Heading North to Minjilang, Croker Island, NT

 Late morning on the 25th of August saw me on the road heading for Darwin initially and then on to Minjilang on Croker Island around 240 kms north east of Darwin. Nancy will fly up in mid October after overseeing some maintenance and a tenant change. 

Since 1984 we have travelled the roads between the NT and SE Qld many times. This time I decided to take a couple of detours. My paternal grandparents met in the Blackall area. Grace was nursing at the Blackall Hospital and it is thought that Claude was working on Fairfield Station near Longreach. After their wedding Claude and Grace moved to Cressy Station north east of Winton where they managed the property for around 7years. My dad and Aunty Lois were born during this period. The great depression resulted in Grace and Claude being laid off and their departure from Cressy. 

First I dropped in on Aunty Lois in Toowoomba to collect copies of photos and letters relating to Cressy Station as the current managers were keen to learn something of the history of Cressy.

After a short visit of the Blackall Hospital I heading west towards Isisford. Grace's sister had married the owner of Springfield Station. Below is the entrance/mail box to Springfield Station. Just down the road to the west, Isis Downs which once boast a shearing shed with 102 stands. 

His brother owned the neighbouring property Thornleigh. Two of our Maleny friends worked at Thornleigh some years ago - a small world! This is the entrance to Thornleigh. 

The further west I drove the drier the country became and the greater the distances between towns. From Winton I turned north east and detoured to Cressy Station. The current managers were very welcoming and keen to show me around where Grace and Claude had lived and worked almost a 100 years ago. 

The photo below is an old photo from the same family (different generation) that Claude and Grace worked for in the 1920s. It shows the Cressy workshop which was built by Claude. The windmill tower to the left was a 35 feet diameter Comet, one of the largest windmills ever made. 

The head of the old Cressy Comet mill now resides at the Longreach Stockman's Hall of Fame as seen in the photo below. The tower of the Cressy Comet mill is now at the Toowoomba show grounds. 

Below - the workshop that Claude built, as it is today. It has had a new roof fitted and some doors added however the frame is still original.

These detours, although they were interesting had put me behind schedule and still with 2100 kms to go to Darwin. The night before crossing the Qld/NT border the Covid19 declaration was completed. The checking process at the border just west of Camooweal all went smoothly despite the very windy and dusty conditions. The strong wind meant a good tail wind while travelling across the largely treeless Barkly Tablelands. 

Turning north along the Stuart Highway saw the layers of clothing discarded as the temperature rose. Due to the Covid19 restrictions around the country there were noticeably less travellers on the road for this time of the year. 

To help the kilometres pass I downloaded an audiobook titled 'Monash and Chauvel', the two WW1 Australian generals who both had very significant impacts of the war. Claude served under Chauvel who went on to command all Mounted Units in the Sinai, Palestine and Syria including the Australian Light Horse. His major victory was the Battle of Romani. Chauvel rated that this was the most significant victory of his career including other better known victories like the Charge of Beersheba.

Once in Darwin I completed a week of induction and also spent some special times with Jayson, Dean and Kristy. 

On Tuesday 8 September I was up early to firstly deliver the Troopy 4WD to the barge company and then off to Darwin Airport Light Aircraft area to catch my flight to Minjilang. The photo below was taken just after take off and shows part of the Darwin RAAF Base with the Darwin CBD in the background.       

The land in the distance in the photo below is Croker Island with a coastal barge in the foreground.

The beach is just 200 meters from my accomodation. Minjilang is located on small bay facing the east and enjoys a good breeze most of the time. An added bonus is that its maximum temperatures are consistently 3-4 degrees lower than Darwin's.

Early Saturday morning PK and Bryan took a walk along the breach until a creek block our progress. As we are in crocodile country we elected not to wade into the water.

Early Sunday morning the barge arrived with the Troopy and some chiller and freezer goods. This is weekly service from Darwin.

This twisted steel power pole is a reminder that Minjilang is located in cyclone country. Back in 2004, category 5, Cyclone Ingrid passed over Minjilang causing considerable damage.

In the next post will cover the community Minjilang and my work with the Garngi Rangers. Until then, God bless. Bryan