Twelve intrepid souls from Track Care travelled to and met up at Narloo on Monday 26 August to undertake some maintenance on this modest homestead. Unfortunately termites had taken a liking to the timber framing of this isolated and now unoccupied homestead. A visit in February 2022 revealed considerable damage to the Oregon pine and Jarrah framing in the wall between the dining room and lounge. Active termites were observed in the pine which due to its age had lost the termite resisting turpentine. After a site meeting on Tuesday morning which covered the safety aspects of the work and recreation components, the crew set to work.
Track Care members have a knack of evolving into teams and tackling different elements of the project. This project saw that very feature from there get go. One team tackled the removal of and labelling the pressed tin lining in the lounge, another set about removing the corrugated iron lining from the dining area . With the metal linings above dado height removed, the removal of fragile timber scotia, wall lining and skirting boards proceeded on both sides of the common wall.
With the wall claddings labelled and stored for later installation, one crew turned its attention to removing the wall frame and stabilising the roof structure above. The other to removing all necessary the wall cladding from the bedroom wall where it was common to the dining room.
One team then began fabrication of the wall frame out of steel and massaging it into the area vacated by the damaged wooden frame. The damaged frame had allowed the roof structure to drop , so they roof was massaged back into line. While frame fabrication proceeded the other team worked on removing the wall cladding from the wall between the lounge and the bedroom on the North-East corner of the building. That wall being a continuation of the wall already worked on.
A third team began work fabricating to accept water flow from each end of the roof valley. Water flowing from the roof valley had entered the building degrading timber as a consequence. The aim was to accept the water from the valleys at each end and pipe it away from the building. A repair to a leak in the valley near its Western end was also performed because water entering the building through the leak had damaged the wall frame and floor below.
A pair off pink and grey galahs were seen inspecting the open chimney for a possible nest site. This raised the spectre of birds using the pipes as nesting boxes, so a redesign of the was undertaken to provide a roof and thus restrict the likelihood of birds nesting in them and blocking off water flow. An overflow was provided in each box to cater for any torrent rain events.
The sight of the galahs inspecting the chimney, triggered the design and construction of a nesting platform with ladder to facilitate the birds climbing out should they choose to use this artificial nesting hollow.
Once the wall framer fabrication finished the labelled wall cladding was massaged back into place. The finished product looked a treat.
On Thursday, our day of recreation, the entire team piled into 4 vehicles to explore part of the station. Firstly we headed off to Poondarrie Spring where there was water flowing in the little stream. Nearby is a grave marker for “Shephard Anthony”, and not much more can be found regarding this out of the way lonely grave. We walked on toward and explored part of Poondarrie Hill, really a rock outcrop. We then walked over the rocks and had morning tea in the cave that faces West, then back to the homestead for lunch.
In the afternoon we chose to visit the lakes North West of the homestead. Led by our Joint Tour Guides: Tom H and Merry B we drove through the bush and stopped about 200netres from the southernmost lake of a chain of 5. We walked to the lake and found three small pools of water a few centimetres deep.
On the way back with the firm navigating hand of Bill C the vehicle piloted by Rob C found a slushy mud hole cunningly concealed with a sand wash covering. Bogged to the chassis was the result, and Ray and Sue H in the following vehicle experienced the sinking feeling also. Their vehicle regained firm footing after a gentle tug from John C. The properly bogged vehicle needed a more robust intervention. Digging, max tracks and winching toward an obliging Mulga tree saw firmer though slippery ground under the wheels. Getting from there to a viable exit required all 4 max tracks plus winching with a snatch block, courtesy Ray H. A learning experience for many and just another adventure racked up.
Friday had a welcome surprise with the arrival of 3 members of the Brand family; Shane, Deb and Cathy, on their annual pilgrimage to Narloo. Albert David Brand and his wife were the first pastrolists on Narloo having been the Post Office Proprietors on Yuin Field the gold mining centre at the intersection of the Yuin Tardie Road and Yuin Narloo Road. The post office said to be housed in the stone ruins atop the first rise to the East of the Yuin Narloo road. Their son Doug and his wife Val were the final leaseholders. All of the Brand entourage were excited to find Track Care members present and working on the homestead. They all expressed their appreciation of the work done by Track Care at the homestead over what began as a restoration a decade ago.
Friday also saw some roof sheets secured and the site tidied, tools packed into the tool trailer and those departing on Saturday getting ready for the trip home. Saturday saw the departure of several of the Track Care contingent from the
Narloo
With the local knowledge of the Brand family, on Saturday morning along with 5 Track Care members they visited the breakaways to the West along with some rock lined waterholes and a disused, partially collapsed hole that may have been either a well or a mine.
The Brand family also gave the names and co-ordinates of the sites visited and several others so future Track Care expeditions can see other features around the station. In the afternoon we sought out a gamma hole to the North-East but only located a small gamma hole with a flat grounding stone partially covering it.
On Sunday the last 5 members of Track Care bid the Brands farewell and headed home after a successful and rewarding maintenance trip. Thank you to all participants for the quality and quantity of work all performed in a friendly, well humoured atmosphere.