We left Anna Plains a little  before nine.  We were ready to roll before 8.30am, but wanted to catch up with David and Helen before we left.  Helen was getting ready for a day trip to Broome, as a couple of the visitors were flying back to Perth today.  Some of the others are flying back on Thursday, including Saus and the two children.  There will be a couple of trips to Broome this week, which is just 260 kms away.  

Once again we had a mix up which didn't keep us travelling together! This time it was where the morning tea stop was to be.  The women had decided the night before that the Stanley Rest area was a reasonable option, but the leaders can't have remembered.  I sure hope we can get something better worked out with this group of three travelling together!

Lunch was at the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse and we decided on a healthy lamb and mint pie and a bucket of chips!  We have been away for four weeks today and the walking shoes have not been on too many times!

Onward we travelled to Derby.  There has been lots of flooding and the Great Northern Highway has been considerably damaged.  There were crews repairing the road and we travelled a great deal of the trip to Willare Bridge Roadhouse at 80kms.   There was one particular spot where there was still lots of water beside the road.  I guess this is all due to the near record rains in Broome during February. 

We stopped at Willare Bridge Roadhouse for an icecream and a look around.  I will definitely need to walk the two and a half kms out to the Derby Wharf from the Entrance Caravan Park!  About halfway between Roebuck Plains Roadhouse and Willare Bridge was the Kimberley Meatworks, initiated by the Burton Family who also have a property at Naraling and trade as Yeeda Pastoral Company. Their meat is available in Geraldton and there were also big packs of Yeeta beef available at Willare Bridge Roadhouse.  

John and I had a laugh as we were walking around taking some snaps.  John said a photo of a man made from scrap metal was a bit rusty and in surprise I replied “Is that what you are calling him John….Slim Dusty”!  Must be missing my line dancing!   I did have my hearing aids in too! 

When booking into the Entrance CP at about 3.00pm, we asked where we could wash the caravan and were given directions back to a wash down business we had actually spotted on the way into town.  It was ideal!  The owner Paul came down to check us out.  He was impressed with the way Pete had backed the caravan.  We introduced ourselves and of course made a comment about the three ‘P’s’!  It should have been $20 for half an hour and when we paid Paul he said “Take as long as you like guys”.  Nice fella.  So the caravan got a good wash and the car as well.  Just the right pressure too Pete reckoned.  It was a typical shed setup, but we had the pressure sprayer, a ladder, broom, sponges and detergent, so we couldn’t ask for more!

Once we had setup at the CP, Peter and John went off to find Woolworths and do a bit of shopping.  Peter needed beer more than we needed foodstuff!  We've been 9 days since we left Port Hedland!  Just as they were about to head off, Dorothy found Terry and Marilyn Stokes only a few vans from us.  So we had a drink with them later and caught up with their travels.  It got too cold for them in NSW, so they decided to head north. Joanne, Wayne and Sienna are travelling the Gibb River Road at the moment and will be back in Derby by the weekend.  So they are waiting to see them before heading to Broome for a few days.  Terry thought they might not be back until Saturday.  But apparently they were to be back on Thursday, so we missed them by just a day.  If we had known we possibly may have stayed the extra day or two to catch up.  But that is the way it goes.  We had booked our tour for Giekie Gorge on Wednesday and the only day we could get to do the Sunset Cruise was Thursday. The next available date was not until Monday.  Apparently there is a lack of cruises over the weekend due to Naidoc Week and culture events being held in the National Park.

Derby was a far as we had planned when Peter did the bookings way back.  So on Wednesday we needed to make time to plan where to next.  We were up early to get a washing machine at the laundry.  I will always remember our APT tour leader in Canada saying "When you are travelling it's all about the laundry"!  The sheets and towels needed a wash.  I do all the other washing in the small front loader in the van.  We spent the morning sprucing up the van and car after their pressure clean the day before.  Then a bit more shopping at Woolies.  Time to stock the freezer with a bit more meat.

Margaret was having trouble with her phone and Dennis wanted Peter to look at his fridge.  Eventually I was able to point Margaret in the right direction and suggested she would be better to use her gmail account.  I’m not that savvy with my own iPhone, so even less with another make, but between us we got it sorted and did an email test.  Thank goodness Jenny Mac has managed to teach me something!

By 3.00pm Pete had done all his odd jobs and we were ready to do the Derby touristy bits.  The Norval Art Centre was our first stop.  It was well worth a visit.  Mark and Mary Norval were posted to Derby as school teachers in 1981 and have been here ever since.  Mark enjoyed the challenge of working with the aboriginal community, formed a football team that he coached and played in until he was in his forties, and saw the benefits and potential to encourage the indigenous with their art skills.  There was a 15 minute video that you were invited to watch, which told the story of Mark and Mary’s life in Derby.  Mark suffered from depression in 2010 and spent 18 months in a Perth Clinic.  Mark spoke of the reason he was in a dark place.  It was the number of juvenile suicides in the Derby region.  Since his recovery he has set about expressing himself in his artwork and encouraging aboriginal artists to do the same.  Many of the artists paint at the gallery.  Mark also travels to the communities on the Gibb River Road, holding workshops and encouraging them to pursue their art talents.   Mark also taught and has been involved in the establishment of the Mowanjum Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre, which we visited the last time we were in Derby in 2011.

We went out to the Boab Prison tree and the long trough again.  I had been to the tree in about 2008 when I was in Derby on CWA business, but I do not have any digital photos.  And I need to record the story of course!  The area is now referred to as the 'Derby Commonage'.

Prisoners and aboriginal people who were kidnapped from the West Kimberley were put in chains and  marched to this Boab tree and  held prisoner while they waited for a boat.  They came from as far away as Fitzroy Crossing and Christmas Creek.  They generally walked 24 to 48 kilometres per day.   The long concrete trough is nearby and is 120 metres long.  It is said to be the longest in the southern hemisphere and was built for 581 pounds in 1916/17.  The trough handled 500 bullocks at one time without running dry.  It was named Myalls Well after the man that sank it.   The name was later transferred to the bore. Today water is pumped to the trough by a windmill.

Then it was out to the wharf.  Peter had taken John and Dorothy out to the wharf in the morning to see the tide much higher than it was at 4.30pm.  Low tide is at 7.00pm tonight and high tide something like 1.00am  The difference in high and low tide in Derby is something to be witnessed and part of our reason for visiting this trip.  Derby rates number eight the nine largest macrotidal systems globally.  The largest tide in King Sound in Australia (being Derby) is 11.5 metres. The Bay of Fundy in Canada is number one with a 16 metre tide.

The first Wharf built in Derby was in 1894.  It was a wooden T-shaped structure located at the northern end of the present steel and concrete jetty.  It was linked to the town of Derby by a horse drawn tramway, crossing the mud flats via a causeway where the present day road is located.  Wool and pearl shell were the major exports in the early days.  In 1964 when the new jetty was built, live cattle were exported and fuel, oil and provisions were the main imports.  The last passenger ship visited Derby in 1973.  During the 1990'a barges were used to export lead and zinc concentrates from the Cadjebut Mine at Fitzroy Crossing.

Viewing a Derby sunset from the wharf area is also something very spectacular and we decided to put some sandfly repellent on and stay for the sunset.  We ordered take away fish and chips for $12.50, with a pick up time of 5.30pm.  It worked perfectly and the sunset was beautiful. There is a very popular Cafe and Restaurant at the jetty.  

When we went back to the car to get the sandfly cream on, this fabulously painted four wheel drive bus was parked beside us and the passengers were all getting out with their chairs.  The tour operator had the esky and no doubt the nibbles.  You can see the Iconic Tour group all sitting on the edge of the wharf, to the left of my sunset photos.  A sunset at Derby wharf obviously sits well as an attraction for Iconic Tours based in SA.

We have only had one visit to Derby in the caravan and that was in 2011 when we had the Billabong Caravan.  I have been a couple of times and stayed in the CWA Derby West Kimberley Air Cottage.  One of the times was with Peter when we hired a car in Broome and brought the Kimberley Divisional President Kath Munroe out for the Kimberley Division Annual meeting.  The cottage is still well maintained in Clarendon Street and there was a sign up at the CP, advertising the markets that are held there on Saturdays.

As our visit to Derby was short, for my own benefit I am going to record a little from our 2011 visit.  We left the caravan on the site at the park and with the roof top tent we spent three days on the Gibb River Road.  When we returned the caravan was full of ants.  They had found a hose to climb up and decided the clothing in Peter's wardrobe was the place to be!  Peter decided there was a need to replace a battery in the caravan and it had to be ordered.  That meant hanging around until the transport came in around noon. So with the morning to fill in we visited the Wharfinger Museum. 

The Wharfinger House Museum is divided into three sections containing the history of the wharf, telecommunications and aviation in Derby. A "Wharfinger" is a person who owns or has control of the Wharf.  The House is a fine example of the prefabricated wooden housing of the late 1920's and 30's, well adapted for living in a tropical climate without the benefits of air-conditioning.  

Then we went out to the park and walked around the grassed area under the boab trees.  It was here that a young girl asked us to buy a carved boab nut.  Peter bargained with her and we purchased it for $20.00.  With the nut purchased she was up the boab tree in a flash to pick another and drop it to her little brother down below.  Then it was taken to the older aboriginal women sitting on the grass to do the carving.  The woman was happy for us to take photos and soon after we left them they packed up and went home.  We commented to each other at the time, just what the $20 would have been used for!  Hopefully some healthy food, not beer or pies!  There was a Mrs Mac’s pie sitting on the grass next to the woman. 

 

Peter was convinced at the Norval Art Galley that a photo of a young woman with her grandmother was the young girl we purchased the carved boab nut from in the park.  The park is just across the road from the gallery.  I wonder if it is?  Their carvings are lovely and now being sold in the Norval Art Gallery for vetween $70 and $200.

Derby was gazetted in 1883 and at the 2016 census the population was 3,325.  It is one of the three towns in the Kimberley to have a significant population.  Of course the other two are Broome and Kununurra.  About 47% of derby’s population are aboriginal.

We really don't mind Derby.  Helen Campion said she hated it, but the climate is very nice at this time of the year.  Since we headed north, shorts have been the day wear, but it has been quite cold at night. The caravan park was full every night and the town really has been cleaned up a lot.  The boabs down the centre of the main drive into town are attractive.