Tennant Creek Landscape
Just before entering the Northern Territory there was just one more night- stop at the Camooweal Billabong before heading to Tennant Creek! The billabong contained not a drop of water, but was a nice free camping area with shady trees.
After a 4-wheel drive to the Camooweal sink hole caves, we did find a “real” waterhole - or was it a mirage??
Back at the billabong Austin fired up the barbie for our “anything goes” pizzas made from wrap bread and leftovers.
Incomprehensible to most people who know the place, we were getting excited to be on our way to Tennant Creek, where 38 years ago we had lived and worked .Then, in 1979, it was a rough and dusty town full of weird and wonderful characters and a lot of drunks. Austin worked in one of the still affluent goldmines as a crusher operator (see picture below). We lived in the old Goldfield Hotel, which also let rooms by the hour.
Coming back now we couldn’t wait to see what was left and what had changed.
The Goldfield Hotel is still there and has hardly changed. Except that in the 70ties three entrances to three different bar rooms were used: one for the miners, one for the Aborigines and the third for everybody else. Today everybody comes through the same entrance. The Italian backpacker working behind the bar told us, that the Black Fellows, as the Aborigines like to call themselves, still use the backroom to be among themselves.
Like in most outback areas of North Queensland and Northern Territory rules now restrict alcohol purchase and consumption which is a great improvement. Unemployment though and crime still seem to be high, especially among the Aborigines.
Most of the shop windows on the main street now have bars in front of their windows. Even the caravan parks are fenced in and locked up at 7pm.
Of course, the mines have all closed down years ago including the Nobel’s Nob Mine where Austin once worked. Jack Noble, already dead by the time Austin was there, must have been a real larrikin. He put his hand to everything from bushman to cooking, and later pegging some of the richest goldmines in Tennant Creek. Now, the open cut mine has been fenced off and rehabilitated. To Austin’s horror, most of the equipment, including parts of the crusher Austin worked on, we found in the local Mining Museum.
For old time's sake we had to have dinner at the Memorial Club, my former working place. I used to be the kitchen hand for the cook, Lucy, an Aussie version of Clarissa Dickson of the “two fat ladies”. The booze and fag smoking didn’t impede her excellent cooking. She also had a skinny, smoking offsider who helped out at times, and 6 children from as many men.
The little window where I used to take people's orders is still there.
Above it the word:” Memories” which seemed like a weird coincidence is the new name for the club's restaurant. I remember people having to repeat their orders so that I could understand their outback lingo, while they were laughing about my:” you vant gravy with zat?"
Luckily I now don’t have an accent anymore, haha!
Tennant Creek Memorial Club, my work place in 1979