From My Notebooks In 1976: Melbourne in February

We spent almost a month in Melbourne. Much of the time I was working on the bike and looking for a ship to take us away from Australia. With Darwin destroyed by a typhoon, I felt the least I should do to be able to say I’d seen Australia was to ride the two thousand miles across the south to Perth, but finding a boat was difficult. One ship would have taken us all around the Philippines to Bangkok but it was too expensive. Another would have had us travelling with racehorses to Djakarta but that fell through. Finally the only acceptable choice was the Kota Bali, a small cruise ship sailing out of Fremantle to Singapore. It cost $200 each, bike included, still a lot of money at the time.

Looking for an antidote to Okker, I was bowled over (a suitable metaphor for cricket-crazy Oz) by the art in the Melbourne Gallery. My notebook lists Sidney Nolan, Perceval, John Brack, Arthur Boyd, Justin O’Brien, Russell Drysdale, Charles Blackman, and I even made tiny sketches of the paintings I admired most.

I see I also visited Kodak, probably trying to get my film processed, but I don’t know if I succeeded. Having to carry all my exposed film around on the bike was a persistent worry.

I see I made a mistake earlier in these notes. We did stay a full month in Melbourne before I was ready to leave.

Friday, February 27th

Melbourne to Colac. Road to Geelong, past docks, competing petrol stations, and along the freeway. Geelong ancient wool port, then to join the Ocean Road. A triumph. Quite as lovely as the Hwy 1 [in California] and much more deserted. To Lorne and Apollo Bay. (Fish & Chips). Then through attractive hills and forests to the hot inland grazing country and to Colac where found Chris at his parents’ house waiting for Karen [friends made in Melbourne]. Went to pub to meet Stephen the publican who owns two pubs and vaguely reminds me of Tom Merrin [a ruffian from my newspaper days] Then back for chops and a cold night ride to Gellibrand and their home – ten acres, fibreboard house on a rise with sheds and then steep slope to small river with some acres of potatoes cultivated with their permission by Vic, a perfect potato grower who calls everyone sheriff. Chris is big, blonde, complacent, affable. Karen pretty, dark, contained.

Back to Lorne on Sunday for the day, where I fished with his rod. He had caught a trout the night before.

Monday we looked for work. Saw several farmers and Dept. of Agriculture. [Presumably we failed.]

Wednesday, March 3rd

Colac to Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Balmoral.

From Apollo Bay across the headlands, dirt and lush sub-tropical veg. most beautiful. Stopped for dynamiting of tree on road. Coast continues. Bare grazing land. Sandstone bluffs and great sandstone pillars carved out by the sea.

A few of the Twelve Apostles

Carol’s headache disaster. [She had a migraine attack. We were on our way to Matt Handbury’s parents at “The Rises” but she couldn’t continue. We spent hours above the cliffs as I massaged her head and neck until she felt able to go on.]

Convalescence at Port Campbell. Man from Berkshire. BMW rider from Perth (Hunchback?).

Four hours to Balmoral. Long cold ride through the night, just managed to find petrol in time. Caramut Hotel, where we phoned.

From Balmoral, over bridge left on to dirt road, to find house all lit up to welcome us. Such nice people.

I marvel at Carol’s stamina and our determination to get there. Perhaps we had no option. I would never have imposed the ordeal upon her. There’s so much my notes don’t tell.