It used to take two and a half hours to get to Cunnamulla from our property Werona. Bollon was just a little bit closer, but Cunnamulla was a much bigger town, so that is where we went to shop. We made a left turn at the Shamrock Wells corner (pictured). In those years the road was unsealed for all but 20 miles. There was no air-con in cars, and I was very prone to travel sickness and nose bleeds. I really did not like the drive to Cunnamulla!  One ritual that I remember well from the trips, (apart from stopping to be sick), was the competition that we always had to see who could be the first to spy the white speck that was the town water tower. It would flash tantalisingly in and out of view, a matchstick-like shape hiding behind the mulga on the far horizon.

I can’t say that overall I have good memories of our visits to town, or of my time boarding for a year at the convent and then for another year at the Children's Hostel with my brothers. That said, I have never forgotten the utter joy of visiting Harry Aitkens’ Newsagency and being allowed to buy a

generous supply of comics to take home. I was an avid reader, and at that time in my life I had not experienced a library. I just couldn’t believe the wonder of a store that had so many things to read. I always took ages to make my selection of comics. 

The Hotel Cunnamulla, which is on the corner of Jane Street and Stockyard Street, was the operational base for our town visits. I didn’t like their Sarsaparilla or Raspberry soft drinks, but I remember the delight of having a cold milkshake served in a large metal container at the cafe near Aitken’s. The kindness of Tom Ratteray, who ran the pharmacy near the hotel, is something else that I have never forgotten. He was always a friendly, calming presence on Stockyard Street.

The journey home was long, and it was often very frightening. My father was usually drunk well before the time we left town, and he would rarely let my mother drive. As we left town Dad would fill up the car with petrol at the pumps that were near the Billabong Motel. Here he bought us paper bags of lollies for the trip, and always told us to “save some for home”. My favourites were mint leaves and rosy apples.