Day 40 Manbulloo, Katherine: Memorial Cairn: day 1

26 July

MONDAY

We have set aside the next 3 or more days to work on the construction of a memorial cairn for Tony. Knowing that it was the beginning of achieving my main reason for coming here, I was awake and up even earlier that usual. Rosie and I were treated to an awesome sunrise, accompanied by the added spectacle of a near full golden moon still shining in the purple-pink sky as well. A perfect start to such an important day for me.

The first thing we had to do after breakfast was to take our dear Rosie to the vet for a clip. We are very concerned about the risk of her getting a tick. Up here the ticks apparently transmit a nasty infection for which there is no treatment so far.

Next on the list was a visit to the local Mitre 10 Hardware shop to buy concrete, trowel, mixing bucket and many other ‘things’ for the construction ahead.

By the time we had achieved all that it was already warming up. We did achieve the following:

Load all the rocks that we had found yesterday into the car and move them to the construction site; Norm then cleared a track from the narrow road where we can park to the site and started work on clearing the construction site itself.

It was approaching midday by the time we had finished those tasks and it was getting very warm. On the way back into town, I was astonished to see a small white cross on the side of the road, about a kilometre from where Tony was killed. We pulled over to look at it. Sadly, there was no name on it. However I am sure that it was not there when we came here in 2019. I checked on line for all fatalities that have occurred in this spot since 2018, and Tony is the only one recorded in that period. It has left me wondering whether some of the men with whom he was working at Tindal, or whether Sonya Johnston (the young lady who was first on the scene) or maybe even Constable Dingle who had been so kind to me, may have arranged to place the cross there.

Norm wanted book the car in to have the air bags replaced. They are ten years old and one has started to leak. He found a great bloke who booked Linus in for Thursday.

We then took a break back at camp for lunch and a short relax. Norm decided to take the low river crossing for a change. It is very scenic

In no time, it seemed we had to return into town. First stop was the great local butcher to buy some mouth watering lamb and beef. Then to the post office. The plaque had arrived but the little parcel of Tony’s ashes from Deb were still in transit! Next, I popped into Woolies to buy some flowers to place at the site of that cross we found. Then, at last, we could collect our dear little Rosie. She was so happy to see us and so lively after her beauty treatment. The young girls has done a great job clipping Rose and we are all happy with the result. Rosie most of all, it seems. She engaged with all the people in the waiting room, almost as if she was saying ‘Look at me, aren’t I so beautiful.’