The Sheep Station Jundah

August 2025 

Finished up at Jundah and the Sheep Station at the end of July after doing another 5 weeks. Whilst not nearly finished the farmer needs a break to catch up with the main business, sheep. 

We had completed just about half of the boundary, the worst affected bit. But there is still many kilometres of fence still needing attention. The track around that part of the fence will need grading before vehicles can get there to do the repairs. In the meantime the sheep will be confined to the repaired area of the station. But my time there has ended, good luck for the future guys.

The replacement method for the washaways and flood gate replacement:

Build box assemblies to support the two ends of "good bits" of the existing fence welding 100mm bore drill pipe.

Tie of the existing fence to the assemblies and remove the old damaged fence.

Clear and level the fence line.

Run a suspension cable as sight wire and eventually the support for the mesh.

Lay out the 2.7m stem pipe posts and 1.35m butt pipe to be used as the fence posts and support.

Drive in all the posts, one meter into the ground with bobcat and post driver attachment.

Weld the support rod from the posts to the butts and suspend the cable on the posts.

Run out the 1.8m mesh.

Stand up the mesh and strain.

Tie off the mesh to the suspension cable every 50cm leaving an apron to curve along the ground.

Tie off the mesh to the stem pipe posts at the bottom with just a loop of wire that will give way with the next flood water.

With the right equipment, enough people, and no unforeseen complications, it was possible to do ~200m per day. Maintaining the integrity of the boundary overnight.

June 2 weeks at home

June 20th

No sitting around on the couch in-between appointments and commitments. I decided to redo the fan window inserts. The acrylic half window version had issues and the only fix was a full window replacement. Was thinking aluminium at first but reverted to what I know best, wood.

Two 3mm sheets of plywood laminated together with PVA glue made for a strong construction. Made a template of the glass window insert and cut it out of ply. My jigsaw made the fan vent holes and a spray can of matt black finished the job. The two 12v fans and covers were reclaimed from the V1 acrylic and an in-line plug and socket added for convenience.

The new window insert is held in place by half sliding closed the glass on the insert. The new version does not rattle when driving, a vast improvement from V1. The other benefit is its totally bug and waterproof, no small gaps. 

The Station - Week 3 and 4.

The Station - Week 3 and 4.

The team has changed over. The girls left heading south to continue their touring. Jun a Korean guy arrived late last week and has settled in. A few days later Lee another Korean guy joined us. So we are 3. 

Working some days with the station manager helping him with the dog fence, as his offsiders have had to leave. Other days we clean and refurb 4 foot fences. The work varies, it's good.

It took two days work for a 350m section of dog fence that required complete replacement. On the first day we pulled it down removed the pickets and towed the mesh away to reused as apron on another section. A new end assemble of bore pipe posts and rail was driven in and welded. The grader cleaned the fence line then a new fence was constructed. Not possible to finish in a day so the mesh was stood up with just a few posts for overnight.

Day two on the fence saw us driving in the rest of the bore pipe posts and weld in the stays to a short butt post 2 meters upstream from the next flooding waters. The theory being the stays will help support the fence posts during the high current running hopefully under the 2 meter mesh. The mesh is twitched to a 12mm cable strung from the end assemblies and can swing up during the flooding, supposedly. 

So by the end of day two we had driven in about 100 bore pipe posts and stays, welded the stays to the fence posts and butts and run out about 4 ton of mesh from the back of the truck and twitched the mesh to the support cable every 50cm. Good job done by all. Long days but rewarding. No sheep escaped and no dogs got through.

A wild dog probably chased this one
into a panic and the fence.

The old fence has got to go!

Nice clean fence line.

The mesh all 6 tons of it.

The loader holds the strain
whilst we get to and stand it up.

An example of the stay and butt support
system for the high dog fence posts.

The Sheep Station (week 2)

There were initially 6 on us here on The Station, not a good number as we have but one car. After a couple of days, and a team meeting, the Australian couple travelling together decided they would move to another farm to help out there. Works for all of us. 4 is good for tools and car transport reasons. So me and a Korean, French and Canadian girl are the team at the moment. We work well together and getting the job done.

Settled in to a regular routine working from the shearing quarters 5km from the homestead. It's closer to the fences that need attention. First up was the laneway feeding the shearing shed. Then working our way out to the boundaries and wild dog exclusion fencing. 

The 'dog fence' requires heavy machinery as it stands well over 2 meters tall and has serious end and strainer assemblies that our gear is not capable of handling. We are talking trucks, bob cat and a heavy loader. But we get to fit off the ring-lock mesh to the upper support cables and twitch the bottom and apron mesh to the bore pipe housing used as posts. These post have stays and welded supports to guard against the next flood event. At the base of the fence an apron extends out a meter or two along the ground to stop the dogs attempting to dig under the fence.

The two weeks so far have been punctuated by a Sunday trip to the Yaraka Pub for a BA lunch and food delivery pick-up. Also the Longreach show where the guys went into town for the night to see what living and socialising is like for the locals living in the country.

Twitching tool that twists a wire loop
quick and easy 

Extra high crossing a washaway

Did I mention the ever present flies? 

I love big machines doing the BIG work

and even smaller ones

BlazeAid Helping at Jundah

The camp was moved from Blackall to Jundah to be closer to the action. Stopped for a night at Isisford on the way to Jundah. Isisford, always a popular stop for me, was very quiet. It would seem "The Grey" don't know its back open for business. The tracks down by the Barcoo have been graded and all looks as it should again but there were just two others camping.

Got to Jundah next day to find a small camp in the process of getting established and only a handful of volunteers camping at the town CP and gathering in the local hall for meeting and meals. 

Cleaning dog fence

Travelled out to two different jobs both over a 100km away, mostly working on boundary dog fences, that being the top priority.

Then agreed to go on-farm to stay instead of driving so far each day. This looks to be the logical way to do the work in this region. So headed to The Station to join 5 other Vols. The property is about 100km east of Stonehenge on 4x4 roads good enough for my 2x4 front wheel drive vehicle but only whilst the conditions are dry. There were a few washaways but at the right speed, no problem.

The Station's next muster will be in September and will give a better indication of stock loss. They were running 10,500 Merino sheep.  But in the meantime the focus is getting the fences back up. Matt the manager is using a grader to ready other fence lines whilst the 6 of us, BA Vols, clear and stand fences closer to the homestead. We have been doing laneway fencing that feeds the shearing shed 5km away from the homestead. All the distances are big here.

The yellow sign says
 "Hit the Skids not the Kids"

A welcome sign after 80km of dirt-
 not far now.

The daily ride to check
fences, stock and for mustering.

BlazeAid Stanthorpe

 September - Stanthorpe BA

Only photos this time.

Creek crossing and flood gates.

The hill top in the middle of the farm.

Gullies on the flat.

Get the fence over the hill.

Cut your own round post strainers
 then bark them and dig them in.

But dig out the old one first.

August 2024

Stanthorpe BA August 2024

After a break, we’re back at Bungulla Farm, diving into the next phase of the fencing project. The electric fencing is nearly complete in the main area of the farm anyway.  Our focus has now shifted to tackling the remote boundary fences and the rugged terrain behind Red Hill.

Here, the granite belt lies just beneath the topsoil, making it difficult or near impossible to dig in round post strainers. Instead, we’re resorting to a method of securing the fence by drilling and hammering railway spikes into larger trees. This approach is labour-intensive and slows progress, especially since we have to carry tools and materials by hand due to the steep, wooded terrain and multiple creek crossings. Replacing flood gates at these crossings adds another layer of complexity, but we’re managing.

The farm's wildlife provides both beauty and a few headaches. Kangaroos are a common sight in the paddocks, while wild pigs and rabbits leave their mark with burrows that can be hazardous. Long grass and hidden holes pose a risk to both humans and vehicles, we’ve been fortunate to avoid major incidents so far.

One of the highlights of our routine is the vibrant community of backpackers we work with. Each Saturday night, a different nation takes the helm to cook a traditional dinner for the group. With an average of 35-40 people to feed, this is no small task! The diversity of the group is remarkable—at our roll call, we’ve had representatives from 14 different countries.

Backpackers generally stay for 88 days to qualify to extend their working holiday visas, so we frequently see new faces as some depart and others arrive. Despite the turnover, these new volunteers pick up skills and contribute to the fencing operations. 

New creek flood gate.

Stanthorpe Fires

Stanthorpe June 2024

Back in October 2023 bush fires raged along the boarder between Qld and NSW. Early in 2024 BlazeAid setup a camp at the showgrounds at Stanthorpe. That camp still continues but is now located at the Fred Rogers council facilities at Storm King Dam about 10km out of town.

Work continues on farms in the area as well as some farms an hours drive away. The camp has a majority of backpacker working for meals, accommodation and to qualify for a holiday visa extension to extend their stay, in Australia. People come and go but generally there are about 40~50 in camp at any one time, maybe 75% backpackers.

I've been working on a farm south of Tenterfield where the they lost 95% of the fences but the fire fighters saved the 2 sheds and the house. The farmer got up and running again by quickly erecting temporary fences on the property. We have removed the temporary fencing and put in place a permanent electric fencing system where one energizer, centrally located, is serving all the fences on the property. After 5 weeks we have used over 5km of new wire, hundreds of pickets, fitted insulators, and trenched many gate openings as well as the normal fencing stuff like mounting gates and building end assemblies. 

BPs trenching the electric cable under a gate opening

After improving the creek crossing with bricks a
great place for smoko.

Daintree - Cane Mill Mossman

 Working to lock up a farm on the main road. When that's finished moving on to a fence between a swampy area and cane cultivation. Cattle need to be contained. Difficult terrain. The farmer explains the access tracks were solid before the cyclone and then the flood dumped several hundred millimetres of river silt everywhere and turned the tracks into mud baths. The silt is not going to be good for ongoing cultivation. 

The 4x4 does OK until the land slopes, then its slip sliding down the slope and "where is that tractor"?

The viability of the cane is uncertain as the mill in Mossman may not open again. The value of a cane crop depends on the cost associated with harvest and transport. But if there is no mill in Mossman the transport cost escalate sharply. It's not looking good for the district if the mill closes. Lots of jobs will be lost. On this farm the cane may not be harvested, just ploughed back in and the cultivation converted for cattle.

ABC News Mossman Mill

Hot, humid and wet

Daintree Village Far North Queensland

Daintree Village FNQ 

Extract from Douglas Shire Council public notice:

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper made landfall on December 13, 2023 but it was the associated weather event that followed which had devastating consequences for the Douglas Shire.

3.2 metres of rain was recorded in less than a week and a total of 4.2 metres in the space of two months.

The entire Shire was impacted with major flooding, landslips, overnight evacuations, homes destroyed, water infrastructure, and roads collapsing.

https://douglas.qld.gov.au/cyclone-jasper/    Cyclone Jasper

Blaze Aid started a camp in the new year at the community oval and began repairing farm fences. The camp running with mostly backpackers. The conditions are not the best but everyone is pitching in. Tents are set up in the community hall and meals come out of a very basic kitchen. All the cooking and cleaning is done by the backpackers. There are no service clubs in Daintree Village, its a very small community.

The facilities at the camp are basic. Men have a shower setup in the public toilet block, the urinal area as it has a floor waste, and with a portable camping gas shower connected to the handbasin tap. Fortunately a warm shower is good enough in this weather. Whilst the ladies have a bush dunny looking tin-hut to shower in.  The basic kitchen has only one sink with just a cold water tap. All the hot water comes from an electric jug. But as I say everyone is pitching in and I've not heard a word of discontent.

I arrived in April and the weather, hot, humid and wet. Being rained-off happens all too often as does getting bogged in the paddocks. The work is dirty and difficult. Gumboots everyday. 

At the moment the camp has about 18 backpackers, an experienced camp co-ordinator from WA and now me. Tools and trailers are adequate but there are only two cars. Getting people to the fence line is a daily issue. 

Clear sky but still water everywhere

No work today

Bogged yet again

At least they are dry

Battery Charge and Discharge Monitor

Yep, I'm the type who needs to know what's going on all the time. When it comes to batteries there is no exception. Knowing what the state of charge is, is good. Being able to predict when the battery needs to be re-charged and for how long, is better. 

A voltage/amp meter combo is my next project. Reading the voltage is no big deal, providing a fair indication of the capacity of your battery. But better still, is to be able to see the amount of current flowing in the system. To do this the circuit must be broken and a current measuring device put in circuit, in series.

I have combined breaking the circuit and inserting the meters in one small box. Two Anderson connectors and the meter mounted on a small box. Inside is a shunt that permits the current to be read. It's done using Ohms Law, in that, the shunt is a know resistance, in my case 0.5 ohms. The meter reads the voltage across the shunt and displays that voltage as a current value. The meter has duel displays. 

The alloy cast box from Jaycar was the most expensive bit. So yeah no big outlay.

Interesting: Found that the Dometic PLB-40 that I'm using has a very stable control over the rate of charge by controlling the current it accepts regardless of the voltage applied. Hence, when charging, you can plug it into the car cig lighter or straight into a solar panel without any other voltage control device. This is part of the reason I went with PLB-40 rather than mucking with a controller and separate batteries. I suppose the only downfall, as far as it and me are concerned, is that I like knowing more of what's going on. Hence my new box.

The gizzards.

12.9 volts and 3.5 amps.

Miriam Vale BA

Miriam Vale is about 375km north of Maroochydore. New BA camp opened and needed volunteers so for just a couple of days I went north.

Large farms and small 'blockers' been hit by a fast moving hot fire. Nothing new here more blackened paddocks some somewhat inaccessible and a dozer needed to clean access first.

Walking the track first is always a good idea. Down the gully, up the other side, then stop before a sharp 3-point left turn at the top of the next incline or it's abandoning the car and trailer in the bush and walking home.

Camera shot never looks as steep ;(

Cotton Tree to Adelong

 After 3 weeks at Lismore returned to Cotton Tree to catch up with things. Two weeks later and I'm good to go again. A quick trip back to Lismore. This time 3 days in the paddock doing some fence repairs rather than doing the tool guy thing. Then on to Adelong.

Adelong involved mowing the lawns around the house, slashing areas of paddocks near fences and general cleaning up fallen timber along the fence line. A broken drive belt had me packing up and heading back north.

The orchid that's travelled with me since 2018, in the MH and VW, is now calling Cotton Tree permanent home. It started life as tube stock and has been planted out in larger pots several times. Finally it flowered, now that its in the garden. Must be a home body and not a traveller. The display: worth the wait.

Things at Cotton Tree are always changing. Yet another crane going up. A BIGGER mobile crane lifts this BIG crane into position and three blokes climb about like its on the ground and bolt it together. More inconvenience for the locals with road closures and construction noise for the next few years. The price of progress. From the balcony I can see 6 cranes. That's just the skyline out front. When will it stop?

Cotton Tree another crane

Lismore BlazeAid

September 2023

February-March 2022 flooding Lismore. 

This link leads to a good explanation of the flood.

VISUAL STORY - Anatomy of the Lismore disaster

https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2022/lismore-flooding/

On the 20th of September BlazeAid set up a camp at the Lismore Greyhound Racing Track to assist farmers yet to re-establish their fences. The Lismore Council arranged for the camp at the track and is supporting BlazeAid. 

Initially just a small group of us got the camp up and running before 2 teams of 4 started fencing the next week. Since then a good deal of fence line has been either repaired or replaced.

Volunteers are needed and the camp is expected to go for many months. Backpackers seeking 462 visa extension can qualify volunteering and working at this camp. Contact BlazeAid via their website. 

Driving around the district and especially the town it is a real eye opener to see the highwater marks on the building that have not been cleaned and are abandoned. Truly incredible!

The building at the Greyhound track is a fair indicator. The track will not operate again and the future the the 3 story building has not been determined. The water reached the top of the second floor trashing everything. But in the meantime its a good location as any for a BA camp.

Was once the betting ring at the track.

The track and buildings
 note the lights in the foreground

Assembling accommodation pods for backpackers

Funny Dunny

 Late in June I had to return home for boring but necessary stuff. All done. All good.

Being free to go again, I did. 

The last weeks of July and first few of August I was back up north pretty much covering the same ground as the May/June trip. 

The highlight was stumbling across the Funny Dunny Campground. I'd heard of this place several times over the years but never actually knew where it was. So there I was enjoying the view of the impending sunrise from my mountain top perch and wondered what was actual over there on the coast... Wunjunga and the Funny Dunny Campground.

Now I'm back in Cotton Tree yet again and celebrating the second full moon of August. A supermoon, some say, as the moon is in perigee. Means the closest to earth in it's elliptical orbit around our planet earth. So a super blue moon.

Wunjunga over there somewhere.

Wunjunga
Some houses right on the beach!

Expecting to see at least a tinge of blue?
But alas a blue moon in name only.

https://spaceweather.com/

Yaamba, Rockhampton and Bajool

Bajool

Stopped several times then a nap at Yaamba. On to Rockhampton. Staying the night south at Bajool. Open grass area off the highway a short distance. Pub across the street. General store and public toilet a short stroll away. Quiet enough with little highway noise. The trains were louder but a more rhythmic sound, nice.

Awoke to fog. Waited for sunrise and the fog to clear.

Back on the highway to discover its school holidays. Every man and his dog, up at sparrows, driving north on the A1. Lucky, I'm going the other way.

Swim at Gympie. Most expensive entry fee so far. Over capitalized on the new building now they have to charge the community, twice. Once to build the facility, council rates. Then to use what they already paid for, to swim.

Bored waiting for sunrise.

Alva, Ayr, Home Hill, Inkerman Lookout and Proserpine.

Time to leave Townsville.

Down to Ayr and a short detour to check out Alva on the coast. At Home Hill went swimming in the council pool. I was the only swimmer that afternoon. 50m pool not so cold but the showers were. Nice facility for a small town. Stopped for the night at the rest stop near the railway station. Watched the NRL State of Origin on the Internet.

Next morning away early before the rabble to relocated to Inkerman Lookout about 20km south, breakfast and photos. Burdekin snow everywhere. Must have been several burns last night, more this morning.

Drove into Airlie Beach. Nearly 40 years since last there. WOW busy! Not a place for me. On to Proserpine for a swim in their council pool. Lovely facility. 50m pool just a touch warmer than cold, perfect in fact. Hot shower, nice. Then on to Bloomsbury BP, back of the servo for the night.

The view from Inkerman Lookout.

Cape Upstart Nat Park
in the distance

Cane fires (making snow)