About
My name is Brett Pollock; I’m a pastoralist from Wooleen Station in the Murchison, Western Australia. I’ve decided to revive the connection between Wooleen and the Model A Ford. Wooleen purchased its first Model A in 1928 and eventually owned three. When the last car became too old to drive its back was turned into a tray for working.
I’ve bought a 1930 Model A in Gladstone, Queensland and intend driving it back to Perth starting on Anzac Day, 25/4/2009 via this route.
Tourism and networking
As Wooleen is an outback tourism station stay, I’ve become involved in Outback Tourism Pathways and I chair the Our Outback Program for Desert Knowledge Australia’s Business Networking Project.
Regional tourism organisations in NSW, SA, Eyre Peninsula and the Golden Outback of WA will be promoting the ease with which you can now travel Outback Australia. You can even do it in an 80 year old Ford.
Family
I have two sons, David who operates Wooleen Station and the station stay with the help of his partner Frances. Richard and his wife Heidi live on their property at Walkaway[near Geraldton WA] and he is a cattle buyer. Both boys were raised in outback WA. at Wooleen Station.
On the Slow Drive I’ll be accompanied by my brother, Tim Pollock, who’s an engineer, by my friend Chris Graham, who’s good with windmills and by Anthony Baggs, who’s an IT expert. Apparently it stands for ‘Information Technology’.
The Trip
Here’s the map and the itinerary. We’ll cross in about 14 days, depending on breakdowns, using an 80 year old car and as much modern TELSTRA technology as we can lay hands on to guide us and maintain communication channels.
We’ll be rolling out our swag each night under the outback sky or staying at a station stay. We will be stopping often for “SMOKO”; a mug of billy tea, so stop and join us.And of course the after lunch one hour
camp [what rude people call a nanna nap]every day to ensure a long life and sanity,this can include the country hour ABC Regional Radio.
The trip is 4700 kilometres through outback regions. We plan to visit as many towns as possible and raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service ‘Flying 1000′ project. Funds go towards medically equipping RFDS aircraft.
Royal Flying Doctor Service and Wooleen
Over the last twenty years the RFDS has carried out emergency evacuations for my family and for tourism guests. My son Richard had a badly broken leg at the age of twelve and was flown out quickly.
Richard would not have survived if the RFDS hadn’t done a low level flight evacuation when Helen had a problem with blood pressure when 6 months pregnant.
On another occasion Richard had his shoulder crushed in a motor bike accident and was flown to Perth in a serious condition. We that Richard was eligible for frequent flyer points with RFDS - or perhaps it was the charming young female flying doctor from Meekatharra.
A snake bite victim - a small child - was flown out at night. RFDS saved his life.
So I’m dedicating “theslowdrive” to the RFDS and raising funds for the Flying 1000. I know you’re reading this, so please give it some thought. You can donate online or when you see the car.
Thanks
I thank Desert Knowledge Australia for helping Outback Australia and the Slow Drive and I encourage others to come forward with sponsorship dollars for the RFDS cause.