Barrow Creek in the News

The death of the convicted murderer in Alice Springs this week reminded me of my adventures in Barrow Creek – the area in which the murder was committed.  I had driven past Barrow Creek in my van (Toyota Coaster) in 2017, on my way to a Rolling Solo event at the Ross River Resort just out of Alice Springs.  I didn’t stop on my way past, but I did recall the events of 2005.

When I arrived in Alice Springs, I checked into a Caravan Park, and the next morning, I could not start my vehicle and had to call for help. It was fixed by the mechanic, and the next few days I had no trouble.  I even drove to Uluru and back without any drama, but chose to get my van checked before I set out on the long journey back to Brisbane. After about 2 hours, the van was deemed fixed, and it was early afternoon when I paid the bill and drove off and decided to head north hoping to get to the Devils Marbles by late afternoon.  It was about 400 kms, and I thought I’d have no trouble getting there.

But I tired quickly and as I approached Barrow Creek (about 300 kms from the Alice, I decided it would be best to overnight there.  There was a sign about a Caravan Park, so I asked at the little servo about it and booked for the night.  It was the strangest such venue I had been in, but it was fenced, and other folk were there, so I felt ok.  I did ask the guy at the servo if they had a mechanic (thinking the van might play up again!), and he laughed and said the cook at the hotel was a diesel mechanic! Yes, my van was diesel.

Before settling in, I drove to the Barrow Creek Telegraph Station, which was close by, which is very interesting.  The Telegraph Station was part of the network of stations from Port Augusta in South Australia to Port Darwin and is a wonderfully restored stone building built around 1872.

There was a lot of information about several massacres, including the killing of two telegraph station staff. During World War II, Australian Army soldiers camped there too.

After an hour or so exploring the Telegraph Station, I returned to the Caravan Park and settled in for the night. I didn’t need to go to the hotel for food as I had plenty in the van. I had an early night, hoping to be well prepared for a long drive the following day.

But it was a noisy night. It was dark and I could not see anything, and I knew the park was surrounded by security fencing, so I hoped I and others would be safe, but there seemed to be a big event of First Nations people nearby – and the noise went on for hours.  I never did find out what it was all about.

In the morning, I had breakfast and prepared for my departure.  But the van would not start. I tried a few times, and it made a few strange noises before becoming silent.  Then there was a knock on my window.  “I’m the cook, I’ve come to help you start the van.”

The man spent about 30 minutes checking things before letting me know that there was no oil or water in the engine.  I was surprised as less than 24 hours earlier I had paid a lot of money for some work on the engine.  How could it be?  Anyway, the worst was to come.  The mechanic announced that the servo had run out of oil and was waiting for a delivery.  I would have to stay possibly 3 days to await delivery!  But before I had time to comment, the man suddenly leapt out of the van and ran in the direction of the servo.  I could see a large truck backing into the servo! It was the delivery of the oil and other items for the servo and hotel.  He returned quickly, put the oil and water in the engine and within 30 minutes, I paid the bill, and the van happily departed Barrow Creek!

(When I reached Winton, and was checking the oil and water I dropped the metal water cap into the engine and had to call RACQ  for help to retrieve it!  The mechanic came – it was only a short walk – it was around 8 am and after retrieving the keys he drove my van to his place to check.  He told me that all the hoses were old and splitting, which is why water and oil was escaping, and they fixed it.  I never had any trouble again!!)

I will never forget my Barrow Creek story.