Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Life With Kermie

25 June

Life with Kermie

4-zero is going to love this! Our Ford Territory, which he scathingly referred to as the TURD-itory, carked it on the way to Sydney.

Ten minutes south of Holbrook, the belt shredded itself. The pulley on the water pump was nowhere to be seen. This was at 5pm on the Thursday after New Year and we were on our way to a friend's 60th birthday to be held on the Saturday evening. Ten minutes more and we would have made it to the Byer motel where we'd intended staying the night. Rita and I were both tired and the immediate future was looking bleak and cloudy.

I picked up the mobile and dialled the RACV. "No problem," said the girl brightly. "I'll get in touch with the NRMA at Holbrook and they will sort you out."

Within 5 minutes Peter was on the line. "Just confirming where you are..... I'll be there in 10."

Upon arrival he announced that there were no parts deliveries from Albury due to the holiday break. "I'll ring around and see what the best course of action is.... No-one in Holbrook can get you back on the road before Monday. I'll run you into Woomargama. There's a nice little pub/motel with good grub there, and the local mechanic should be able to get you back on the road tomorrow. I'll ring ahead and book you a room."

We loaded the Territory onto the flat tray and headed into town. Then we went just out of town and down a dirt driveway to a tin shed, emblazoned with the words, 'Cowboys Barn - The Feral Shed'. This did not instil a lot of confidence in the owner's ability to get us back on the road. The mechanic appeared, looked under the bonnet and drawled that he should be able to get us back on the road by lunchtime the next day – whatever his 'lunchtime' meant. With no choice we got back in the tow truck and Pete dropped us off at the pub.

"Hi," said the woman behind the bar. "You must be Graham and Rita. Welcome. I'm Jackie. Here are the keys to your room. Pop your gear in there and come on back for a drink, which I'm sure you both need."

That's the sort of introduction which is a real mood lifter. We dropped our gear and went back to the bar.

"Hello," said a woman sitting at the bar. "I'm Trish and it's my 45th birthday."

With that, everybody else in the bar introduced themselves. Then Rita remembered that we'd left a couple of things she needed in the car. "No worries," said Trish. "My hubby, Steve will drive you up there."

Against my protestations Steve bundled me into his car and took me back to Jeff, the mechanic. "Would you like a beer?” said Jeff, as he pulled a handle on top of a wine barrel containing the beer keg. Jeff's workshop is also his Men's Shed. Opening other hinged barrels displayed the wine cabinet, the spirit Cabinet and the glass cabinet. Outside, on his shed veranda, was yet another barrel incorporating a table and chairs. The dark cloud we had felt hanging over us had all but gone. I could easily have stayed at Jeff's, but for Rita ringing to tell me that the dinner we had ordered was on the table.

Back to the pub to tuck into the best scotch fillet (with pepper sauce) that I've had in a long time. That, and Rita's crumbed lamb cutlets were accompanied with mountains of veggies. And all at a country pub prices. Dark cloud? What dark cloud?

Then Pete from the NRMA rang to remind me that as we had Total Care, the RACV would pay our motel bill. Where else do you get that sort of service?

I asked Brendan, Jackie's husband, how much it would cost for a late checkout as the car wouldn't be ready till lunchtime. "Nothing, she'll be right," he replied. Do you do breakfasts? "Only Continental, I'm afraid." Yep. You guessed it. No extra charge for that either.

What a great night we had.

Jackie and Brendan Ryan have owned the pub at Woomargama for the past year. The pub was a little rundown when they bought it but as Jackie says, the locals have been terrific. The old Hume had already been bypassed when they took ownership and, somewhat surprisingly, Jackie said that they wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

"It would have been too noisy. We wanted something that was more family orientated, with the attached motel being nice and quiet. At one stage they had the bypass closed for a week, so everyone had to come by here. In that week we had three people come in, and all they wanted was to use the toilets."

What is now the town of Woomargama used to be Woomargama Station and it stretched all the way down to Mullengandra. The township was set up by the station to serve their employees. This included the pub, medical facility, butcher, general store, service station and post office. All that remains today is the pub/motel and the Post Office, and thankfully for us, Jeff.

eff Dalton is the master mechanic from downtown Woomargama. In fact he is the only mechanic. He says he was born and not dug up. He has been mechanic-ing for over 40 years. From Wangaratta he first opened up in Echuca, then moved to Melbourne where he built up a business that had two workshops, six vehicles on the road and 16 staff. When the wife became the ex, he pulled up stumps and moved back north ending up at Woomargama. He set up shop (or shed) in the town around three years ago.

Jeff is the accident coordinator for Royan's in the region. When asked what area that covered he replied, "You got the money, honey – I got the time. I'll travel as far as they want to pay me. With truck accidents I can travel from Wagga to Gundagai to Albury, and East and West as well. Jeff related one of, no doubt many stories.

"A hot wax tanker was heading from Melbourne to Sydney. He'd just spent $40,000 on his trailers. The centre axle on the rear trailer seized up and just about caught fire. I had to get him mobile so he could get to his destination.

“All the other bearings were dry. I believe an apprentice had over-tightened them, squeezing all the grease out of the back seals, into the drums and all over the brakes. I cleaned them all up with some difficulty. One axle was completely stuffed so I swung it on a chain and dog and locked it up against the chassis.

“I got some numbers from the driver and worked out that he was about half a tonne under for what was now effectively a dual axle. When he got to the weighbridge at Marulan they measured him at three quarters of a tonne under. The heavies at Marulan rang me with an aggressive tone and asked me what my qualifications were. I told them and said that if they sent me an infringement I'd take them to court. I never heard another word."

Jeff should have been dead three or four times – thanks to rodeo riding. "Every day I wake up and my feet hit the ground which I take as a bonus. I've got nothing to complain about in life. No matter how bad I am, or good I am, there is someone else who is better or worse than me. You make the most of what you've got at hand. I mightn't have any money now but I'm one of the richest people in the world. I'm breathing, I'm eating, I'm drinking – I'm a lucky man."

At 9:45 the next morning Jeff rang. "I have good news and bad news."

My heart sank as I asked what the bad news was. "You owe me money. The good news: You're ready to go."

We went around, picked up the car and paid the tab, which was a couple of hundred less than we would have paid in the city. I asked Jeff to show Rita his various 'wine barrels'. He not only obliged, but presented her with a bottle of wine. And just to top off a fantastic experience, he rang us a couple of hours later to make sure that all was well.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and ours is called Woomargama. If you are going to break down, that is the place to do it. If you're driving interstate and need a great feed at an even better price, pull into the Woomargama pub and say g'day to Jackie and Brendan. If you need a rest break, forget the truck stops and instead pull up outside the pub. It's only 2 minutes off the bypass.

To all good folk of Woomargama, thank you for an experience beyond measure. We'll be back!

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