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THE HEART OF VISE
The first tutor to take a placement with VISE was a Canberra lady, Cecilia Bibo. This was 1990 and the outback was still "frontier country".
Cecilia wrote this account telling of her experiences over the next fifteen years.
Cecilia passed away recently and so we lost a wonderful volunteer but history will still remember her.
TEACHING AS A VISE
Cecilia Bibo
The beginning
I first heard of VISE (Volunteers for Isolated Students Education) when I attended a meeting with Mike Stock and other interested people - thinking we’d mull over a few ideas, discuss how everything might be put in place and perhaps the scheme might begin to work.
You can imagine my surprise when, as I walked into the room, Mike thrust a piece of paper into my hand and said ‘You can do this, when can you leave?’
Mike had taught me how to tutor illiterate adults and I had been doing that work in Canberra for a number of years. I could use the same system to help children in isolated areas who did their school work by correspondence (Distance Education).
I had two weeks to get ready to travel to the Northern Territory to help Jonathon Price, who with his mother and father, lived on Alroy Downs. His spelling and reading skills were very poor, but maths was ok – just as well as maths was not a strong subject for me. Jonathon was just finishing Grade 8 by correspondence from Darwin but was behind in his work.
I left Canberra by bus for Alroy Cattle Station, Barkley Tableland on Thursday 22 February 1990, farewelled by family, friends and of course, Mike and Colleen Stock. I was the first tutor to go out; it was the beginning of a series of wonderful adventures for me. I made many wonderful friends along the way. In fact, one friend, Sandy in Western Australia, is responsible for my writing this – but more about her later.
First placement (North)
The bus travelled up the coast and at Tweed heads I waved to my sister, Shirley, who was standing on the side of the road as the bus trundled by. I broke my journey in Townsville and spent a very pleasant evening with my Sri Lankan friend, Rohan Pererra. Rohan has since died but I often remember his kindness.
From Townsville it was a long trip to the Barkley Roadhouse passing through Charters Towers, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry, Mt Isa, on to Camooweal, then across the border into the Northern Territory. The bus reached the Barkley Roadhouse in the early hours of the morning. It was pitch dark, nothing familiar and I was beginning to wonder what I had let myself in for.
However, I needn’t have worried as Jonathan’s mother Coral, and the station manager’s wife, Narelle Miller were there to meet me. We drove to Alroy Downs where I fell into bed and slept very well until breakfast.
Jonathon and I soon settled into a routine. We had a school room where we began work at 9 am, broke for morning tea, then back to work until lunch. More time in the school room until our day’s work was done. Jonathon then had certain jobs to do – like feeding the pigs after collecting all the food scraps from the various houses on the property.
I ate in the station kitchen with the staff and became great friends with the cook and her husband. We still keep in touch and I have visited them in Townsville where they now live.
Some afternoons we would swim in the Playford River. Sometimes I would be invited to travel to different parts of the property to see the beautiful Santa Gertrude cattle. One memorable evening I went with the staff to the Barkley Roadhouse – just for an evening out.
I spent four weeks at Alroy, then travelled to Darwin to spend some time with my niece and her daughter sightseeing around Darwin and Kakadu. Thinking I might never get to that part of the world again – how wrong I was!
Off to College
In February 1991 I received a phone call from Mike Stock asking if I could go to the NT Rural College (where Mike and Colleen were now based) to help some students who were having trouble with their studies. I thought about this request – for about 5 seconds – and once again was on my way, this time by plane. Colleen met me at Darwin, we drove the 300km south to Katherine where I lived in the Residential accommodation, the same as used for the students. I ate in the dining room with the students and again whenever anything was happening I would grab my hat, binoculars, water bottle and go with the group. I saw how to butcher a cow in the bush, how a cow was artificially inseminated. I saw the Brahmin cattle, the mango plantation and the forage and grain crops (sorghum). One day I went with a group to the 500 square kilometre Mataranka Station used as a commercial cattle property for a herd of 600 Droughtmaster and Brahmin cross breeders. Everyone was again very friendly and helpful – I made good friends – but best of all I met Neil Mearns who was a teacher at the College. We have remained friends – nearly every year I spend time with Neil on Stradbroke Island where he now lives. I was in the NT during the ‘The Wet’. While it was very muggy it was not too hot as the cloud cover kept the temperature down. I got used to drying my washing under the fan in my room which was never turned off. I went to Katherine Gorge but could not travel up the Gorge because there was too much water. I explored the Historic Gold Mining Town of Pine Creek and one fine day I swam in Edith Falls – no crocodiles there.
I spent six weeks at the College doing most of my work at night as the students were in classes during the day. One of ‘my’ boys topped his class – I was very proud.
Going West
I was home until May that year, waiting to go to a student in Jabiru in June, when once again Mike was on the phone asking me if I’d go to WA to teach a little girl whose mother had recently had a baby and was finding things a bit difficult. Before I left Canberra another request for help was received from the same area and I was asked to take a second placement. It makes sense to do two placements as the families pay the travel costs. So one family pays the cost there, the other pays the return fare. So once again I was purchasing a map, packing a case and heading for Jundee Station.
Jundee is about 75 kilometres north east of Wiluna – Wiluna is 181 kilometres east of Meekathara and Meekathara is 763 kilometres north east of Perth – now I really knew the meaning of isolation.
I had travelled to Perth by plane and spent time with Don and Pip Hesterman, friends from RAAF Pt Cook, Victoria, who were now back in Western Australia. Don saw me off on the bus at Perth heading north to Meekathara, where Jody’s father met me. I had never taught such a young pupil before. Jody was only in her first year of school but the Western Australian distance Education Department provides everything to make teaching easier. I found this very helpful as I taught older children in other placements.
I spent six weeks at Jundee, meeting other people on the property and adjoining stations. I was taken to see the local beauty spots, visiting an orange orchard and an emu farm run by the Aboriginal people and learning about sheep (cookin Jerries as they are called). I ate kangaroo tail but no one could find any witchetty grubs – for which I was rather thankful.
Next I moved to Granite Peak and began my long association and friendship with Sandy and her family. Granite Peak is further north-east of Jundee and quite different country – more hills, more trees and because there had been rain, was looking very green. Sheep and cattle are run on this property and here again the family was very kind to me, making sure I saw all the interesting spots – rock formations, water holes, and the newly built dams of which they were very proud. Because of the rain the dams were full of that very scarce essential – water. Before I left I saw many of the wild flowers that Western Australia is famous for.
The next time I went back to Granite Peak to teach Rachel there had been a lot of rain which had made the roads almost impassable so that trucks bringing food supplies and picking up the wool bales - and dropping off an anxious tutor – could not get through. However it did bring out the poet in me and I put pen to paper:
They’re Loading the Wool at Earaheady
The mustering was done
All went quick and easy
Shearing finished, no trouble there
They’ll soon be loading the wool at Earaheady
Rolling clouds from the west
Bring rain graziers really need
Water to see them through the summer
New growth that will bring good feed
But roads so wet and boggy –
Stranded vehicles without number
There’ll be no loading the wool at Earaheady
Wool under cover, mustn’t get wet
Pastoralist wait, anxious eyes on distant markets
And still no loading of wool at Earaheady
At last the sun shines again
Wild flowers pink, yellow and white
Colour all across the plain
Word arrives of traffic on the move
Supply truck and tourist, tutor eagerly awaited in distant school room
Roads dry now, wool truck in sight
Now they’re loading the wool at Earaheady
C Bibo 1992, printed in Bush Voices (WA)
After all this rain we were ‘confined to barracks’ for some time and Sandy, Anita, Rachel and I missed our usual afternoon walks but as the water went down we were able to drive to a different part of the property for a BBQ lunch. We even glimpsed a camel among the trees.
I met people at various functions and I was included in any activity and always made to feel welcome.
I met Ross Quartermain from Earaheady and spent some happy times with him. Ross was good at pointing out different birds and animals on his property and I enjoyed going out with him while he was repairing fences and checking stock. There were many camels on Earaheady and they had a habit of walking through fences and dragging them for miles. Ross was very kind and I could ring him and invite myself to his place. Once he even picked me up in his small plane. Very exciting! Spending time with Ross gave me a break and also the family I was with. We all needed the breathing space occasionally. In his spare time – what little he had, Ross put together a recipe book featuring recipes from many people in the district. Because food stores are delivered in bulk a few times during the year cooks have to be very innovative. Ross included a couple of my recipes and I still use some of the recipes which were included in ‘Cecilia’s Station Cookbook’.
After my second stint at Granite Peak I moved further up the track to teach Colin at Glenayle. Again I was made very welcome by Pam, Lou, Russell, Colin and Jessica. My quarters were little distance from the house and very comfortable. I learnt to light the ‘Donkey’ which supplied hot water to the shower and enjoyed a hot shower each day. Because there was a solar panel I had electric lighting so could read at night or write letters to my family. One thing I really enjoyed was standing out at night looking at the stars in the darkened sky. I had never seen anything like it and still find it hard to describe. Pam and I both enjoyed walking and would walk each evening. Her mother in law often came with us. I think Lou and his father Henry enjoyed the break from the ‘ladies’ as much as we enjoyed our walks. Again I was included in whatever was happening on the station but the most memorable outing was the trip we did to the Canning Stock Route – Wells 9 – 11. The following is a report I later wrote which was printed in the VISE Magazine" R Rated" 1992.
THE CANNING STOCK ROUTE
The main reason for establishing the Canning Stock route was to move cattle from the tick infested areas of East Kimberly to the Eastern Goldfields. It was hoped, and later proved correct, that by the time the cattle had walked the long distance of the route, the ticks would have died.
Mr Alfred Canning was appointed on 27th April 1906 as Surveyor in Charge of a team to survey the country between Lake Way in the East Murchison and Sturt Creek in the east Kimberly area with the object of discovering a route by which cattle could travel. He put together a team of experienced men, which, with 2 ponies and 23 camels left Wiluna on 29th May 1906. They reached Hall’s Creek on 30th October 1906. Canning was also given the job of sinking the wells along the route. 52 wells were finally sunk, a job that took 2 years.
I was in the Wiluna District to help Colin at Glenayle Station and when I expressed a wish to see the Canning Stock route, my hosts Pam and Lou were only too happy to organise such an outing. Our trip began very early one Sunday with breakfast in a still dark kitchen. It was to be a long trip and we were on our way by 8am warmly dressed against the chill of the desert. As we travelled we all marvelled at the beauty of the wild flowers. The Wiluna District had received a great deal of rain during the last few weeks and, as a result, what had once been dry red dust was now a sea of green dotted with the bright colours of wild flowers – purple, pink, yellow, blue and the occasional shiny red and black of the Sturt Desert Pea. One of the more spectacular shrubs which was in flower was a grevillea with ‘tooth-brush’ shaped flowers, deep golden in colour and dripping with nectar.
Our first stop was at Well No 9. This is the prettiest area of the Stock route that I saw. Gums lined a small creek and the grass all around was green – I really saw it at its best. The water here was cool and sweet, It is here that a camp is set up when the cattle of Glenayle are being mustered.
Well No 10 is in a much drier area but still with plenty of trees along a dry creek bed. There was water in this well but as it seemed very deep to me I have to admit that I kept well away from the edge when Lou lifted the cover to check the condition of the well.
To reach No 11 we drove over sand hills, rough but exciting driving. Here we were greeted by the almost deafening chorus of thousands of Zebra Finches flying around and perching on the timbers of the well. This seemed a desolate area to me but we were able to see the soak which Canning had called Goodwin Soak. After this all wells were given local Aboriginal names so that drovers would be understood by the Aboriginal people when asking for directions to water. As the stock route is 5 miles wide drovers could sometimes find themselves some distance from a well. We had lunch here – billy tea and BBQ’d mutton chops with Pam’s delicious home-made bread. Our lunch spot was on the site of the camp set up by the Kalgoorlie Water Supply when the Stock Route was being reconditioned in 1942 after Darwin was bombed. Plans were in place to muster and drive down the Stock Route, all the cattle from the north should the Japanese invade. Thankfully this did not prove necessary.
Our return journey was by a different route, checking other wells on Glenayle, and was made exciting by the number of kangaroos we saw, as well as a large ‘mob’ of emus, looking like a crowd of frightened ladies running off with their full skirts lifted above their knees.
We reached home at 4:25pm after a round trip of 209.3kms. It was a trip that I will not forget – perhaps one day I will be able to see more of the famous Canning Stock route and applaud again the courage of the men who first travelled it.
Colin and I worked in a caravan set up as a very comfortable school room. Colin didn’t know his ‘tables’ so each morning we chanted tables and then I would fire questions at him ‘3 x 6, 5 x 5, 4 x 1’ etc. He improved quite quickly. Pam, Colin, his older brother Russell and sister Jessica and I used to play scrabble at night. Colin was given the job of scoring which I think also helped.
He had to do a project on Ancient Egypt which I thought was an incongruous subject for a boy living in such an isolated part of WA but lots of information had been sent to us so we managed to put together a project which earned Colin a good mark. Jessica, who was taught by her mother, would come into the schoolroom when Colin finished in the afternoon and she and I worked together. I find it hard to believe that Jessica is a grown up lady now with a child of her own. How time flies!
When I left Glenayle Pam Lou and family saw me off from Meekathara at 2am, heading north through places I never dreamed I would see – Newman, Port Hedland, Broome, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Kununurra, then across the border again into the Northern Territory, back to Katherine and the Rural College.
My trip home from there was very long - down the Centre to Adelaide – but on the way I was befriended by one of the bus drivers who told me the best place to eat at Erldunda, the turn off to Ayers Rock. It was many years before I got to see ‘The Rock’. From Adelaide I travelled to Melbourne, it rained most of the way - and the seat behind me was occupied by a couple of young men who drank rum most of the way – against the rules of bus travelling. However I made friends with an Irish lass who was on her way to Sydney to fly back to Ireland after spending months travelling around Australia.
As we drew closer to Canberra I was excited about getting home and seeing my family, but wouldn’t you know it, we were held up near Yass by an accident – a caravan had run off the road and no traffic could get past until everything was sorted out by the Police, but eventually we made it and I was home!
I’ve often been back to WA – not to teach but to visit the many friends I made there. Such generous and caring people.
Later Sandy and her girls moved to Geraldton so the girls could finish their education. I’ve visited them on a number of occasions.
Most of my placements after this were to Queensland – some good, some not so good but where ever I went I was treated with kindness and still keep in touch with many of my pupils and their parents.
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