Chapter 13: Leaving Adnyamathanha Country

Sam woke up with a head on his arm and his nose tickled by some dark hair. He was on top of his swag with Tessa beside him. He turned and kissed the top of her head.

She stirred. “Mmmm.”

“That was very nice. Really. Oh, Sam!” and she turned her head. “More?”

“We should get up. The sun is just over the Gammons. I’ll get more water.”

“It tastes dreadful!”

“Better chlorine than bacteria, dear.”

After some bushfood and water, Sam said: “I will go to the shore, as directed. You can come to the dog fence or wait here.”

“Are there chores I can do?”

“Scrub the billies with sand, then rinse them. Shake out the swags and put them over a bush to air. I will not be long.”

Sam walked along the creek, following a shallow bow to the north. Then he could see the fence. There was no gate visible where the water flowed into the ephemeral lake, so Sam climbed over. There were several flat dry rocks near the contemporary shore line, Sam sat on one. Only moments later a large wedge-tail swooped down, alighting on a piece of ancient tree trunk.

“Welcome, little one.”

Sam heard it in his head. He didn’t say anything.

“You will head towards Pipeline Road where you will encounter a surprise. Tonight you will both be back in Adelaide.”

“Back in Adelaide!”

“Arcs make circles. Many circles lie within greater circles.” He spread his wings. “We will visit again in the future.” The eagle took off, wheeled sharply and rose with a snake in his claws. Sam watched him become a small dot, got up and climbed back over the fence.

“Was that Bunjil?” Tessa asked when he returned. “I saw him come closer and then fly away.”

“Yes. He said we should walk to Pipeline Road.”

“OK. You fetch the swags, I’ll gather everything else. May I keep a piece of the emu shell?”

“Of course. And the other pieces can just be left. They are a part of nature.” They packed and re-rolled the swags and a few minutes later they were walking up the slight slope. There was a certain amount of fondling and kissing so that it took over an hour to reach the road, where they were greeted by an Isuzu 4WD and a man on the ground nearby.

“Thank God,” he said. “I was sure I’d die here.”

“What happened?”

“I got out to look around and stepped in a hole. I can’t stand and my phone’s on the seat.”

“Let me drag you a bit and look at it.” Sam pulled a bit, under a meter. Tessa pulled up his right trouser leg. The leg was purplish and swollen. Sam ran his fingers down from just below the knee. The man flinched.

“Sorry.”

“I’ve felt worse.”

“I think it’s broken. Possibly, both bones are broken. Where are you from and how can we help?”

“Can I have some water?” Tessa gave him some. “Thanks. I’m from Beverley Mine. I thought I’d look around here to the south as the second mine is to the north.”

“This is closed territory. The court held that fifteen or so years ago.”

“Shit. Not quite. Could you get my phone so I can call? Then we can talk.”

Tessa got the sat phone from the seat of the car.

“You do it. Push the red button and then #1.” She did.

“Beverley. What’s up, Mitch?”

“My name is Tessa. Mitch has broken his right leg.”

“Right, miss. Don’t move him. The big ‘copter’s here. Can they put down where you are?”

“I think so. It’s fairly flat with spinifex.”

“Right. And where are you?”

“Pipeline Road, just northeast of Balcanoona Creek.”

“Right. They’ll take off in a few minutes and should be there inside of a half hour. One of the men’ll be a medic. Over and out.”

“Thanks,” said Mitch.

“No problem,” said Sam. “Here’s an energy bar. You probably are real low now. By the way, I’m Sam and this is Tessa.”

“G’day. What did I step into?”

Sam looked. “Looks like a bilby tunnel to me.”

“I thought there weren’t bilbies in South Australia any more.”

“He must have missed the memo.” Mitch laughed and winced.

Bilbies are excellent burrowers and build extensive tunnel systems with their strong forelimbs and well-developed claws. A bilby typically makes a number of burrows within its home range, and moves among them, using them for shelter both from predators and the heat of the day.

“Could you tell me about the mine?” Tessa asked.

“Beverley Mine was Australia’s first in situ uranium recovery mine. That means we don’t just dig it up and ship it out.” Tessa nodded. “The original Beverley uranium deposit was discovered by one of Bill Siller’s companies in 1969 and was named after his wife -- Beverley Siller. It was developed in 2000 by Heathgate. In 2005 more ore was discovered on another site to the north-west and in 2009 yet another to the north. -- Could I have some more water? -- One of the areas borders on Arkaroola and there were demos. That’s what Sam was talking about. Following this public pressure, the South Australian government announced on 22 July 2011 that steps would be taken to ban mining and exploration in Arkaroola territory.

“Anyway, you walked up along the creek, right?” They nodded. “Well, the edge of the protected area is well under a kilometer from here. It’s just beyond the point where Lake Track goes off. So Sam’s correct. Right here is protected, but over there isn’t.”

Just then they all heard a “whup-whup.”

“Here come the Marines,” Mitch said.

Soon they could see the helicopter which came at them only a few hundred meters above the ground. It set down to the northwest of where they were and a man in shorts and a vest with a red cross on it hopped out. He was carrying a ‘First Responder’ trauma kit.

“Don’t tell me you were wrestling with a bear, Mitch,” he said.

“You’re a barrel of laughs. Got any morphine?”

“How about acetaminophen?” he was already taking out a loaded ampule. “Which leg is it?” he asked as he injected Mitch’s left arm. “Now, try and relax.” Another man had come up, carrying a basket stretcher. “We’ll wait a minute or two before we amputate, Stan.”

The medic looked at Sam and Tessa. “OK, he’s not with us. Tell me what’s up.”

“We walked up from the lake and found him with his foot in a bilby hole over there. We dragged him out and called you. I looked at his leg. It looks like a fractured tibia or maybe the fibula, too.”

“Good summary. I guess we’ll take him in to Royal Adelaide. Let me make a few calls.”

“Could you give us a lift to Adelaide?” asked Sam.

“Guess so,” he took out his phone. “Hey! Mitch seems to have busted his right leg ... Yeah, that’s the official medical term. Anyway, he ought to go to Royal Adelaide. Could you call and tell them we’ll be at the airport there in ... uh ... two hours [the other man nodded]. We’ll need an ambulance. I’m going to go along, so send someone out to get the Isuzu. We’ll fuel up, have lunch, and be back by 1600. Try not to have any major accidents while I’m away.”