USC295_0007

ROLLO PETRIE REMEMBERS THE FIRST TWO
YEARS AT DEEPUYING CAMP BOGIMBAH 1914-15

Continuing the remminiscences of Rollo Petrie whose family has had a 130 year association with Fraser Island
from MOONBI 41.
[left column]
In 1913 Dad went over there ahead of us. He was
there for some months before we kids joined him.
That was at Bogimbah Creek.

Dad took with him two cadets, a fellow named
Epps and a fellow named Gagen. The three of them
carried on there for the first twelve months or
there-abouts on their own. They did everything.
They cleared the scrub, and they formed the
nursery before they had any other employees.

The traces of the old Bogimbah nursery are still
there. I was torn to that patch of tall pine. That was
a remarkable turn out. That was planted in 1916
and 1917, and to see the nursery beds that are still
there, ten to fifteen trees in them, only ten to fifteen
feet high, was remarkable. The same aged trees
are 150 feet high. I suppose those fellows there
would be wouldn't they? It just shows what
stunting can do. We talk about the Japanese and
they had "bonsai" before we heard about Japan.

We moved to live on Fraser Island in 1914.

First of all we lived in tents while bark dwellings
were in the process of being built. The horse
paddock had to be fenced. Hard rations like flour,
tea, rice and sugar were no worry as they would be
kept for six months. Spuds and onions often ran
out and had to be supplemented with natural food
like yams and Piccabeen Palm cabbage. Meat
consisted of duck, crab, fish, pigeons and to a
lesser extent because of distance, oysters, and
wongs.

Sometimes a cask of corned beef would get down in
good order, but on other occasions it would have
to be burned on arrival. Really we lived on the fat of
the land, as in those days game was plentiful and
Dad was a good provider. Later my brother and I
helped to provide. I was using a shot gun at seven
years od age, also a rifle.

Mum was one of only two white women on Fraser Island at that time. The other woman was Mrs. Pat
Seery. Pat and Mrs. Seery were at the telephone
station near the mouth of Bogimbah Creek to the
mainland underwater and to the Sandy Cape
Lighthouse. The lived over five miles from us.

Washing was done down in the creek initially until
pumping arrangements were made and then the
pump was a semi rotary hand pump. One man
could sit and pump by hand all day to fill a 2,000
gallon tank. This method was also used at the
Orange Tree Camp (the mouth of Woongoolvber
Creek) in 1915 and to 1917. One man was kept full
time at the water pump except during rain. It was
not until the Forest Station was moved to the Scrub
Camp (Central Station) that a mechanical pump
was installed and a big rainwater tank erected.
page 4. MOONBI 42

[right column]
We built in Bogimbah as in Woongoolvber [ba?? print missing]
dwellings to begin with, and then in Bogimbah [??]
transferred to a bark dwelling with a wooden floor.
As we were not there long we didn't get a house
but at Woongoolvber there was a house organised, [??]
"Bark Gunyah" as we called it. It had a long narrow
wooden floor and the beds (some of them) we
suspended by wire from the ceiling.

The house was quite a nice house when it was
built, and dad's office was also a bark building [??]
turpentine (or "satinay" as it is called today). The
office was there for many, many years after the
station closed down, thereabout the end of 1917
1918 I suppose.

Living conditions, judged by present standards
were pretty primitive. It has to be remembered that
there were no means of transport or traction other
than horses (saddle). Pack saddles were used [??]
transferring supplies from boat and or tramline
settlements. Timber barges would come at [K??]
Tide so as to get up the creeks. It was lucky to [??]
two trips each moon. Most times we only had [o??].
Often the boat came months apart. Of course
forestry bought its own launch.

Much of the timber for living quarters and stable
was snigged to the required position by attaching
to a horse's tail and pulling by hand. Using this
method of course, one had to restrict the weight
although a horse can pull his own weight [sh???]
distances by his tail. The tail must be correctly
attached of course.

The bark for the buildings was stripped from
Satinay trees (Turpentine) in the same manner
Blacks used to procure it. We would cut a [??]
down and strip the bark in lengths required, and
get much more bark from each tree. The [bla??]
could only take one length or two short lengths.

After stripping the bark would be laid sap [do??]
in stacks and weights were put on top. These were
left for some weeks until they set in a flat position.
The inside or sap side was smooth and made
good lining wall. The bark was also used for a [??]
and was rain proof when erected.

My Dad made a miniature wagon complete[??]
wood and the wheels were cut from a log
approximately three feet in diameter and about
nine inches wide. The axle was made of car[??]
kero wood, with turntable complete. This was
bringing bark (which was cut in eight to ten
lengths) down to the building site. The wagon
pulled by two or three saddle horses.

The only sawn timber in the first buildings wa[??]
floor which came down by barge and was ca[??]
from the tramline to the camp in waggonette. [??]
tramline was laid from the mouth of Bogim[??]
Creek inland to the scrub and timber areas.