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[left column] I can remember one area of Blackbutt scrub which was burnt when a young fire got through there, and the young blackbutt regenerated as thick as anywhere on the island.

I don't know how the fire was started. It certainly wasn't lit by anyone, because the Forestry was very, very strict about lighting fires.

With our bullock teams we used to let them turn out to graze from Louisa Camp and they'd run down towards the beach. There were no paddocks. Before daylight we would be up with our horses to go to muster our bullocks. We'd strike a match to see which track the bullocks had walked out on towards the beach. It wasn't daylight. Then we would yoke up our teams and actually haul in two loads a day. Sometimes we only got one if it took us too long to muster the bullocks. We would let them go towards five o'clock in the afternoon. They were long days.

I became very familiar with the land between Louisa Camp and the beach, and later when we finished carrying timber from Louisa Camp, we established a camp at Gowries for a while. We were usually able to get in two loads, because they were fairly short hauls. We were living in amongst the timber we were cutting.

There were some areas of special significance to the aboriginals, which Nugget used to tell me about. Nugget told me a lot about Wabby Lake, where there used to be a big hill and a lot of wong shells.

He told me that one day, a pretty girl died there and he said that he had given this girl water and wongs, but she still died. She had louse.

The aboriginals reckoned that there was a devil-devil there. They didn't like it at all. They said that the lakes were supposed to be very deep and they never went near Wabby Lake much.

There was a big camping area near the beach, just south of the Wabby Lakes area, and then at Eurong there was a pretty big place there, and that's where the aboriginals used to ride old Aldridge's horses.

They used to break the horses in. There must still be some old posts there yet. The aboriginals used to say they had plenty of busters there.

It was at Eurong that old Nugget had a hut. He used to camp there. Sometimes he would stay at the camp at Eurong and sometimes he would come back to camp at Louisa's with us.

There is a big midden near Poyungan Rocks. It was an area where the aboriginals used to go fishing. The two blackfellas who used to work with us, Teddy Brown and Nugget used to go out naked at times on the rocks and they would fish there with a line, a cord line. They would fill their mouths with wongs and go out and just stand on the rocks and when a big wave came, the would fish there and then come up again. When they caught hold of an oyster fish, they called them the "bowey," they used

[right column] MOONBI 40, Page 13 to run up the with it, get it off the rocks, pulling it all the way. They used to keep the wongs for bait, in their mouths, as they stood on the rocks.

Once when we were mustering our bullocks, Nugget pointed out to me a large clearing on the ground. He said it was a "christening ring," and the site is just north of Grouyeah Creek. It was flat country and it's in a little bit. That's where Nugget said the christening ring was. I suppose it's about a hundred yards in diameter. They christened the kiddies there, and they got their names. If there was a girl, and two boys were after her, those two boys would have fight and the one that won, he got the girl and those two, the girl and the boy cleared off. They might have gone somewhere up North, or come into the "inside" somewhere. They were married. That's how Nugget said that it was done. The only other really sacred area that Nugget told me about, where he wouldn't take us to, was Wabby Lakes. I don't recall Nugget saying anything about burial grounds. I never thought to ask him about that.

Just south of the christening ring at Grouyeah Creek, was where the swamps used to start. Then there was a very deep creek that used to come down from up near Lake Boemingen and it joined onto the swamp. There was a crossing there, and that's where the freshwater fish were. They were about a foot long and you could see them in the clear water and white sand. The rest of it was all weed and grass and you couldn't see anything. We never bothered to catch the fish - we never had much time for fishing.

I can remember a number of incidents, including the rescue of barge "THE WAVE" by old Charlie Mathieson. He salvaged the engine from it twice, and sold it twice. I can also recall, very vividly, the rescue of the survivors of the "DORRIGO" by the "MOURYA." I can recall too, some of the early history regarding the demise of the McKenzies sawmill on Fraser Island. Of course there was a yarn that these mills [print missing] Maryborough didn't help the operation survive, but I would [??] know about that yarn. The trouble arose with the [wh???] labourers who had to go down to load the timber, and I think that's what broke it, because they'd all require houses and other facilities and amenities.

It was a hard life working with the bullocks. We had to take [t??] loads a day. We tried to get a couple of logs each day. We would stay over on the Island for about a month and your worked [??] days a week. We worked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as a rule, if we could and it wasn't wet, then on Thursday we'd [g??] the bullocks for a spell, then we'd yoke up another lot on Friday Saturday and Sunday. We would always try and get them in[??] gully near night, ready for the next day, to keep them together and to make sure they didn't clear off. It was a hard life for a married man, but you never had much time to think about women. By the time you go and get bullocks, yoke up 20 [???] bullocks, go into the scrub and get a load of timber, bring them in and unload them, and unyoke them and get your tea, [the??] be not much time for anything but thinking about the next

[Photograph of road through wooded area] ROAD WIDENING by courtesy of the Forestry Department at Lake McKenzie similar excessive clearing near Lake Birrabeen had foresters apologising.

DON'T FORGET TO RENEW YOUR MOONBI SUBSCRIPTIONS ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS MINE OF INFORMATION

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.

[left column] bullocks hauled the timber to the tramline and it was transported to the mouth of the creek and rolled on skids (placed so as to hold many logs, and on a pitch to make it easy to roll logs to where the winches on the barge could be attached). Then the logs would be lifted by crane, and lowered to the hold on the barges and punts.

The forestry operation at Depuying was formed near the edge of the rainforest scrub. Clearing for the nursery in the carol scrub and on the bank of Bogimbah Creek. Trees of many varieties were raised in the nursery and planted in areas cleared for the purpose. The remains of the nursery are still to be seen with interesting results of growth caused by varying shade conditions over sixty years.

Some forty years or more earlier a forestry venture further up Bogimbah Creek was made by the Mitchell Brothers but with little success. There were some very fine natural stands, and the timber cutting and culling was in progress in the 1860's. Patric Seery took bullocks to the island in 1868, and O'Hara sometime later took over a horseteam. O'Hara paid black labour at the rate of one hand full of maize (horsefeed) per man per day. They were satisfied but of course Bob Hawke was not born then.

A small camp of blacks was at Bogimbah at that time. The blacks were moved from Fraser Island in 1905. However some few managed to remain and I can remember calling at their camp in the company of Fred Epps on one occasion when he took me to meet a boat. On the boat there was a billy goat especially for me. Our party of three had only one horse so I was allowed to ride and Fred led the goat. The goat was killed by dingoes some nights later, so the effort was wasted.

When we called at the camp there was a very large gin called Lucy, who offered me some food, I can't remember what it was I ate, although it was probably fish. Lucy laughed a lot, showing large white teeth and shaking bodily.

Several blacks were employed by Dad in later years.

One Sunday while we were still at Bogimbah, Mum had gone for a ride, leaving my brother and I in the care of our Father. My brother Tom decapitated my finger. He half carried me and my finger down to where dad was. Dad sent Fred for horses, and as Fred went towards the horse paddock Mum came home. She asked Fred what was doing and receiving no reply (Fred just pointed to the camp), she went up to where Dad was and called out to him to find out what was wrong. Dad came to the door and held up one very small, and I guess bloody finger. Of course this was a story without words. I was double backed to the mouth of Bogimbah Creek. Alf Jarvis had the only motor boat at that time and he was in the habit of going up to Maryborough on weekends.

Just as we arrived he arrived back and prompty turned around and took me back to the mainland so that my finger could be trimmed by a doctor.

[right column] Not without humour was the accident Buch Cassells had with an axe. He had a frightful gash, across his instep through a pair of blutcher boots which where brand new. As Mum was sewing up the wound after cleansing etc, and using a large bent needle and sterilized white cotton, he would groan at every puncture of the skin. Then would follow the agonized words "My new bloody boots ruined."

Of course there were many stitches and this was repeated many times.

They were certainly rough times and exciting times spent at the settlement at Bogimbah.

[Photograph] PHOTO CAPTIONS TENT TOWN. Above: A typical forestry camp of tents. Below: "Bark Gunyahs" were still in vogue on Fraser Island in 1940. Both photos by courtesy of Blue Austin. [Photograph]

EDITORS NOTE Although it had been hoped to feature the history of Bogimbah in this MOONBI together with Rollo's recollections space and lack of time for research prevented this from happening.

MOONBI is interested in receiving old photographs of Fraser Island for publication or any historical data which can help in research for articles in this quarterly journal.

MOONBI 42 Pa

ROLLO PETRIE REMEMBERS ORANGE TREE CAMP

[left column] In this Third Part of Rollo Petrie's memories of his young days on Fraser Island from 1913 to 1922 he recalls days in 1916 near the mouth of Woongoolbver Creek where the stand of Hoop Pines records the site of the Petrie's second Forestry Camp.

"From Bogimbah Dad arranged for the Woongoolbver camp at what we call Orange Tree camp, about two miles, just up Woongoolbver Creek above the tidal mark and into the fresh water. It is about two and a half or two miles I suppose, from the mouth of the creek.

In 1915 we moved from Deepuying (which is the aboriginal name for the White Cheeked Honeyeater) to Orange Tree Camp. It was from here that the tramline had been laid to Eurong Scrub. It had the same type of buildings as Deepuying but a house was built by early '16. We got more horses - some draughts. Dad bought a buggy and the transport problem had improved considerably.

A nursery was formed and built with a slab roof of split Piccabeen Palm hauled down from Eurong Scrub. Numerous men were employed. Harry Walker and family, Eltie Sharmon and Beetson were at Walkers Camp at Central Station, and clearing and felling scrub. Sharmon was foreman and had others whose names I can't recall. Later there were Wiers, McLean and Stoddarts. Bill McLean was a chemist by trade. Beetson a copperplate signwriter. By this time there were several Forestry employees - Chris Dam and family, George Holmes, Ben Harrop, Freddy Wondunna, Ken Webber, Frank Simpson, Jerry Jerome and of course Fred Epps. (Buck Geoghan had gone to War and was subsequently killed). No grog was permitted on Forestry premises in those days and it was a good place for drying out as it could be 6 - 12 months between visits to mainland. Beetson and McLean were two such.

The Eurong Road as we know it now, where the tourist traffic comes across from Eurong Beach to Central and down to the coast, the inside coast, was a bullock team road. It was made by the bullockies when they cut the timber in the Eurong Scrub. Even before the tramline went in there, that road was formed. The tramline was mooted and put in before we left Bogimbah, so that it would be an operative concern timberwise before we went down there. We built the home and the first forest station on Woongoolbver where the navvies or the builders of the railway camped at first. That was the first big camp there. They cleared a patch and camped. That was why there were so many fleas there.

The site where we lived was the first camp of the gang building tramlines. The Orange Tree at the site was planted by the tramline gang some time earlier.

[right column] When we arrived and set up tents - the fleas just about carried us off. There were millions of fleas when we went there first abd we just couldn't sleep for fleas. There were sandflies and mosquitos but the fleas were worse.

Mum, with Gindy her aboriginal house helper, and another gin, got to work and raked every leaf, every blade of grass and every skeric of litter away in a big circle that would go to 50 yards in radius. Then each day when the sun got hot they would open up the tents and take everything out of the tent blankets, etc. and put them out on the hot, dry sand. When the sun came out the bare sand was unbearably hot. The fleas would hop and land on the sand and turn red and very dead. In no time the fleas were gone and there were only sandflies to contend with. Smoke fires were the order of every day. However, I can still remember as we put our feet out from under the mosquito nets in the morning we had our instant "black socks" on.

There was a great big fig tree there just where [tha??] camp was. It has gone since altogether. The roots of that fig tree used to come out in the creek, in the water, 150 yards away.

The tramline went as far as Central Station to begin with, through the Eurong scrub. I just forget how far through, but not out to what is now called Louisa's Camp. We called it Dellon's Scrub [wit??] the tallow woods then. That is, I think, as far as the train line ever went, and that reached there in 1917.

Not without humour was the accident Buck Cassells had, with an axe, a frightful gash - [angl??] wire across the instep, through a pair of blutcher boots (brand new). As Mum was sewing up the wound after cleansing etc. and with a large, [ber??] needle ad sterilised white cotton, at each puncture of the skin there would be a groan followed by, "My new bloody boots ruined repeated after each stitch, and there were many [??]

[Photograph] FORESTRY SUPPLY VESSEL "RELIEF" This [??] loading supplies in Woongoolbver Creek at [??] 1935. Photo by courtesy of [illegible] MOONBI 43, Pa

[left column] them. Cassells got O.K. No limp, no Doctor. I have some scars, one about 6" long. A few years ago a Doctor remarked what a good job it had been, no doubt thinking he was complimenting another Doctor, but the Doctor was Mum and she had no medical training.

Later, when at Orange Tree Camp, when the new Scrub Camp (Central Station) was being formed a settlement was established with superior living conditions - large rectangular tents on raised wood floors with galvanised iron fly and with wood and iron galleys - come kitchen and later, huts instead of tents. At this time several families were installed and when the babies were born it was Mum or Mrs. Walker or both, who had many a wild drive in the buggy, day or night.

Talking of the buggy at night, returning from Indian Head, Dad, Brother, Moncher and myself, brother and I riding, Dad driving buggy - the night was so dark coming through Eurong Scrub and and the track was not over wide - I was riding a grey mare and Tom was wearing a white shirt, by riding one on each wheel track directly in front of the buggy and because the horses were both dark coloured and not discernible in the dark, Dad could see my horse and Tom's shirt and so keep a safe course.

On coming to the crossing of tramline just east of the present central Station, a track of Carrol Scrub, there were some Satinays which had been felled. The big Satinays were not cut. A fire had got into the area and a big Satinay near the road was alight for about 200 ft. or so - just a big red glow which lit up the road for 100 or more yards on each side. We hesitated for a few moments and I guess Dad realised that if it fell we would have to stay the night and cut a way 'round so he told Tom and I to apply spurs and gallop past and wait for him. This we did and it could only have been half a minute after Dad reached us there was a spectacular demonstration of fireworks as the whole bole collapsed and squeezed out millions of sparks of various sizes as it tumbed and rolled and pounded to a great glowing heap. That tree was only half a mile or less from the old black's grave tree above Walker's Camp and could even have been one itself - maybe the first crematorium.

While on that trip - "The End of the World" had been predicted by, well, I don't know who by, as I didn't read the papers and anyway they were only delivered once a month or so. The night we pitched camp at Middle Rock was the date for the 'end'. On the way along the beach all that day the sea was purple and there was a great deal of seaweed washed up and literally thousands of snakes of every size, colour and shape and sea birds not seen on shore, dead and dying. The snakes also were dead or dying, not interested in attacking anything.

After pitching camp and having a feed I was asleep. I was hustled out to hang on to a tent flap and spent the rest of the night there. It blew, and then somehow I knew we were full of sand, ears, eyes and any other places. It became calm next day and Page 8. MOONBI 43

[right column] gradually the sea resumed its normal colour but great heaps of seaweed remained on the beach. We ran out of tucker and the last two days we ate only wongs which were O.K. for us but not for Moncher who was a Scotch Pom - it was really a joke. On reaching home late at night Mum called from the top step, "Coffee and scones on. Moncher leapt out of the buggy and ran up the stairs to be called back and made to help unharness and unload and put the horses away. He almost wept.

Back to Orange Tree Camp

While still living at Orange Tree Camp, areas were being prepared for planting. Trees from the nursery were being transported by buggy and tram [??] Carrol block and other blocks.

There was "Never a dull moment" as Banjo Owen the legendary aboriginal would have said. After being dumped in the saltpan the gala football match against the Pialba team Banjo took off [??] half time whistle at full pace, pausing to visit a going in one window and coming [out??] otherside. Having paused just long enough divest himself of excess energy, he returned [??] horse paddock before the match finished. The referee did not notice his absence due no doubt [??] his resemblance to a shadow, coupled with liberal dose of medicine from a cask provided by the visitng team. The football match was one [??] the biggest events on Fraser Island in a decade was attended by almost every island resident and lots of people from Hervey Bay who brought a [??] of liquor.

In 1917 I was away at school. In 1918 we shifted to Scrub Camp, Central Station.

[photograph]

STEAM TRAIN OPERATING ON THE WOONGOOLBVER CREEK RAILWAY LINE about 1916. This railway terminatd near the Orange Tree Camp at the Mouth of Woongoolbver Creek and reached into Central Station or "The Scrub Camp" during the Petries time on Fraser Island