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John’s
Bits & Pieces Robert
O’Hara Burke By John Deckert I had not thought much about Burke prior to a trip I did with a friend following Burke’s tracks but during that trip I did form an opinion and I saw him in a different light and wonder if he has ever been given the recognition he deserves. Burke has always been portrayed as a muddler; a fool who always seemed to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. I have heard some of the most fantastic claims from people who have no idea of the truth and who have no concept of the difficulties Burke faced. Some writers say that he was an idiot who kept getting lost in his own back yard. During the time I was trying to follow his track, especially the section north of Innamincka, I formed a completely different view of Burke and the men with him, but Burke in particular. Remember, Burke was in charge; he had to set the example; he could not show fear and he always had the responsibility of the expedition on his shoulders. I think Burke must have been one of the bravest, most courageous and most determined men I have ever read about. Any one with doubts should try walking about a kilometre, in a straight line away from their vehicle, during mid summer, on any bare gibber plain along the Birdsville Track to the east of Clifton Hills Station. When Burke was in a similar area (east of Bedourie) his animals would have been deteriorating; he may have already realised he was going to be short of food; he would not have had any idea where his next water was to be found and he had to keep the confidence of his men. I was at the approximate site of Camp 82, east of Bedourie, during September 2004 when the weather was warm but not uncomfortably hot. The soil was bare – not a blade of vegetation for as far as the eye could see except for a few stunted bushes on a small gutter that ran across Burke’s northerly track. From the road one kilometre away the bushes looked huge in the mirage, the landscape shimmered in every direction like a water-filled lake. No features could be seen except a small line of hills on the horizon. This was a scene from Hell even in September. Burke was leading his men into this inhospitable country about which Charles Sturt, during his earlier exploration had written, “Deserts there are on the face of this earth, but they present not the iron-shod surface of this desolate region”. Burke’s party trudged on day after day into this frightful country, not knowing what was ahead except for the sea and a few rivers shown on Leichhardt’s and Gregory’s maps of the northern coast. Maybe Burke was a fool; a fool for being there at all, but he accepted the challenge and he did not quit. If he had made the round trip one day earlier history would have remembered him as a hero. To me he is a hero; one of the great men in Australia’s history. Anyone who doubts my reasoning should try walking a few kilometres in Central Australia in mid summer. Bev and I have, with back up vehicles, Flying Doctor Radios, refrigerated water and food. Even with all that support at times it can be very frightening. There is no way that I would put myself in Burke’s position. He must have been a super human man and a courageous and determined leader. The Bomb Roads By John Deckert Australia
's moment of glory in the post-war arms race may well have been October
15, 1953, when the first atomic blast was detonated at Emu in the Great
Victoria Desert. The planning and preparation for this millisecond of fury
took several years. One of the side benefits is the 7000 kilometres of
access tracks available to four-wheel-drive explorers wishing to seek out
the sites and history of the Woomera Rocket Range. The first German V2 rocket fell on London in 1944. This rocket was quite different from the V1 pilotless flying bomb used during the London Blitz. The V2 rocket could carry 1 tonne of explosives and be aimed with some precision at a target more than 330 kilometres away. This was the first intercontinental ballistic missile ever built, the forerunner of the modern space rocket. No other country in the world had anything like this rocket, even on the drawing board. Within
months Allied forces captured many rockets and the factories building
them. The US, British and Russian forces all took significant quantities
of complete rockets for research but only the British needed the
cooperation of a friendly country who had a large area over which to fire
them. Australia agreed to a jointly managed Long Range Weapons
Establishment based at the huge munitions factory at Salisbury, north of
Adelaide and an area north of Port Augusta was chosen for the rocket
range. Len
Beadell, an experienced army surveyor with a reputation for handling the
rugged conditions of New Guinea and the Top End of Australia, was selected
for the job of laying out the new town of Woomera and the centre line of
fire for the range. In 1952 Len was asked to find a suitable site to
detonate an atomic bomb in Australia. Six months later he was building a
road from Mabel Creek station westward to Emu Claypan. This was the first
of 7000 kilometres of desert tracks he was to build during the next ten
years. More
than 30 years later modern explorers are still using many of these desert
tracks. The Gunbarrel Highway is certainly the most popular with the Anne
Beadell Highway and the Gary Junction Road gaining in popularity as the
ownership of 4WD vehicles increases. The Gary Highway and Connie Sue
Highway both have low usage and a permit to use the Mt Davies track is
almost impossible to obtain from the traditional owners. During
the decade following his work in the Australian deserts Len Beadell wrote
several books about his years in the bush. They are easy and entertaining
to read. Len was a great story teller but he rarely documented his books
with accurate dates and he certainly left out any information about his
early life and the entertaining lectures he gave to thousands during his
latter years. Fortunately
for all interested in this great Australian, Mark Shephard, a desert
historian and author, has written a book which brings together all the
pieces of Len Beadell's remarkable life. Mark was ably assisted by Len,
just prior to his death, and by Len's family during the past few years.
Thousands of pages of field diaries were read, hundreds of photos poured
over and numerous friends and associates contacted. Len's work was put
into chronological order and information from friends added. Finally the
pieces were brought together and the ultimate reference book completed. A
Lifetime in the Bush, the biography of Len Beadell, should be part of the
essential equipment carried in every 4WD travelling any of the roads built
by Len as part of the Woomera Rocket Range . There are currently eight books (in the Explorers section) by Len Beadell available, two of which are available on CD and cassette, two videos, an audio cassette and CD (in the Audio Books section) of one his famous talks and the biography by Mark Shephard. |