From My Notebooks in 1975: Christmas in Oz

After that extraordinary interlude with the truckies the rest of Australia seemed rather dull at first. In fact the word “dull” crops up too often in my notes. But before I get into Christmas in Oz, here’s a picture that somehow got away last week.

PJ is in the middle, McCarthy on the left, and that’s Ferret in the hat.

Tuesday 23rd December

We rode on. Felt like making time. Doubtful weather. In Mackay looked for waterworks and Mr. Cooley’s house, but missed it and felt unlike chancing a dull encounter. Rode on toe Proserpine – a dull town. Sugarcane everywhere, at all stages of growth including some that couldn’t be harvested in time. Big sugar mills, of sheets of corrugated iron, bits added to bits. Saw Central Guest House advertised and went to see. Too institutional for Carol. Little rooms with twin beds and mosquito nets. Looked around and saw nothing else. Off to Shute Harbour across a creek that looked like flooding soon. Darkness gathering – came to free campground, but I was beginning to think about telephoning London and wanted to be inside somewhere. We were both very tired. On to Airlie Beach where the biggest motel was $21 a night – outrageous price (though for full “units”). Found Bali Hai for $16. Still a vast amount of money, but felt like Xmas, and we moved in. Owner was a curious mixture of slyness and friendliness – eyes creased, short beard, open shirt. Didn’t quite trust him. When I saw the tariff ($16 plus $5 for an additional adult) I felt sure he was going to ask for $21, and it upset me for a while to have to anticipate the bad feeling – but I was wrong. Made the call to P.H. [Peter Harland at the Sunday Times] He had the addresses at home (again). But told me I’d got another $100 to my name.

[Harland had a number of contacts in Australia that he wanted me to look up, but I was having trouble getting them off him. I was also worrying about running out of money and finding Australia more expensive than I had expected. There was no fixed arrangement with the newspaper – just a general understanding that they would hope to keep me going somehow.]

The rate for O.M.W. is £85 it seems. [I have no idea now what that refers to.]

The “unit” had big bed, sliding tinted glass doors and curtains, electric plate and grill, frig, sink, crockery and cutlery, toaster, immersion kettle, reed floor covering, wicker furniture, two bunks for children, shower & loo, all in good taste and good nick.

Cost him $70,000 a year ago. Says it would cost $100,000 to build now, which he plans to do, on the other side of the lot. He was a panel beater in Adelaide for twenty years before coming up here.

Wednesday 24th, Christmas Eve

No call from P.H. We decide to stay a day, fritter the time away playing house. Aussie families all around, here for Xmas – staying for weeks at a time – a lot of money being spent. Kids running up and down the balconies. Weather stays bright and dry despite heavy-looking cumulus.

Most vivid impression, unfortunately, is that although the resort is a pleasant one (though it’s hopeless as a beach) the prices of everything are totally out of proportion for us. A family of four could not be spending less than $40 a day (say £30). Wages here seem to range from $300 to $500 a week – i.e up to £16,000 a year for tradesmen and professionals.

At the Beach Hotel- Motel – large ladies in ankle length “frocks” – gents in natty leisure wear, less evolved than in U.S.

Green sea, shoreline strewn with rock, pebbles, leaves twigs and silt, probably washed to sea by flood waters. Mixed grasses, palms, mangoes, eucalypts, cedars. Older houses of boards and tin roofs, raised on stilts. New cement and brick shops. And tourist shops in vague Polynesian styles. Immediately behind the road the hill rises high and steep, covered with trees (probably acacias).

Thursday 25th, Christmas Day

Packed lazily and went off down road towards Shute Harbour and the free camp ground, where we put up the tarp and tent. Went off to the “Wild Life Show” – 40 acres of kangaroos, brolgas, rainbow lorikeets, cassowaries (female with helmet, larger than male, magenta and neon-blue neck) koala bears, the birds in the aviary, brown with white splashes, long stick-like legs and the funny lorikeets fiddling about at their feet. All animals and birds remarkably tame. $1.50 to go in, but good value.

Two lads came into reptile house struggling with a huge lizard, called a monitor – it had cut them with its claws.

Since we rode in from Proserpine and I felt the rhythm of the bike suddenly change I’ve been worried about the possibility of one of the pistons having distorted. Couldn’t bring myself to take the bike apart on suspicion in those conditions. Thank God I didn’t. The rain hit us this night and caused near disaster. The tarp flew off the stuff, my box on its side, jacket and clothes soaked. Miserable night at first, but we got used to it. Water came up through the floor of the tent. But pad kept us above it. Only in the morning did we see what had happened outside.

Before sleeping we ate a fish caught by two guys, Martin and Neil, and two girls – a big fish that Neil had caught with a spear.

Good evening to you all. Still hoping for a fragment of good news. See you next week.