Jenny Old - Back of Beyond: One Womans Remarkable Story of Love, Adventure, Disasters and Wonderful Times in the Gulf Country

First published as McAllister by InHouse Publishing in 2016

First published by Allen & Unwin in 2018

Copyright Jenny Old 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin

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Crows Nest NSW 2065

Australia

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ISBN 978 1 76063 209 0

eISBN 978 1 76063 578 7

Set by Post Pre-press Group, Australia

Cover design: Romina Panetta

Cover photos: Jenny Old

Dedicated to the memory of Zanda McDonald,

29 July 1971 4 April 2013.

Tragically taken too soon but always remembered.

I had an adventure. A wonderful and life-changing adventure. For eighteen years my husband and I lived in the Gulf Country of far north Queensland on a property called McAllister.

We started with nothing. We lived in a shed while we built our home, brick by brick. I created a garden from scratch. We took a virgin lump of land in the middle of nowhere and turned it into a thriving, working cattle property.

As I write my story, I wonder how I managed to do the things I did. Friends often express amazement and admiration. What a hard life, how did you do it? It must have been tough

Yes, it was tough, but this is not a story of martyrdom. I arrived at McAllister when I was twenty-two years old. I was young and in love. I still amin love, that is, not so young anymore! I never regretted the hardship, the absence of even basic necessities that Id always taken for granted.

I looked forward to each new challenge. There were times of frustration and anger, but they were often more to do with my inability to accomplish a task. My eighteen years in the Gulf helped form the person I am today. I pride myself on the way I can now face any challenge that confronts me, and there have been a few!

I am blessed. Not many people are given the opportunity to do what I did. I feel privileged to have lived such a life. I am the lucky one.

Would it be the beginning or the end for us?

As the jet lurched into Mount Isa, my heart lurched with it. It was April 1969. Was I doing the right thing coming to this totally unfamiliar region in the back of beyond? A thin plume of smoke wafted uncertainly above the large smokestack of Mount Isa Mines. I saw vast stretches of hard rocky ridges, outcrops of spinifex and a tinge of green. The colours were superb, with hues of mauve and red. However, the landscape looked barren and unforgiving.

I had dressed very carefully in a pale pink ensemble with new shoes to match. Id spent a good deal of my hard-earned money on this outfit and told myself I looked lovely. I checked my lipstick; a quick spray of perfume. I was nearly there.

Would Rick be the same person I remembered? We came from contrasting backgrounds: I was brought up on the land whereas he spent his childhood in Sydney.

Rick and I had fallen in love ten days prior to my scheduled departure for a twelve-month overseas adventure. Id completed my nursing training at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and, with my closest nursing friends, was setting out to see the world. Falling for Rick had turned my very organised world upside down.

Wed known each other for several years. Rick had been the overseer on a large property outside Deniliquin, my home town. At parties and balls wed always enjoyed a dance and a chat. A mutual attraction had certainly been there, but wed both had other love interests.

That all changed when Rick came to stay at my family home for a Bachelors and Spinsters Ball. In Sydney, a mutual friend had mentioned to Rick that he would be staying with my familyit was common for my parents to host a large contingent of young people for these occasions.

Is she still single? Rick asked.

Yes.

This was untrue: I had a steady boyfriend. After confirming with my parents that he would be welcome, Rick made the decision to attend the ball.

I was unusually excited at the thought of seeing him again. When he walked down the front garden path towards me, I froze.

Hi, Jen, its been a long time, he said.

It was as though Id been struck by a bolt of lightning. We hugged and the electricity between us was palpable. It sounds corny but it was true, and the feeling was mutual.

I was overcome by many emotions: excitement, confusion and utter joy.

This is weird, whispered Rick.

I know, what are we going to do? My boyfriend is inside.

You have to carry on for tonight and well work things out over the next few days.

I was happy with this, knowing it was the right thing to do.

We tried very hard to hide our feelings during the evening of the ball, until Rick asked me to dance. We moved to the music in each others arms, wrapped in our own world. The hum of people chatting and laughing brought us back to reality, and we realised the music had finished and we were alone on the dance floor.

This was something special. I knew I was truly in love for the first time.

Ten days later I was to set sail on the Fairstar for the UK and beyond. Id spoken honestly to my boyfriend about my feelings for Rick. He, understandably, chose not to come to Melbourne for our farewell party. Rick, instead, flew down to see me off.

As I hugged him goodbye, I sobbed and said, I dont want to leave you for a year.

Yes, you do, Rick said. Id never want to be responsible for you missing an experience youve dreamt about and worked so hard for. Then he made me a promise. Ill write and be here when you return.

A few minutes later, I stood on the deck of the ship. A flimsy paper streamer was all that connected me to Rick. As the ship slowly moved away from the port, the streamer broke, and I wondered if I was making a big mistake. I found it hard to believe that this handsome, vibrant man would wait around for a year for me.

During those twelve months, Rick bought a partnership in a property called McAllister in the Gulf Country of far north Queensland.

This was a surprising choice of career for a young man brought up in the affluent suburb of Killara on Sydneys North Shore. However, Rick had no interest in pursuing a legal career like his father, uncles and grandfather. His love of the land had been ignited when he was a child, following a year spent on a family friends property while recovering from asthma. His decision to leave the prestigious Church of England Grammar School in North Sydney and complete his education at The Armidale School as a boarder reinforced his decision to go on the land.

By the time I met him, Rick had been a jackeroo and overseer on properties and stations throughout Queensland and New South Wales, but hed long harboured a desire to own his own property. As hed spent most of his working life in drought conditions, he was determined to find one with reliable rainfall.