Oka owners group newsletter

As well, we are planning an OKA get-together for the October long weekend. We are planning to go to a Macquarie Marshes Discovery Weekend on 4^th, 5^th October, where there will be guided walks through the Marshes, with other entertainment and activities if you wish. This is organised by the Quambone community as a fundraising event, but charges are very moderate, with camping at the Quambone racecourse. The Marshes aren’t normally open to the public except for this weekend each year. Much of the Macquarie Marshes is privately owned, and the NPWS have part of it that they operate as a Nature Reserve. Tour Numbers are restricted, so we will need to know shortly if you can come, but more about that below. If you can make it on Friday 3^rd, we thought we might meet here at Eulalia. After the Macquarie Marshes we are hoping to go on to Grawin, a little opal mining place, where Noel Petersen is the local mayor (or is Leslie the Mayoress?). If you want maps or more info, please let us know.

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Gordon Rollinson is coming along nicely after his heart operation. He did have a setback early in the piece, but is now sparking on all six. When I spoke to him last night, he was working on Walter and Elly Hes’s Oka.

Ron & Lyn Quigley of Greystanes, Sydney, would like to thank Own & Sue Jones for letting them crawl all over their camper to get some ideas. They would also like to thank Gordon and Laurel Rollinson for their help and for sending down the Playboy Magazines – sorry, I mean the parts manual (you need a Playboy when you have a girlfriend, and a Parts Manual is for the Oka, so that you can see where the parts fit.) Did I finally get it right?

I would also like to thank Dean Golding of OKA for keeping the information and the parts up to me. No one gets into more trouble than I do – thanks, Dean!

We would also like to welcome to the Oka Owners Group:

Rod & Tamara Lyons, of Western Australia John & Laura Szkorunda, of New South Wales

John Williams and Laura Crossle, of Queensland Walter & Elly Hes, of NSW

John Hendriks, of NSW Jurgen Bakewell

Geoff & Annette Lloyd, of Victoria.

Geoff, my grandmother was Jane Lloyd from Victoria 100+ years ago, and she named me with her maiden name, so with a name like Lloyd you can’t be all bad!

Lloyd & Marj Parsons

IN THE WHEEL TRACKS OF LEN BEADELL

THE TRAVELS OF THE OKA TREKKERS – 2002

Australian 4 W.D. circles. It was, in fact, a pilgrimage of sorts, following in the wheel tracks of one of Australia’s lesser-known but famous pioneering sons. To help you follow our travels and some of the place names that are mentioned we have included the map, which will cover the rest of our travels.

Before we continue with our own adventure we’d like to include a little information about the man without whom the travels of the OKA trekkers in 2002 would probably not have been possible.

Len Beadell Len Beadell OAM * BEM * FIEMS. (1923 – 1995)

Surveyor, Bushman, Author. A real pioneer.

Len was patron of the Australian National Four Wheel Drive Council prior to his death in 1995.

Len was born on a farm at West Pennant Hills N.S.W. in 1923. He became interested in surveying as a youth when in the scouting movement. His scoutmaster was a surveyor and he began to learn about different aspects of this profession and other associated subjects including astronomy and decided on a career in this field. He first took on a mapping assignment for the military in the early stages of World War 11 and later

joined the Army and served in New Guinea.

After the war he remained in the army and accompanied the first scientific expedition of the CSIRO into Arnhem Land. Later he agreed to carry out the initial surveys necessary to establish the Woomera rocket range. This decision led to a lifetime of camping, exploring, surveying and road making (the now famous Gunbarrel Road Construction Party) in the vast empty inland areas of Australia. This opened up 2.5 million square kilometres of the Great Sandy, Great Victoria, and Gibson’s deserts. He chose the sites for the first atomic bomb trials at Emu and for the later atomic tests at Maralinga.

In 1958 he was awarded the British Empire Medal when, as a Range Reconnaissance Officer, he was instrumental in building the famous Gunbarrel Highway an East-West link that stretches across 1600 kilometres of Central Australia. He became a Fellow of the institute of Engineering and Mining Surveyors (Aust.) in 1987 and in that same year astronomers at the Mount Palomar Observatory in California honoured him by naming a newly discovered asteroid planet after him in recognition of the road network he created, which made possible, access to the meteorite impact craters they were studying. He was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 1988.

Len Beadell is the author of six best selling books about his experiences in outback Australia. His wife Anne, and three children Connie-Sue, Gary and Jackie all have features of the Australian outback named after them. -

Anne Anne Beadell Highway

Connie Sue Connie Sue Highway

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Gary Gary Highway Gary Junction

Jackie Jackie Junction

In other countries, a person such as he would, by now, have had a major film production made of the epic stories of his lifetime. Unfortunately, we often do not recognise our pioneering adventurers and quiet achievers. Instead we tend to embrace foreign heroes. Hopefully, Australians are beginning to learn about, and tell stories about our own heroes. Sad but true, until a few years ago we had never heard of Len Beadell. The seemingly endless preparation was mainly Gordon’s domain with only a small amount of input from

me. His planning was thorough and meticulous and ranged from studying the most accurate, up to date

maps available and contacting the various organizations to gain the necessary travel permits to allow access through restricted areas, into national parks and through indigenous sites and to acquiring and reading any and every publication he could find. Some of this proved to be the most frustrating and challenging part of the whole exercise.

Following our farewell of Coober Pedy we travelled to our pre-arranged rendezvous point and met Merv and Jo on Mabel Creek Station near the Dingo fence. At last we had begun the real holiday. Letting ourselves through the dingo fence we travelled towards Emu, the first leg of the journey along the Anne Beadell Highway. In due course we came to a signpost indicating the direction of Emu. It was in

this area that the well we were looking for Tallaringa Well, a natural waterhole known to aboriginals 3

and mentioned by Len in one of his books should be located. Gordon and Merv began checking the GPS positioning and scanning the surroundings for any sign of the well while Jo and I also looking for any signs checked out the botanical specimens. In a short time the location of the well, which was dry at the time was discovered, discussed and photographed.

It was nice to have someone as interested in the nature side of things as I am to compare books and notes in the hope of accurately identifying at least some of the specimens we found. Acacia Aneura better known as Mulga was the most prominent and prolific in the mix of botanical specimens found along this track. This part of the track is in the Tallaringa Conservation Park. From this point it was 123 kms to Emu and the road began to deteriorate into deeper corrugations. This, combined with the proximity of the trees to the edges of the road began to take a toll on such things as mirrors and aerials. The vegetation was so thick I began to have doubts about being in a desert, but it was like that most of the way, all types of plants and trees having evolved so as to thrive in a waterless region.

The going was slow and winding in some parts. While Gordon concentrated on the track I was on the lookout for points of interest and soon noticed a triangular /pyramidical structure on top of a sand ridge. On investigation this was found to be a Dept. of Defence triangulation point and we found that these were situated at regular intervals, usually on elevated ridges and within line of sight of another one. Each had its identifying code depending where it was located. National Mapping benchmarks were another feature that regularly appeared next to the track, marked by large white painted stones and arranged in the form of a horizontal cross, flat and embedded into the ground. Having good maps and the benefit of the GPS was great but just seeing these identifying points along the way was added security ensuring that we were always on the right track.

We made camp for the night before reaching Emu and during an inspection of the vehicles to check that all was well Merv discovered that one of the wheel studs on his camper trailer had snapped. This meant a major unpack to find the right tools for the repair job. It was then that he discovered that although he had a spare wheel stud there was no nut to go with it. After much deliberation he decided that as the road ahead was an unknown quantity it would be better to return to Coober Pedy rather than go on and risk further damage. So next morning saw us seeing them off on their return journey and us continuing on alone. It was disappointing for each of us and I was just beginning to enjoy sharing bird and flower spotting with Jo but none the less the right decision was made in the circumstances.

Progress was slow and we arrived at Camera Site C about five kilometres from Emu at 11a.m. and then on to Totem 1. This is the site of the first atomic test in Australia and occurred on the 15^th of October 1953. The second test at Totem 2 was detonated on the 27^th of October 1953. Mangled remains of the towers, which supported those bombs, are still identifiable. Cables running along the ground in the direction of the camera sites are still visible. Warning signs stating that the area remains radioactive and not suitable for extended habitation reminded us not to spend too long in the area. Seeing the still stunted trees and only very low scrubby shrubs that extended for a radius of several kilometres, in comparison to the almost lush vegetation seen only the day before it was easy to believe. There were no visible signs i.e. tracks or droppings or actual sightings of any animal or bird life either.

Ten kilometres further on we found the few remnants that was once the settlement of Emu constructed to house the military officials during and after the atomic tests. Emu was so called following the arrival of a high-ranking British military officer who noticed a well-preserved emu footprint in the claypan that was used as an early airstrip. He asked what kind of print it was and was told by Len that it was an emu print and from then on the settlement became known as Emu. The clay pan situated near the settlement is 1.5 kms long and approximately 200 metres wide and was a natural airstrip suitable to land the heaviest aircraft built in that era.

It was used until an all weather airstrip was completed before the tests were actually carried out. The logistics of bringing all the necessary personnel and equipment necessary to such an isolated outpost must have been almost insurmountable. It will be fifty years next year since those early experimental atomic tests were carried out. At this point we noted a track heading south, which headed to Maralinga.

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This track is also attributed to Len Beadell and the Gun Barrel Road Construction Party, as this group of men came to be called.

As we left the atomic test sites and travelled towards Anne’s Corner we noted that the vegetation became noticeably more robust and that bird life became more abundant. The corrugations did not lessen and our average speed was 40kph as we progressed further into the Great Victoria Desert. Reaching Anne’s corner,{the junction of the Highway and some other minor tracks heading north and south to various other destinations} at 4p.m. we decided to call it a day and set up camp after checking out one of the signposts that is a Len Beadell trademark. These are metal plates etched with the place name, the astronomical reading giving the latitude and longitude the name and distance of the places to the east, west, and also north south if there was a track that headed off in any of those directions and usually attached to an old 44-gallon fuel drum. These were used by Len as road markers and are in surprisingly good condition considering the time they’ve been out there. An example is as follows: -

<= ANNE BEADELL HIGHWAY=> <=70-MILES TO VOKES HILL CORNER <=180 MILES TO W.A. BORDER EMU 30 MILES=>

The weather remained dry clear and very cold, and we were pleased that we had packed extra warm clothes and a feather doona which we used every night until we were nearly home. . We departed Anne’s corner at the crack of dawn, the pair of us having woken up very early and not able to go back to sleep. There seemed no point in hanging around. The 150 kms to Vokes Hill Corner proved to be as slow and bumpy as the previous day’s travel. This junction is where another southerly track leads to the town of Cook which is a railway stop for the transcontinental Indian Pacific. Just to the north of the Highway is an elevation that is Vokes Hill and from where further Latitude and Longitudinal readings were carried out. We stopped at the junction for lunch, signed the visitor’s book, and recognised some names of some Mackay Land Rover Club members who had preceded us by a few weeks. As we were about to leave two other vehicles drove in, and were travelling in the same direction as us. After exchanging a few words and sharing our admiration of Len Beadell we set off again. Our drive continued uneventfully until camp time and we made contact with the VKS radio network (as was our daily practice) and found that there was a message from Merv stating that he had arrived back in Coober Pedy and that all was well and that they would continue their holiday in another direction.

Now only 40-kilometres from the W.A. border we had been travelling through the Unnamed Conservation Park for the past two days and our astonishment at the variety and abundance of the flora grew by the hour. Prior to the start of this trip my mental image of the Great Victoria Desert was a place of sparse vegetation, coarse sand and very little else, but it is for the most part lush forestation. I repeat that if someone had told me that the desert was like this I would have thought that they were exaggerating. It is a magical part of the country. It is unfortunate that we are not so adept as the trees are to surviving without water or we would have spent more time there, but only so much water can be carried.

We arrived at the border at smoko time and celebrated by enjoying some fresh damper and syrup. The Serpentine lakes located here twist south for one hundred kilometres and form part of the West Australian border. The Anne Beadell Highway crosses these by means of a narrow causeway. The salt lakes were dry as the rainfall in this region is measured in millimetres and the evaporation rate in metres. We had a photo session here and tried to find the visitors book in the receptacle provided but it was not there, souvenired we’d supposed, though why anyone would want to souvenir a visitor’s book is a mystery. The familiar 44 gallon drum was there with the etched metal plate on the top giving the necessary geographical information for travellers.

An old blazed tree was noted on our left just after the border but no indication of any message had been left on it. GPS in hand we were looking for a rockhole where in 1993 Len had seen his grandson’s

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baptised. We located it and there was only the merest bit of water in it as the drought conditions were very apparent.

Just on the turnoff to the rock hole we noted a very newly constructed shelter, water tank and pit toilet. The tank was about half full of water and the roof had been constructed so as to effectively collect rainfall when it came, but this we found on investigation had been filled by a nearby community authority bringing water from a community bore by truck. Travelling on, another was located 100 kilometres further along the road and another 60 kms further on from the second one. The road being near a community had been graded recently and was in good condition and we were able to travel 60kms an hour and that seemed to us like hurtling along after our dawdling 40 kms per hour of the previous week. At this campsite we allowed ourselves the luxury of a hot shower, which sounds like a simple pleasure but after a series of birdbaths necessary because of our water restrictions it was wonderful.

September 1^st, Father’s Day dawned clear and fine and we had a leisurely breakfast before setting off on something that looked like a road and not two corrugated wheel tracks with plant life in the middle. Our speed averaged 70 klm/h as we encountered few corrugations and mostly straight stretches of road. The first excursion for the day was a visit to some odd stone formations or arrangements that had obviously been assembled by man at some stage and were ‘discovered’ by Len Beadell during a reccie for some of his road construction work. It was necessary to stop and walk up to an elevated area of land where the formations of circles of varying shapes and sizes and lines of stones were laid out. Although Len Beadell had many aboriginal contacts and he had his discoveries investigated by geologists and other specialists in ancient artefacts, no one can come up with an explanation of the meaning of the formations. They are so old that even several generations of aboriginals living in the area are unable to give any account of the possible meaning and so it remains a mystery.

We continued on and very soon arrived at Neale Junction, the intersection of the Connie Sue and the Anne Beadell Highways. Our plan of a rest time, walking and checking out the wildlife and flora of the area did not eventuate due to the gale force wind that prevented any thing from standing upright and blew coarse sand into everything especially hair and eyes, so we spent an afternoon inside reading etc. Only one other vehicle came through and the occupants left their vehicle long enough to read the plaque and continue on, going south along the Connie Sue Highway. Our only other companion, a large tin man.

He was built of used two hundred litre fuel drums and stood about four metres tall and was given a dangling appendage in the appropriate place (to complete his anatomy) from a much smaller 20 litre drum. He was supplied with a shovel attached by wire and a smile painted on his face. Looked as though a group of people with imagination, a good sense of humour and plenty of time on their hands were the creators.

Next day proved to be cold and bleak, threatening rain and still windy, so we decided to leave early on the final leg of the journey to Laverton as there were several points of interest on the way. The road again deteriorated into a track with washouts and sharp turns featured often along the way and so we were back to slow progress and the testing of the driver’s tenacity and patience, which proved to be excellent. Yeo Homestead is our first point of interest on this leg of the trip. First entering the Yeo Lake Nature Reserve and travelling through the attractive Pitcher Range area and then on to the rugged Mesa country of the Morton Craig Range, the ruins of Yeo Station are situated about halfway through the reserve. The small homestead has been restored to a basic covered-in shelter with two clean sleeping areas, a stove and water tanks, an outdoor table and chairs and a reliable well. Also outdoors we found a simple shower cubicle and some way off, a pit toilet. The well is a most interesting feature, quite deep, rectangular in shape, being 750 cms X 2metres in perimeter shored up with hardwood timber down about 1.5 metres and then through solid rock for as far down as we could see and water visible at approximately 6 metres down. Pulling open the hinged cover and using the windlass we pulled up a bucket full of quite clear water. This would have been suitable for washing and showering. We weren’t about to taste any of it but if a situation arose where a party found themselves without water, it would have been a lifesaver. Inside the

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homestead, we found some records of previous visitors and an old book left there so that visitors could record rainfall if there had been any.

Nearby was an old but empty paraffin bottle with a note to use two drops of paraffin in the rain gauge, which was located outside so that the water in the gauge would not readily evaporate before it could be recorded officially. As there had been a small amount of rain there was a tiny amount of water in the base of the glass measure, we noted it on a piece of paper and left it inside the hut. We were unsure if this was still an official weather station and thought we could always ask at Laverton.

The road from then on into Laverton was nothing short of marvellous and we very soon found ourselves driving into civilization and stopped at the police station to report our arrival to the duty officer. Another reason to visit the police station was to ask if there were any officers still stationed there who had been there five years ago. This was the district where our OKA had come from. We did not expect that anyone there now, would have been in Laverton then, but to our amazement there were at least five officers who remembered the vehicle and of course could not believe its transformation. They took photos and told us stories and an hour was spent there reminiscing before we went to the mechanics shop where it had been serviced and Gordon had a chat with the mechanic who was equally surprised. Next a telephone call to our family to let them know we had made it back to civilization and after that we booked into the caravan park and had a very early night.

Not having any more business in Laverton we were away very early en route to Kalgoorlie, and that’s another story. Continued next month Laurel Rollinson.

Email from Russell & Simone Conklin, of Eucla WA

Hi everyone,

Just a note to let our members know that a new roadhouse has opened up on the Serpentine Lakes (Anne Beadell Hwy) at Ilkurlka which is 180k west of the SA border.

Fuel is available right now at $1.50 per litre for diesel.

They will be stocking the store with other supplies shortly.

This roadhouse belongs to Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation (Tjuntjuntjara Community).

regards Simone

Email from Hal & Liz Harvey

We'd like to dress our LT up with aluminium wheels, preferably with beadlocks. Has anybody done this successfully? I've done a fair bit of homework but usually run into dead ends around load rating of wheels or tyres, or cost. I was keen on Hummer 17" x 9.5" wheels until I got quoted US$1700 each plus freight, duty & GST. Ours gets used a lot in sand and I'd like more flotation - lots of width. 8.5" rim would be a minimum, but I'd much rather have aluminium than steel.

Best regards

Hal & Liza Harvey

21 Scarborough Beach Road SCARBOROUGH BEACH WA 6019 Ph: 0417 322 722

fax: [phone]

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email: [e-mail]

Email from Bob & Sue Etherington:

Hello Lloyd & Marj,

Hope things have been well with you.

We have recently returned from Cape York. The OKA behaved very well – only had to replace 1 U J & fix wires which had been torn off the alternator – (W wire & air conditioner clutch wire). We didn’t even have a flat tyre!! We were very happy with the new pattern Michelin XZL 900-16 .

When we were coming back down the Telegraph Line we stopped at the old Morton Telegraph Station & were talking to Steve, who I think, runs it. He used to drive OKAs for OZ Tours for 5 years. These OKAs always stay at Morton so Steve still has close contact with them. He asked us if we know anyone looking for an OKA because OZ Tours will have 5 for sale later in the year. Queensland laws say no commercial tour vehicle over 10 years old can do the Cape York run so they have to sell 5 of their 8 OKAs (Bob feels ti might have been an 8 year limit). I told him we would mention it in the Newsletter. OZ Tours are based in Cairns.