The Jillaroo. Part 3 Marriage.

A month or so later I got word from my contact at Parafield that he had a Cessna 182 that was in good order, being only five years old, and at the right price. I made sure that our finances would cover the purchase and one of our guys drove me to Broken Hill where I had organised a seat to Adelaide.

One look at the Cessna and I was hooked and it flew beautifully so I stayed overnight while the paperwork was completed, purchased new headsets and a box of spares, and flew it back to the station. No more would I have to suffer the dirt road to do anything. My mother was very happy as it had eaten at her brain to have me likely to die during my emergency trip south and we could now quickly fly any hurt workers to hospital ourselves without needing to call out the Flying Doctor. To celebrate we decided that we would fly to Quilpie for their annual Kangaranga Do, which was to be held in a few weeks’ time, followed by a trip to the Birdsville Races. We made sure we had some accommodation at both places as we did not fancy sleeping on the ground and packed our best dresses for the Do and the Races. Both events are to raise money for charity, the Races being for the Flying Doctor.

On the day of the Do we took off from the station and flew north-east to Quilpie, landing just before lunch and walking from the airport to the hotel, a trip of about five minutes! The Do starts at six so we had a light lunch before having a quick walk around the town; somewhere neither of us had been but did have a connection to the family as the place where my father’s parents had met. It did not take long as a town with less than a thousand inhabitants was not the largest around. They did put on a good street party though.

We made sure we had a filling tea before putting on our party dresses and walking, arm in arm, into the part of the street where the party was held. They had all sorts of fun events, like bale rolling races, sheaf tossing and other outback pursuits. Of course, there was drinking and dancing. I had a few dances myself with strapping guys and my mother was enjoying herself as well. I noticed one guy sitting alone on a bale with a drink in his hand and a sad look on his face. I was immediately attracted to him, I don’t know why. I asked the bartender who he was and I was told that he was Steve Masters, a sorry loser who had two older brothers who ran their parents station and who had not long got over testicular cancer by having his nuts removed. He told me that none of the local girls would have anything to do with him as he had no land and could never be a father. He was considered a three-time loser as he was very shy into the bargain.

I took my drink and walked over to him, sitting beside him on the bale. He looked startled and I said “Hello, I’m Frances and I have been told that you are Steve. You look like a guy who needs someone to dance with.” He blushed and said “There is something you need to know about me.” I said that I had been told he had no land and no nuts but that was OK because I had a bit of land and I didn’t have a womb. “We’ll just have to adopt, that OK with you?” He smiled for the first time and my heart melted. We danced until late and then he had to take his family home as he had been the designated driver. They had a place about two hours north of the town. Before he left we kissed goodnight and he held me so close I thought I would be crushed.

I had told him that we would be going home for a few days before going to Birdsville and that he was invited to join us if he could get back to Quilpie airfield by nine the next morning. My mother was a bit tipsy when I got her back to the hotel so I left it for morning to tell her we may have a passenger. After breakfast we strolled to the airfield with our bags and I stored them away in the plane. I made sure we had enough fuel to get home and did my pre-flight inspection. Just before nine my nerves were settled when a jeep pulled up and Steve got out, picking a bag out of the back. I waved and he started walking over. My mother said “Who is that dear, he seems to know you?” I replied “That’s Steve Masters, Mum, your future son-in-law, and we met last night.”

I put Steves’ bag in the plane after introducing them and we got seated. My mother opted for one of the back seats so Steve could sit up front with me. We all put on our headsets and we took off to fly home. My mother kept up chatter with Steve, asking him about his family, schooling, experience and farming abilities. He just looked at me and smiled while he spoke to her. As we passed over the northern boundary of Kangaranga I saw that Adam was working the Bell a few miles in front of us. I changed the radio to our station channel and said “Adam, this is Frankie, I am four thousand above you, and how is it working today?” He answered back that it was going well and would not lift until he saw us pass. Steve looked startled and when I changed back to in-plane communication he asked “What is the station we are over?” My mother answered “That is Kangaranga, dear, all five million acres of it.”

A couple of minutes later I switched back to station frequency and said “Adam, this is Frankie. I am past you now and descending to one thousand. Will you be finished today?” He answered that he understood and that he would have the muster sorted by early afternoon and would head back to Broken Hill. I asked him if he could stay overnight as I wanted him to take a visitor on a quick trip around the interesting parts of the station. He said that this would be good.

I put the Cessna down on our strip and parked it outside the hanger. A couple of the guys came out to help us out and to unload the bags, mum going into the house with them. Steve just stood there and looked around at the big house, the outbuildings, bunkhouse and then said “Frances, just answer me honestly. Are you just playing with me and will send me home next week?” I put my arms around his neck and said “Steve, I never want you to leave. This is no play, this is our life.” He then kissed me and when he told me he had fallen in love with me I knew, this time, exactly what he meant.

When we went into the house my mother said that she had put his bag in my room as she knew I could never get pregnant and he went to her and gave her a hug, saying “Thank you, mother dear.” With the air truly cleared we all had a laugh and got some lunch. A little while after that we heard the sound of Adam coming in to land and went out to talk to him. He had lunched at the campsite so just needed to refuel. I introduced Steve as the new boss to be and then Adam took him up for a trip around his new realm. A couple of hours later they returned, Adam just touching down long enough for Steve to get out and away from the helicopter before lifting off again with a wave to me. Steve told me that Adam had got a radio call from home during the flight and couldn’t stay the night.

That evening, over dinner, I asked Steve what he thought about the station and he said that he was still trying to take in just how big it was. He asked me if I had any ideas about future development and I told him that we had now streamlined the mustering and that I was thinking of some way to put in a few hundred acres of sorghum or Bermuda grass but that I would need to contour the landscape for that. He agreed that it could work and told us that his family property was mainly sorghum grown as a cereal crop but that there were hardy versions that could be used for fodder. I said that we would need to get a better tractor as our old pre-war Fergie would not be good enough.

We talked about the options into the night and then we went to bed. At first we were both a bit shy but finally found ways to give each other pleasure. Oh my! I had never had that kind of pleasure before and we found ourselves totally absorbed in each other until the early hours. We were late up in the morning and when we did appear for breakfast the cook gave me a knowing wink and my mother gave us both a hug and kiss. It was if we had won some contest or something. I actually did feel as if I had won the greatest prize I could ever have.

It was just Steve and I that went to Birdsville and we had a lot of fun with a little good luck. He told me that there was a good stretch of straight track on the family property where we could put the Cessna down so we flew from Birdsville to his home. The stretch of road was perfect and after we had landed we were taken to the main house where I was introduced to his brothers and their wives. When they were told that he was leaving I could see a little bit of relief in their faces but they showed enough sorrow to be kind. Steve went and packed up all of the things he wanted to take and we loaded up the Cessna with it. We both hugged the family before we got into the plane to take off into our own future, together.

Marianne G 2020