GregKidd

I’m going to take my father to Queensland as his final resting place. I think I should go to Charleville.

The Charleville-Cunnamulla Road, south-west Queensland
(From my Fathers writings, 4 May 2004)

“As mulga trees flash past the van windows, a collage of thoughts floats through my mind. What incredible adventures Jhan, my DSW Emily and I have shared throughout the past 12 days! We have the Transporter van to thank for these adventures. Had its motor not seized shortly after Emily and I brought it back from South Australia last November, the three of us would not have left Melbourne.

I have my brother-in-law Wayne to thank too. In a telephone conversation with him, I vented my displeasure over the impossibly expensive quotations I had obtained for a motor rebuild. Wayne came up with the idea of trucking the van to Brisbane where Neil could do the necessary work for the cost of the parts involved. Wayne obtained the go-ahead from Neil then drew on favours within the trucking industry. All I had to do was ring a tow truck operator to have the van
delivered to an interstate truck depot.

My companions and I flew to Brisbane on 23 April to visit some of the locations of my past and to return the van to Victoria. All that past is behind us now, as is Charleville. We are on our way to Melbourne via Cunnamulla on a thin tarmac strip known optimistically as the Mitchell Highway.

Then it will be on to Bourke and Echuca; approximately 1,400 kilometres of The Long Paddock are ahead of us.

I enjoyed reunions with various family members including Neil to whom I am grateful for his excellent work on the Transporter. I even shared time with Wayne, albeit at the Prince Charles Hospital where he was recovering from the heart attack he suffered on the return leg of a trucking trip between Adelaide and Brisbane. Now, he is looking forward to relocating Judy and himself back to this city.”