all day. In a lot of ways I miss my quiet world.”
Gavin pours the coffee into the mugs and we sit on the log and listen to the water in the creek for a while. I can see his shoulders relaxing as he watches a leaf bobbing gently as it is carried downstream and the quiet of the bush seems to be doing the same healing work for Gavin as it does for me. It’s a companionable silence and we relax, drink our coffee and hide inside ourselves for a while.
The sun starts to go down towards the horizon and it is soon time to head off towards the camp and the duties we had put aside for just a little while. Gavin stands and then pulls me to my feet and I whistle the dogs and we start to walk back the way we had come.
“I can see why you take off on your own Jenn, I always wondered what you did, but now I know, it’s your way of recharging your batteries and it works. I will be doing a bit of that too from now on. I think I need the silence and the peace too. Sometimes just dumping the load like that is good.” Gavin states as we walk alongside the creek. “I do feel more refreshed now and able to battle on. Thanks Jenn.”
“Not a problem Gavin, I have always turned to silence and water to sort out my thoughts. It sure makes it easier to face the tasks.” I say. “I’ve always loved the water, probably from the many hours I spent by the river at Gordon and it has always been my practise to cast my problems on the water and what doesn’t dissolve I deal with.” My smile grows wide as I remember the times my Mother
and I used to do just that when I was a child.
We arrive back at the camp and I tie the dogs back onto the fire truck and feed them, boost puppy up into the cabin so that she can snooze for a while and head towards the cooking fires, stopping at my tent to grab a flannel shirt against the cool night air. I join the line at one of the fires and grab some hot stew and a coffee and head over to a blanket to sit down and eat. Rhys and Caren are there too and the baby smiles sweetly at me and makes a grab for the bread roll in my hand. I break off a piece for her and hand it to her as it will give Rhys chance to eat his dinner while it is hot.
“How did the boys hunt go this afternoon?” I ask Rhys.
“Good, they came back with three kangaroos, a pile of vegetables and fruit from an abandoned homestead and only travelled about 4 miles to do it.” Rhys replies.
“I taste onion in the stew; they must have found some as we ran out four days ago.” I state.
“Yep, and they brought back apples, and strawberries too.” Rhys tells me.
“Pies for dessert?” I ask quickly and grin, I am getting known for my sweet tooth and huge appetite.
“I think so, there were so many that the cooks are making jam too for breakfasts.” Rhys replies grinning back at me.
“Great, hope the sugar holds out though.” I say.
“Richard has been robbing some wild bee hives today and teaching the 10 to 14 year olds how to do it. We will be using honey to sweeten things like tea, coffee and desserts and the sugar for preserving and jam making.” Rhys tells me. “There is still plenty of sugar though, I cleaned out both supermarkets before we left Smithtown, but it pays to conserve it as much as possible, there is no telling when we are going to be able to get more.”
“True, there are a lot of things we have to be careful with. Fuel is starting to worry me at the moment. I am sure that if I put my mind to it there will be plenty of other things to worry about too.” I say quietly and grin at him; he is starting to call me Ms Worry quite frequently.
“We have plenty of fuel at the moment and Charlie is going to raid the next petrol station to try and top up the tanker with both petrol and diesel, he can reverse pump it back into the tanks on the truck and keep us going. He was talking about it this morning while you went with Gavin into Gunnedah.” Rhys tells me about the conversation with Charlie.
For the next half hour we eat and talk about the day and watch the others around the fires doing the same thing. Conversation among so many creates quite a buzz flowing around the camp site and I catch odd words here and there from other conversations and that spurs Rhys and I off on different tangents as the time passes. Soon it is time to clean up the site after dinner and have the meeting to inform everyone about the situation at Gunnedah and to plan for the next stage of the trip.
The group settle quietly in a circle and look towards Gavin as he walks towards the centre. “Okay folks, here is the news that Jenn and I managed to gather this morning when we went to check out Gunnedah. Things are not good there, there has been a huge loss of life and now they have typhoid and cholera rampant through the few survivors from the quakes. We will not be stopping and we won’t be able to resupply there either. There is a cleared route through the outskirts of the town and we will be taking that to get onto the Oxley Highway and head for the coast.” Gavin begins to tell the group about our findings from this morning’s reconnaissance trip. “I have spoken to the Police Sargent there and he has agreed to head for the coast with any survivors left after things are safe for them to do so. It will be some time before they can head out though and all we can do is hope that they are able to join us.” Gavin pauses for a while to gather his thoughts.
The crowd stirs and there is a buzz of concern around them as they realize how close we could have come to this happening to our group if we had not left Smithtown. For many this is their first realization and it has rocked them to the core. I can see the looks on many faces that were a mirror of my feelings this morning as we left Gunnedah. It is probably the shock that is needed though to make the final break with the past. Smithtown will not be habitable for a long time to come and the mutterings of those wishing to return were gaining momentum, the discontent had slowed a little after John Evans died, but it was rebuilding again now and the malcontents were gaining another foot hold within the group. This situation may well have resolved the issues of people wanting to head back to Smithtown for good. There is no return possible due to the risk of disease to everyone who returns.
Gavin continues his information session and covers the planning in place for the diversion around Gunnedah, the route and the expected arrival on the coast. He then asks for questions and few were asked, those that were asked and answered were just for clarification of the planning and rest stops along the way. Soon the session was over and people began to settle back, relax and chat among themselves. Rhys stands and picks up the sleeping baby and heads for his tent to tuck her in for the night. The guitars come out and the music starts and the old songs ring out into the night as the group sit together and bond over the music. It’s a beautiful night, so clear and the stars sparkle and look so close you could almost touch them, not a visible cloud shows against the velvet black. I feel wrapped in the peace of that beautiful diamond covered blanket of the outback darkness.
Sandra, Paul, Krystal, Raymond and Jasmine and her family all gather on the blanket with me and we sit there singing with our arms around each other and the younger children crowded in our laps as they cuddle down to sleep. Jasmine is on one side of me with her head on my shoulder and on the other I have Krystal. On my lap I have my tiny niece and she is keeping me warm, so warm that I take off my flannel shirt and cover her against the mosquito’s that are gathering and trying to turn us into dinner.
Soon it is time to head back to the tents and get some sleep, so with a yawn I hand Jasmine back her sleeping daughter and push myself to my feet. I am keen to get my RM Williams boots off and give my sore feet a rest and some air. I walk slowly back to the tent and then just as I get there decide to check on Gavin as I had not seen him around the fire. His tent flap is still open as I approach and the pot on the primus is coming to the boil.
“I hope you have enough water for two coffees in there mate.” I call out as I get closer.
“I do, I was going to come and look for you shortly and offer you a cup, but you saved me a walk.” Gavin grins up me from his perch on a log just inside the tent.
“I’ve got bad news for you though.” I tell him. “I’m about to take these boots off and give my feet a break. I am not sure how good they are going to smell though.” I finish on a laugh.
“It’s okay; we can sit outside for a while if you are going to do that.” Gavin laughs too as he watches me drop to the ground and start to pull my boots off.
“Here you go Jenn, watch it, it’s hot.” Gavin says as he passes me a steaming mug of coffee.
We sit quietly outside the tent and sip our coffee, watching the stars wheel overhead and enjoying the silent company. There are times when words are not necessary and this was one. We watch the stragglers head back to their tents and hear the settling noises of the camp. Looking towards the centre we look at the red glowing eyes of the fires that have been banked down for the night. The quiet of the outback is descending and the silence of the night envelops the camp.
“I’d better head off to bed mate; it’s been a long day and fairly emotional.” I say to Gavin as I struggle to my feet to take the short walk home. I hand him the coffee mug and smile. “Thanks for the cuppa and the company.”
“You’re welcome Jenn, don’t forget your boots though, you’ll be looking for them in the morning for sure.” Gavin stands and passes the boots across the small space between us before leaning over and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug. “Don’t forget to rest up tomorrow and relax, we have a long week ahead of us and you need to be fresh.”
“I’ll rest up mate. I know the hard part is coming up and I will need al
l the rest I can get.” I say. “Goodnight mate, sleep well.”
“Night Jenn, see you tomorrow.”
Sleep comes quickly again as exhaustion overcomes me and I am woken as the sun rises above the trees and releases its heat upon the world. The camp is already stirring and I can hear the sounds of voices and the rattle of the cooking pots as breakfast is readied by the cooks.
I wander down to the fires after I dress and pull my boots on to my tired feet and vow that I will run barefoot for a month once we get to the end of this journey. Coffee and a bread roll covered in thickly in apple and strawberry jam makes a great start to the day and I walk around saying hello to people and having a quick chat about their concerns and I try to set their minds at rest. Many of the questions are about the area we are heading to and what to expect. I can only tell them what it was like the last time I was home in Gordon. I am unsure as to the changes, if any, that the quakes have caused and the possibility of tsunami doesn’t bear thinking about, so I don’t mention it at all. I am hoping that my childhood home and my parents are safe upon the hill that looks over the ocean and that I do have a home to go back too.
The day passes swiftly and I decide to head to bed early before the next day’s travel and head off to my tent just after dinner. I sleep deeply and wake refreshed and ready for anything just before the sunrise the next morning. Camp is soon packed up and the convoy hits the road at 8.30 am to get as much travel in as the day will allow. Plans are made for the scouting crew to look for a good campsite from 2pm and with the final instructions the convoy forms up and we move out towards Gunnedah.
Chapter 35
The 25 miles to Gunnedah passes swiftly and we navigate the route through town that Steve has asked us to use. It has been cleared, but the corners are sharp when we come to turn into Bloomfield Street at the park and it presents some problems for the fuel tanker and the semi-trailers. It takes them a little longer to get around, but once around we turn right onto the Oxley Highway and head east and towards the coast.