TUESDAY 16 JANUARY     RV2

Today’s communique from FMG Hedland – no more fires were to be lit at the temporary dump point. I wonder why! They wanted a timetable for when the new SPQ’s at both Villages would be installed. Over to HO on that one!

The men started doing the layout for the new SPQ’s on Pod 1. Presumably, having to do these extra installations would push back the finishing date for our company at the project.

One of the men cut a finger – quite deep. K drove him to Newman for a tetanus shot – he jumped at the chance to get away from the place. That trip took them several hours.

I heard back from the ice machine company. They suggested running the water through a coolroom first, or installing a chiller. Not much help there!

The temperature of the water coming out of the kitchen cold taps at midday was 38 degrees! It got hotter later. No wonder my post-work showers were not enjoyable.

Both the Acco tip trucks were full of rubbish from the unpacking of Pod 3 fittings. No more burning – so now what?

John took the bus to Hedland to get the new tyres fitted.

Cloud had built up through the afternoon. About 5pm quite a strong willy came through – dust, debris flying about, then rain. The latter showed that the surface of the sports court was definitely not flat!

SATURDAY 13 JANUARY     RV2

A day of trouble shooting! Some days here I regretted getting out of bed…..

From FMG came the news that the water pipeline must be relaid, because it criss crossed where the rail line would be. So which genius did that, originally? That would have to be done as a Variation Order.

Apparently some air cons here and at RV1 were not safely installed, and must be rectified.

RV1 contacted me. They needed a new griddle. The deep fryer was not working properly. One of the ice machines was not working. They still needed another 5 sets of kitchen curtains. Such a familiar refrain….Obviously, none of these deficiencies was addressed in any way, once I left there in December. Not good. Seemed that the man in charge there just ignored them.

I arranged for the refrigeration man to go to RV1 to fix the ice machine. I would seek advice from the  Brisbane maker of the machines – yet again – about the best way to pre-chill water before it fed into the machines. In the interim, we would install bubbler coolers (again! When had the first lot been removed?) as a temporary measure.

There was a griddle unit here that would be installed at RV1.

John would put up their kitchen curtains when he was there, and had time. After the double order, last year, we had no shortage of curtains!

FMG’s Environmental Officer was not happy with the sewerage farm; that company must return and rectify the faults.

John was back from RV1. He hung curtains in the wet mess, repaired a door on one of the contractor’s offices, did some more work on fire extinguisher signs and brackets. He changed the tyre appointment for the bus to Tuesday, as on Monday he must pick up the sewerage man and take him to RV1.

The electricians stopped work at 2pm because it was 52 degrees out in the open.

Today had been grand daughter’s fifth birthday. She would soon be starting school. No doubt her parents had a party for her. I was really regretful to be missing this family event.

THURSDAY 11 JANUARY     RV2

Today the Spotless chef measured the temperature as 50 degrees, outside in the sun. Our men were working out in that!

K and I met with the Spotless manager to go over the kitchen and Pod 1 and 2 faults, here. My role was just to record same. I was finding that I couldn’t relate to the managers here, like I did with the ones at RV1 – although the demands of the latter sometimes made me cross, I really liked them. Last year, we ate our evening meals with them, quite often. I envied John his evenings at RV1 now, especially as I could envisage him and manager R, sitting outside their donga, sharing a beer!

Spotless at RV1 were reporting lots of faults to me, as they occupied Pod 3.

A couple of the men emptied the water tank that had been hooked up to the office, ready to send it south – now I had no water to the office. John and Brickie emptied the two portaloos – one that had been at RV1 and one that was used here, before the sewer was connected up. Not a pleasant job, it was reported! They too would be going south – guess they would be held ready for the next project!

I found this amusing….

I phoned the fire company and ordered what we needed. They would be coming to test/charge/ tag the many defunct extinguishers on 20th. I didn’t think we should have been supplied with so many expired extinguishers, by the building companies, but that was an issue for HO to sort out.

I managed to snaffle  a TV for John’s room. TV’s were being issued by Spotless, although the company had installed the brackets for them. They had been in short supply and were only now being provided to some rooms – but no TV system set up yet. If John was going to keep on being away for so many nights, I might get the TV put in my room!

Thank God we were not supplying the TV’s – imagine the complaints I would have to deal with!

K had a conversation with Darwin office about the deck paint. They told him that only two drums had been originally supplied, so in fact none had been stolen. K had not kept tabs on his supplies!

South Point Fly camp would be totally dismantled and gone by next Tuesday.

Sunset at South Point Camp – more primitive than North Point had been

John collected the communications men, and a worker, from the afternoon plane and they overnighted at RV1. He took the bongo bus, so at least was cool, driving.

TUESDAY 9 JANUARY     RV2

John arrived back early with our worker. The latter only managed to work for a couple of hours before knocking off with an upset stomach. Too much booze last night before he left Alice Springs?

Brickie arrived in with a forklift on his semi.

The guy from Newman got four of the compressors working. The other would need replacing. I was soooo  sick of compressors!

K reckoned that two drums of paint for the wet mess deck had gone missing from here over the Xmas break.

Two people from BHP – environment and safety types – arrived, to find out about yesterday’s fire. Not sure what business it was of theirs, but I gave them detail – minimal! Word travels fast, it seemed – maybe a train driver saw the smoke?

John was back to Hedland for more purchasing – again with the Acco – and to meet the late plane again. Another over night at RV1 for him.

Kitchen/mess

The numbers moving into RV2 really began to increase, now the kitchen was approved and serving the proper range of meals.

I was really starting to feel a much greater sense of remoteness than I had at RV1. It may have had something to do with the outlook from much of the place being limited by the low hills that surrounded much of the camp. At RV1, one looked to distant ranges and it felt much more open and less confined