The Long Journey. Susan Wright
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Chapter one
The air was brilliantly clear as is often the case in the mountains during the fall of the year. The man sat relaxed on the bullock cart as he made his slow way into Arrowtown. He made these journeys twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring. Life was hard but simple on the rugged hill farm at the turn of the century. He had few needs and even fewer wants. He pondered over his life as he often did on these trips and thought how different life would have been had his beloved wife Helga been still alive. They had come to this remote part of the world with such dreams of running a high country sheep farm. It was true he still had his dreams but Helga lay buried with the child that had cost her life. He mentally shook himself to get rid of these sad thoughts.
Then he looked at his two greatest companions in life. One a rather small black and white collie named Moss and a larger dog of unidentified breed named Bing which many would term a mongrel. His dogs, he thought, were almost human. He talked constantly to them and told them of his problems. He looked at Bing and noticed he had a slight limp. He made a mental note to get something for him when in town. He patted them both and told them it wasn’t much further to go. One of the many things he enjoyed at the end of these trips was a drink of cool beer at one of the local Hotels. As it was the only town for miles around there were plenty to choose from. They included the Golden Age, Morning Star, Evening Star, New Orleans, Royal Oak, Provincial and the Bully Hayes Hotel. These were needed to serve the gold miners who came here from all parts of the world. He knew it was not only beer that was offered on these premises. However that did not interest him that part of his life had died along with wife.
He was on the final descent down towards the Arrow river, at this time of year it was easy to ford. He was happy to be near the end of his journey. It was then he noticed a woman sitting under a large willow tree. He could tell even from a distance that she wasn’t one of the usual types that were found in this part of the world. They were either built the size of a bullock or worked like one. Life was tough here and especially so for the women. The other type of women here made their living on the fringe of society. This was a part of society that nobody acknowledged. At a distance some of these unfortunate woman looked attractive but up close one was aware of the drained lost look of one who is living but not alive. At a glance he could tell that this woman was different. She was slim maybe too slim. She was dressed well and held herself erect. But even at this distance he was aware that she had been crying even though she was making a valiant effort to disguise it. Well it’s none of my business he told himself. Being a man not given to emotion yet with an inbuilt feeling of justice and fair play he felt there was something about this woman that he couldn’t ignore. Calling out ‘Woo-oop’ the two big bullocks came to a stop. ‘Would you like a ride into town?’
‘Thank you for your offer, but I will be fine.’
‘Well I wouldn’t sit there too long if I was you, it’s no place for a lady.’
There was no doubt that she was a lady. She spoke with a slight upper crust English inflection in her voice. What she was doing out here in the middle of nowhere he couldn’t guess, but there was nothing else he could do.
‘Good day to you then.’ With a slight nod of his head he set off again. With a prod of the whip he called out ‘Hoi-hoi.’ with that the muscles on the two large bullocks strained as they pulled the cart forward. Helmut preferred to use bullocks rather than horses as they were quieter than horses and easier to catch. Also they were gentle, obedient and steady. Their cloven hooves helped to stop them sinking into boggy ground or slipping in steep places. When used as a team as Helmut was doing they had to match each other in size and weight. Red and Bully these two were called and responded instantly to their master’s ‘Hoi-hoi’ and pulled away. After one final look back at the woman Helmut again settled down to the journey.
The sun was right overhead when the town came into view. It was built on a rise above the river and each time he saw the town he couldn’t help but be affected by the beauty of this part of the country especially at this time of the year with the autumn colours in all their glory. It was a self contained community which was understandable due to the difficulties of communicating with the outside world. The coach and buggy being the only means of transport to the larger towns of the region. Less than forty years ago in 1863 there had been over 2,000 miners on the Arrow river. It was reported that in just one day a party cradled 109 ounces of gold. At the time it was worth between 400 and 500 pounds. With the opening of the gorge to all-comers there was a great deal of confusion because of the readjustments of the boundaries to the legal limit. This resulted in the well ordered life of the pioneers being upset by the civil disorder. It was then known as the place where the reign of law had least control. The wildest of wild diggers had gathered here. Although there were few major crimes life was still far from dull. Law breakers were handled in a unique way. Staples were driven into a huge log to which chains were attached and the prisoners were shackled to the log by the chains. There was a tale told of a gigantic Irishman who was arrested for being helplessly drunk and chained to the log. When he awoke he wanted a drink and seeing he was chained he hoisted the log onto his shoulders and walked to the nearest pub where he was found later by the police still attached to the log.
Dancing saloons, drinking shanties and gambling halls flourished. Licensing laws were unknown at this stage. Sergeant-Major Bracken was sent to take charge and enforce the law. In a short space of time he achieved this goal and as the years went by and families began to increase Arrowtown became less of a gold field’s town and more a centre of community life. Now the town was well served by professionals and tradesmen. As for the town itself it consisted of one long main street, Buckingham Street. At this stage it was a long shingle road with a row of single storied wooden buildings along each side. At the eastern end were picturesque cottages with neat picket fences which enclosed gardens reminiscent of those found in England. In the year 1867 a meeting had been held at which a proposal was made to obtain some English trees and plant an avenue. Beautiful deciduous trees were planted which were to become Arrowtown’s proudest possession. As well as the several hotels the town could boast of other services such as a Seed and Grain merchant. The Bank being essential with sometimes large claims being lodged. A General store, Barber shop and a Blacksmith who would also pull teeth if one was that desperate. There was also a carpenters shop selling basic household items. At the rear of the carpenters shop was the local undertaker.
On the outer edges of town were two well known establishments one was a solid jail which had more than it’s fair share of occupants on a Saturday night. The other place was a house of ill repute. Miss Millicent’s house was occupied by ‘Ladies’ of dubious character. Past the cottages and set well back from the street surrounded by trees was the Doctor’s house. Nearby stood the cottage hospital which had been built in 1878. The current Doctor was one Doctor John Bell Thomson who had been trained in Edinburgh University. He had become superintendent of the hospital in 1894. His wife was a talented pianist and possessed a pleasing contralto voice. Both took leading parts in the Arrow Glee Club productions such as the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera performances. Doctor Thomson had a keen sense of duty and once walked to Skippers a distance of twenty miles to visit a sick patient. Snow was so thick at the time that not even horse drawn traffic would negotiate the roads. The hospital was run by a committee and every New Years Eve they held a Ball in aid of the hospital. Tickets were a Guinea and it was the social event of the year.
However this was far from Helmut’s mind as he made his way into town. He was very thirsty but he would leave his drink of beer until he had finished his business. Instead he chose to have a refreshing drink of cool water. There was a water race that ran down the street on this was fixed a tap from which people drew water. Each tap was well boarded round and a chain with a mug attached was fixed on the wood work. Later a reservoir was built and water piped into town. At first there was not enough pipes to lay on to each house so two or more shared one tap. At this stage Helmut was more than thankful for a mug of cool clear mountain fresh water. It was to the general store that he went first. He gave them his list of requirements and said he would return later. From there he crossed the street where two small boys were playing with a dog that defied description or breed but never the less smiling from ear to ear with pleasure at all the attention. Helmut entered the Barbers shop run by a short fat jolly Irishman