“I would recommend this book…
to any person who enjoys reading historical Australian stories. The Jones Store is a fascinating glimpse into a now bygone era when the hardiness of the pioneer spirit was alive an well. Marvellous accounts of life in the outback, and vivid accounts of the exploits of the Jones family and their outback store.
An enjoyable and interesting read.“
Tracey Hayes
CEO Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association
Beautifully presented
Hardcover 248 pages in full colour
Historical photos and anecdotes throughout
‘Jones Store’ – far more than a coffee-table book!
A historical record, a work of art, a delightful read so far! It’s also very well written – I am thoroughly enjoying it. My congratulations on a lovely work all round.
– Judy Nunn
Master storyteller, Judy Nunn has sold over 1 million books, in five languages worldwide; in 2015 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia.
Look Inside…
Contents
| DEDICATION | I |
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | Ii |
| AUTHOR’S NOTE | iii |
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| Travel in the 1930s and 1940s in Newcastle Waters | 64 |
| The Government Road Train | 66 |
| Hardships for the Mailman | 70 |
| Appeal for more frequent Mail Service | 71 |
| Mail Planes | 72 |
| The Rankine Races | 73 |
| Outback ‘tweets’ | 75 |
| The Wedding Cake that travelled 17000km | 77 |
| Excerpts from a letter | 78 |
| Sports Day at Newcastle Waters | 79 |
| The Coffee Royale Incident | 81 |
| Long Tommy | 86 |
| Recovery through the bush | 88 |
| Flying Doctor Lands at Newcastle Waters | 92 |
| Air Ambulance arrives too late | 95 |
| Bandy Jones | 97 |
| Aunty Isobel | 100 |
| Namnia known as ‘Dolly’ | 101 |
| In His Birthday Suit | 102 |
| Pompey | 103 |
| The Killer | 106 |
| Norman Stacey | 108 |
| Bertie Muldoon – the Policeman’s Wife | 109 |
| And Yet Sometimes – Bruce Simpson | 111 |
| The Big Wet | 112 |
| Reflections on life in 1940s at Jones Store | 114 |
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JONES STORE NEWCASTLE WATERS
Jones Store is a National Trust property in the heritage listed town of Newcastle Waters. A tiny community in the Northern Territory, Newcastle Waters is 270km north of Tennant Creek and 700km south of Darwin.
For 50 years since 1935, the store operated as a general store, a butcher’s shop, bakery, and saddlery and in the late 1950s, became a residence for a family of Aboriginal-Chinese heritage until 1985. One of the oldest surviving buildings in Newcastle Waters, Jones Store has demonstrated its technical and architectural flexibility in surviving in the harsh Australian Outback environment.
WELL SINKERS “The Mud Punchers”
Well sinkers became vital for the sustainability of the tiny outbacktown. Due to the unreliability of permanent surface water, many bores were sunk along stock routes and on cattle stations around and beyond Newcastle Waters.
In 1917, the Government let a contract for the sinking of bores along the Murranji Track. This did much to help the growth of Newcastle Waters as the town became a depot for the construction teams.
Syd Peacock won the contract to complete the 13 bores between Anthony’s Lagoon to the east and Yellow Waterhole along the Murranji to the west. His plant consisted of six horse drawn wagons and a stationary steam engine, work completed in September 1924.
The Wet’ was a time we children never minded, though the adults loathed the seasonal fluctuation that brought dust storms before the rain, creeks flooded isolating the town, centipedes appearing under every rock while snakes sought safety in trees.
From an early age, we were taught to look out for these dangers and enjoy ourselves playing in the gilguis, watching tadpoles turn into frogs and wading in the gullies. Wherever we went, we usually had a pet dog as protection. Shirley’s ‘Tarzan’ was an amazing dog that seemed to be able to sense danger, although his one bad habit was chasing cars. Tarzan was fitted with a ‘shin-tapper’ on his collar which consisted of a light piece of wood hung on a short chain to shin height. If he tried to run or chase cars, it would trip him up so he soon learned to just walk around. Shin-tappers were also used on horses in lieu of hobbles, and consisted of a strap below the fetlock, a length of chain and a length of wood.
Peter Jones | Author “Jones Store”
About the Author
Peter Jones, retired engineer, is an Author with a passion for Australian History. At just 8 days old, Peter was the youngest Qantas passenger at the time, flying from Katherine to Newcastle Waters, where his father ‘Jock’ Jones was Qantas agent. His parents Jock & Michaele Jones operated a store in the fledgling township which Jock had purchased in 1936. Growing up in Newcastle Waters among the Mudbura and Jingili tribal people, at the junction of three great stock routes, Peter witnessed the constant passing of cattle being driven overland from stations to markets.
Many larger-than-life characters frequented the store making lasting impressions on his young mind. Recalling his childhood memories of interesting characters, “A Social History of an Outback Store”, records anecdotes from a bygone era. You can take the boy out of the bush, but can’t take the bush out of the boy. Read More…
