HALLS CREEK - FITZROY CROSSING

The old Fitzroy River Crossing - the top picture is ME driving!!!

In the middle of The Crossing

At the Pioneer Cemetery at Fitzroy Crossing

DAY 46 – HALL’S CREEK – FITZROY CROSSING                                     Wednesday, 17^th August

Annexe down, fully packed up and on the road by 8am this morning for the drive to Fitzroy Crossing – and when I say there is nothing between Hall’s Creek and Fitzroy Crossing - there is really nothing!!  So we got to Fitzroy Crossing (albeit without my Warumpi Band song “Fitzroy Crossing”!! – only those Warumpi Band fans – and I know there are SOME of you out there – will understand) by 11:30am.  We settled in (after the usual marital dispute about the site and position of the van) and had a lazy lunch before exploring what little there is to see in the main town.  We saw the site of the old town and the memorial to the first hospital set up there in 1938 by Rev John Flynn (man, that guy was busy!) and the pioneer cemetery which has entirely been washed into the mighty Fitzroy River.  Whilst the river looks fairly tame now, in March this year it flooded the whole town and much of the land around it.  You can see where whole parts of the banks of the river have just fallen away and much of the bank is very unstable still.  Of course we had to cross the river at the Old Crossing which is under water but has a concrete bottom.  Again, David and kids LOVED it!!!

It was interesting to hear on one of the tours we have been on recently that in the 1930’s President Franklin Roosevelt commissioned a survey of world food production and places where food production could be increased.  The scientists found that the areas around the Fitzroy and Ord Rivers systems were the most promising in terms of food productions because of the rate of the flow of the rivers IN THE WORLD!!

We then arranged to meet Kevin and Alannah (from Mill Park) at the old Crossing Inn for a beer.  This is the oldest pub in the Kimberley; on its original site since 1894.  At the time of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, there was an art competition for all high school students in Australia.  Amazingly, a Fitzroy Crossing High School student won the competition.  After this, the Old Crossing Inn asked the High School Students to paint murals to put on the outside walls of the Inn.  There are paintings of all aspects of Aboriginal life, from fishing, bush tucker, Jandamarra the Aboriginal warrior, Aussie Rules football etc.  It is a great tribute to the kids.

Of course we took one look at the pub (with our six children behind us) and realised that it might be a bit too exciting on pay day for us to be there so, sadly, we went back to the caravan park and had a few drinks there.  My husband insisted on me driving back over the Old Fitzroy Crossing – through the water.  I think it was just a turn on for him!  Gorgeous, stunning, strong woman, four wheel driving across the mighty raging Fitzroy River!  (OK it wasn’t quite raging!!)

It was a fascinating discussion with Kevin and Alannah as they shared their story of surviving the Strathewan fire on Black Saturday.  Caught on their sister’s 100 acre property and not realising what an enormous disaster was unfolding, they could not understand why no-one was coming to help them.  Alannah’s sister was seven and a half months pregnant and little Caleb and Tess were only 11 and 7 at the time, having to help fight the fires too.  99.5% of the property was burnt.  Basically just the house remained.  It really brought home to me how much you can emphathise with people but not REALLY understand what they went through.  It is amazing how raw the emotion is even two and a half years later.