Who's Always Really in Charge

Who’s Always Really in Charge

It all started and ended in the North Gregory Hotel bar in Winton

However, there was a year and a bit in between the start and end of this story.

I was enjoying a beer and struck up a conversation with the young bloke leaning on the bar next to me. This young fellow was full of energy and had a sparkle in his eye. He was not a tall fellow but had an excellent solid physique.

There was something in his stance and posture that said, 'I've absorbed most of what life can throw at a bloke, and I think I have survived pretty well.'

I assumed he was a shearer. After all, that is what most young blokes in this part of the world did for a crust.

He introduced himself as Tom.

There was change sweeping through the country. A few years ago, the airline company Qantas was incorporated in Winton and opened its doors for business. About the same time, the Cobb and Co coach factory had to close its operation in Charleville. In no time at all, the Qantas operation had to move to Longreach to cope with the growing demand for air services, and Cobb and Co coaches were a vague memory.

During our discussion, Tom lamented the closure of the Cobb and Co factory in Charleville. His old dad had worked there for years.

With a shrug and an optimistic comment about the future, Tom said, ‘I suppose one door closes and another door opens.’ And that was his basic summary of how things worked. He was in no doubt that motor transport and airplanes were the future.

He chuckled as he went on to explain that he believed in change.

Only last week, he had been having a wild night at the Ellengowan Hotel in Augathella when one of the blokes was so enthusiastic about flying that he tied a bedsheet to his wrists and ankles and jumped off the balcony of the pub. Did himself any amount of damage trying to prove that man could fly.

When I asked why he had not tried to talk some sense into the bloke, he chuckled and said, ‘How I wish I had. The thing is, I lost £2.00 on that calamity.’

It was about then that Joyce took over the job of serving up the beers in the bar. I could tell from the look on his face that she immediately struck a chord with Tom. He started to ask questions about her, but as I had only just arrived up from Longreach, I knew nothing about her other than the fact that she was a good looker and dressed well.

Like most young blokes, Tom was totally at ease with his larrikin mates but bumbled a bit when talking to women. You would have to say that his opening gambit fell very wide of the mark.

When she placed a beer on the bar, Tom said, ‘Do you know that you have a ladder in the back of one of your stockings?’

Well, quick as a flash, Joyce responded with, 'And I bet you wish you were a fireman that could climb that ladder.’

’Cannot say that I'm a fireman. But if there is a local brigade in town, point me in the right direction. I promise you that I will have my name on the volunteers list quicker than Jackie Howe can shear a dozen sheep.’

‘I wouldn't bother if I were you. You will only be wasting your time and theirs,’ said Joyce as she turned and went off to serve another customer.

Gee whiz did that take the wind out of his sails.

Tom was lost for words, and worse still, the stunned look on his face suggested that Joyce had gotten the better of him. No one had ever put him back in his box like that before. He was, what do they say, left flat-footed.

You must have seen something similar. It reminded me of two big rugby forwards charging down the field, sure to score a try, and when the pass is thrown, up pops a flighty fullback that intercepts the ball and takes off down the field. There was nothing more to be said or done.

But give him his due; he did not start carrying on in a bravado look at me fashion. He was more like the football forwards that shake their head and say to themselves, 'Where did that guy come from? Perhaps we should have a bit more respect for the other side.'

Tom recovered and tried to maintain his cocky approach, but Joyce was having none of it.

'Come off it mate,' she said, 'All you blokes are the same. You are all like my dad. A good bloke with his mates, but when all the froth and bubble fades away, there is never a lot left for mum and me.'

Tom quietly finished his beer and said, 'Nice talking to you, Mister. I think it is time I retired to a neutral corner.’ then he paused and said, ‘I would very much like to get to know that girl a lot better.’

When Joyce returned to see if I needed another beer, she asked if I wanted to buy another one for my drinking mate. 'No,' I said. 'He went off to lick his wounds. I do not think he is up to a woman giving him the brush off as firmly as you just did. Guys like that have no problem with their hell-raising mates but can be a bit disquieted when a strong woman stands up to them.'

‘Don't I know it.’ Joyce replied. ‘As I said, he reminds me of my dad. A good bloke with his mates and well-intentioned but probably lacking the character to tough anything out.’

Joyce picked up Tom's empty glass and said, 'Blokes like that all leave behind women like my mum to struggle through life. Mum is always hoping that the next bout of conscience will have him staying at home and have them trying to make a go of something together. But it never happens.'

And that is all there is to know about how I first met Joyce and Tom.

---oo0oo---

I was only to be in Winton for a day or so. I had placed an ad in the employment section of the Longreach leader. Good steelworkers were like hens’ teeth. In fact, any steelworkers were hard to find in this part of the State at this time of year.

I had a contract to erect a steel-framed galvanised iron sheeted government building in Longreach but had been forced to let my workers go because of fabrication and transport delays.

The government bloke in charge of the project was carrying on something shocking. As it turned out, some big shot in Brisbane was giving him a hard time, so he was determined to make my life miserable. He saw no reason for further delays now that the steel had arrived.

I tried to explain that the Government Railway Department had compounded the Brisbane steel fabrication factory delays due to washed-out track and bridges, but he did not want to know.

The fact of the matter was that it was the start of the Australian summer, and the daytime temperatures were climbing. Only last week in Longreach, the average daily temperature was around 30 degrees C, with temperatures peaking at about 40 degrees C. Steel sitting in the sun got to temperatures too hot to handle.

As I said, this Government bloke did not want to know any of that. He wanted that building up and in use and started carrying on about some clause in the contract that he would use to send me broke if I did not get on with the job.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

What alternatives did I have? I could try and find one or two blokes that might be prepared to work in the heat for over-the-top wages, which would probably send me broke, or sit around and let this jumped-up government fellow send me broke anyway.

---oo0oo---

You can imagine my surprise when the young bloke I met in the bar last night turned up to meet with me and discuss his application for the steelworker position on my project.

It turned out that when he was a teenager, his old dad had encouraged him to take a job as a steel fixer with the construction contractor responsible for the erection of the famous Isis Downs station woolshed. After that, he had mostly worked at anything, and everything associated with construction.

There was no doubt this young fellow knew his stuff, and it seemed to me that I should lay it all out on the line. If things did not work out, there would be a hell of a struggle to pay the wagers.

Tom just smiled and said, ‘You know that story I told you about the bloke in Augathella that thought he could fly; well, that was not exactly how the story went. My stories always seem to go down best when I make myself out to be the loser. The fact of the matter is that I did not lose £2 on that fiasco, but in fact, I won £2. I suppose what I am saying is I reckon I can sniff out a sure bet when I see one. I am willing to back myself to get the job done if you think you are not too old and unfit to work alongside me.

---oo0oo---

I would have to say that Tom saved my bacon. What he did not know about rigging and steel fixing had not been written. Whoever had taught him the tricks of the trade on that Isis Downs woolshed project knew their stuff.

Working in the heat called for careful thought and minimal waste of effort.

The sun rises in central-western Queensland at about 6:00 am. From then on the temperature climbs to a peak at about 1:00 pm. and stays that way till about 7:00 pm.

Tom and I started work in the predawn. We worked from 5:00 am. to noon and achieved more in those 7 hours than most would get done in any 10-hour day. We handed over the keys within three months.

I kept my reputation, and although there was little left in the kitty, I knew that somehow, I had to keep Tom around. That was when I came up with the idea of setting up a new company to do our steel fabrication.

By way of the savings, he had made on that last project I figured I owed Tom enough to put him in as an equal partner. He accepted the deal but only after I had explained that this was no frivolous act of charity but a straightforward business deal. We had the papers drawn up and set up a shed just out of town.

---oo0oo---

Continuity of work had always been a problem. Just when you get things running smoothly, there was still something that came out of the blue and knocked all your plans for a six. This steel fabrication business should help sort out the highs and the lows.

We started with small jobs and gradually built the bank account up to bid on larger projects. And that is how we came to be in Winton about some 15 months after my last visit. There was a contract to be let for the construction of a large wool shearing shed. This building was not your ordinary run-of-the-mill structure as it required sizeable column-free space.

As it happens, we were staying at the North Gregory Hotel. I had left Tom in the Winton Club bar to have a beer with the client’s people and was pleasantly surprised when wandering back for a rest before dinner, I bumped into Joyce.

She remembered me, and I jokingly asked if she ever wore stockings with a ladder in them in the bar after that night when she had sat Tom on his backside.

She laughed and said, ‘Never, and by the way, whatever happened to that bloke?’

‘Oh, I thought you knew he came down to Longreach to work with me on that problem job I had,’ I said.

‘Whatever happened to him after you finished the job?’ Joyce asked.

‘Not a lot except heaps of hard work.’ I replied.

‘So, he is still working for you?’ she asked.

‘Not really,’ I replied. 'Tom has been working with me but not for me. You see, he was such an all-round level-headed type that I made him a partner in the business.’

‘You’re kidding me! Are you saying that that show off, that I’m so handsome and such a quick talker bloke, actually had a bit more to him than huff and puff?’

She paused and continued, ‘Are you telling me that he stuck at it and is trying to make a go of something and himself?’

‘Sure, that is what I am saying. Meeting Tom in the bar that night turned out to be one of the luckiest days of my life.’

‘Can you believe that?’ Joyce said and added, ‘I suppose you both will be in the bar later this evening?’

Then she ever so politely turned to leave and said, ‘If you don't mind, I think I will have to hurry home and change before I take over my shift in the bar.’

‘What do you want to do that for?’ I asked.

‘I'm going home to look for a pair of old stockings with ladders in the back of both legs.’ she replied with one of those womanly looks.

You know one of those knowing looks that sort of said that Tom was wrapped, stamped, and ready for the post.

And that dear reader is how Tom came to be married, and our business got to have the services of the best contracts negotiator any company could ever hope to employ.

---oo0oo---