A note from Perpetua. I will append ger comments in the post.
Matthew, Jenny. Beautiful waterholes — might be Parry’s Lagoon?
A detail I think you might add to the title of this photo: Not the most beautiful beachfront - huge tides mangrove and mud flats.
• The expeditioner’s are photographed on the Five Rivers Lookout — a site on 'The Bastion' that looms over the tiny town of Wyndham — a site accessed via a steep, rugged, risky road — the kind of road that well might make the boldest hold their breath . . . the sort that your brother, John, would swing his 4WD round and give a cheer . . . Anyway, this Lookout is where the 5 Great Rivers of North Kimberley: the King, the Ord, the Durack, the Forrest, the Pentecost, flow into Cambridge Gulf.
[another detail — re the photo of WAD with the Curator at entrance of the Argyle Homestead Museum: The ‘Curator' is Michael Byers — loyal (+ known to be cranky) Manager of the Museum for almost 20 years. Very knowledgeable about Duracks. Claimed to be related. Details hazy but possibly via the Durack who went to South Africa around the same time as our great-great grandfather Michael D (1808–1853) came to Australia.
Enough detail for now — although must say you clearly have a vast variety and impressive capacity for detail . . .
Thanks so much for staying in touch like this — Wish I could do even a fraction. Maybe when I’ve ticked off all the ‘Targets’ in my life that still loom. . .
The Subject heading of this email should really be: Minimum response to your Substacks
Meantime, warmest Congratulations — and love from cousin Perpetua
So I am just out of hospital and I listened to your father’s interview. He speaks well and he is a great (his) story-teller.
I found it very interesting, as it was a piece of unusual, Australian ‘Home Front’ WWII history.
The Kimberley was, in fact, the only place where the Japanese landed, in Australia, during WWII. They despatched an army reconnaissance party from occupied Portuguese (East) Timor to search and locate a rumoured, secret Allied airfield in The Kimberley. The Japanese soldiers landed from a submarine but, then, soon got lost. They never found the secret airfield (that did not actually exist) and so returned to their landing beach, from where they rowed their rubber dinghy back to the submarine and then returned to Dill.
Hello Patrick👋Seated up close and personal to our beautiful fireside with both dogs asleep nearly on top of it and Jack having a fairly frustrating experience with sorting of files€£*^%!!😤 He just read out parts of your stack and I wanted to say that your writing about Noni n Bill is marvellous. Mostly because of the clarity and frankness of your views of them as elderly people. I am particularly affected by the way you picture the last months of Noni’s life. Some of the most vivid and clear words on such a period.Your writing honours them both. Thanks. Robbie
The video of Bill’s the visit to Kununurra in 2006 – so well illustrated with photos - watched with much interest – wonderful to hear his dear familiar voice and to be reminded how good his memory was of his time at Carlton Reach – and the long journey to get there – clutching all the way his present to Kim – a typewriter.
One thing he forgot – it was actually Mundi Moore who was the hero of the hour in the rescue of Russell Dumas – carried him over his shoulder from point of collapse to safety. Of all things he did in his interesting life, Bill always said his time with Kim stood out.
So good of you to put such a great account together of this memorable event and so nicely illustrated with photographs.
I had delayed listening to the ABC interview with Dad. It would have been the first time I had heard his voice for nearly fifteen years and I wasn’t sure how it would affect me.
But it was just a pleasure to listen to the voice which I have always associated with support, reassurance and affection over so many years and to hear once again the details of the remarkable exploit in which he was involved. Some of these I realised I had forgotten - like the meeting with his father on the Victoria River.
A note from Perpetua. I will append ger comments in the post.
Matthew, Jenny. Beautiful waterholes — might be Parry’s Lagoon?
A detail I think you might add to the title of this photo: Not the most beautiful beachfront - huge tides mangrove and mud flats.
• The expeditioner’s are photographed on the Five Rivers Lookout — a site on 'The Bastion' that looms over the tiny town of Wyndham — a site accessed via a steep, rugged, risky road — the kind of road that well might make the boldest hold their breath . . . the sort that your brother, John, would swing his 4WD round and give a cheer . . . Anyway, this Lookout is where the 5 Great Rivers of North Kimberley: the King, the Ord, the Durack, the Forrest, the Pentecost, flow into Cambridge Gulf.
[another detail — re the photo of WAD with the Curator at entrance of the Argyle Homestead Museum: The ‘Curator' is Michael Byers — loyal (+ known to be cranky) Manager of the Museum for almost 20 years. Very knowledgeable about Duracks. Claimed to be related. Details hazy but possibly via the Durack who went to South Africa around the same time as our great-great grandfather Michael D (1808–1853) came to Australia.
Enough detail for now — although must say you clearly have a vast variety and impressive capacity for detail . . .
Thanks so much for staying in touch like this — Wish I could do even a fraction. Maybe when I’ve ticked off all the ‘Targets’ in my life that still loom. . .
The Subject heading of this email should really be: Minimum response to your Substacks
Meantime, warmest Congratulations — and love from cousin Perpetua
Hi Patrick,
So I am just out of hospital and I listened to your father’s interview. He speaks well and he is a great (his) story-teller.
I found it very interesting, as it was a piece of unusual, Australian ‘Home Front’ WWII history.
The Kimberley was, in fact, the only place where the Japanese landed, in Australia, during WWII. They despatched an army reconnaissance party from occupied Portuguese (East) Timor to search and locate a rumoured, secret Allied airfield in The Kimberley. The Japanese soldiers landed from a submarine but, then, soon got lost. They never found the secret airfield (that did not actually exist) and so returned to their landing beach, from where they rowed their rubber dinghy back to the submarine and then returned to Dill.
Cheers
Jack
This email from SIL in Sydney
Hello Patrick👋Seated up close and personal to our beautiful fireside with both dogs asleep nearly on top of it and Jack having a fairly frustrating experience with sorting of files€£*^%!!😤 He just read out parts of your stack and I wanted to say that your writing about Noni n Bill is marvellous. Mostly because of the clarity and frankness of your views of them as elderly people. I am particularly affected by the way you picture the last months of Noni’s life. Some of the most vivid and clear words on such a period.Your writing honours them both. Thanks. Robbie
Sent from my iPhone
This email from my brother Michael
Still a fantastic story so easy to listen to over and over again.
Michael
This email from Cousin Patsy in WA
Dear Patrick
The video of Bill’s the visit to Kununurra in 2006 – so well illustrated with photos - watched with much interest – wonderful to hear his dear familiar voice and to be reminded how good his memory was of his time at Carlton Reach – and the long journey to get there – clutching all the way his present to Kim – a typewriter.
One thing he forgot – it was actually Mundi Moore who was the hero of the hour in the rescue of Russell Dumas – carried him over his shoulder from point of collapse to safety. Of all things he did in his interesting life, Bill always said his time with Kim stood out.
Regards from your WA coz Patsy
Patrick
So good of you to put such a great account together of this memorable event and so nicely illustrated with photographs.
I had delayed listening to the ABC interview with Dad. It would have been the first time I had heard his voice for nearly fifteen years and I wasn’t sure how it would affect me.
But it was just a pleasure to listen to the voice which I have always associated with support, reassurance and affection over so many years and to hear once again the details of the remarkable exploit in which he was involved. Some of these I realised I had forgotten - like the meeting with his father on the Victoria River.
Thanks again Patrick
From brother John