With a whole day to ourselves we were spoilt for choice……..we'll actually we weren’t.

After being woken at 6.30am by the sounds of trucks, backhoes and diggers reversing and cranes lifting transportables (creating a new block of units) onto the block next door I wasn’t happy as I was craving a sleep in. Problem solved, ear plugs in and back to sleep I went. Kimbo typically was able to sleep though it all (even with a newly syringed ear) and he managed to do so until 10.00am!!!!!

Even though it was bloody hot AGAIN we decided to go for a drive and take in all that Onslow has to offer. Our first stop was 4 mile creek, a local fishing spot, there was no-one there as it was too windy. The Shire has actually created quite a nice area with toilets, BBQs with shade and organised parking, I can imagine on a good day it would be packed (if fishing is your thing……..not mine!).

On the way back we stopped for a photo opportunity of the Onslow Salt works, it blows my mind that this is only one of several salt works around the world……….who uses all this salt???? The jetty that transports the salt out to the ships that are generally waiting in the harbour to be filled is substantial. It was pretty rough out on the water today and there was no loading taking place, in fact it was hard to see all the massive ships that were sitting out there waiting it out.

Our next stop on the day tour was the industrial area, where a lot of the accommodation for the new Wheatstone gas project is located. It has to be seen to be believed. We thought we might have a look at the caravan park there, but it’s basically just an accommodation camp, very similar to what we’re in now, so we certainly wouldn’t be moving up. It is dwarfed by the 400 seat mess and every increasing high rise worker accommodation. The barges travelling up and down Beadon Creek to take supplies/equipment to Wheatstone is constant. There’s a new Thrifty Car Rental office that had at least 40 4WD/utes/vans all fitted with orange flags ready for travel to and from Wheatstone. It was a different world there with the hubba hubba of big business activity.

In fact most of the vehicles in the sleepy "main" street are adorned with safety flags. It was hard to imagine that the industrial area had any connection at all to Onslow town which as a rule barely raises a whimper.

The main purpose of our day’s outing was to re-visit Old Onslow which is some 40km by road from the current town of Onslow. On the way we passed many of the salt flats which are owned by Onslow Salt and not surprisingly provide their salt supply.

The 20km of dirt road was in fabulous condition up until the final entry point into the Wheatstone gas project as Chevron maintain it for their vehicles. What a difference a multi billion $ company can make to road maintenance. We followed the Ashburton River which is a great camping area for travellers in the winter months, lucky for them it’s there as there is no tourist accommodation available in the caravan parks as I’ve mentioned before due to them being full of workers. Sadly tourists aren’t visiting Onslow I’m told due to this. I hope the Shire has a plan B in place when the gas project is completed and there’s only 300, not the expected 5,000 people working there. Not sure how they can lure the tourists back, which was until this project took off, their bread and butter. However I digress. We stopped for a look see and the only sign of life were some very healthy looking cattle who were resting under the snappy gums, can’t blame them as it was scorching. The first weir was built in 1901 to keep the sea water from contaminating the fresh water of the Ashburton the current Scotty's weir was completed in 1959. Although the water looks terrible it’s due to the Pilbara red dirt that this area is famous for. It’s also another well known fishing spot.

Finally destination reached and when we got out of our fantastically air conditioned car I felt like we’d been hit by a blast furnace. It’s inconceivable to us how people decided to make this area their home and create businesses and a life in the 1890s!!!!!!!! We came to the conclusion that we (the royal we) are not made of the same stuff. I try and imagine what the women would have endured, being brought out to this brave new land to set up a home, raise children and have some sort of life on a day like today without the creature comforts we take for granted and I just can't do it. Just thinking about cooking had me in a sweat!!!

Sadly the only two buildings left standing are not surprisingly the police station and gaol. They made things to last back then. A lot of the buildings, including the hotels were dismantled and taken to local properties where they were used to build homesteads etc in the 1920s. I even felt sorry for the poor prisoners who were shackled to the floor in their 2x3 metre cells. There were still a few ornamental palms still swaying in the breeze that would have given some respite from the harsh surroundings. In old Onslow’s hay day there was a tramway operating from the centre of town to the Ashburton river some 4 miles way to bring supplies into town and also service the pearl luggers. It’s impossible to imagine that a once thriving town existed here, and we both wondered why this site was chosen, and why the town was moved.

Our last stop and sadly because it was so hot I didn’t have time to look at all the headstones in the cemetery. I’ve always found that cemeteries hold the key to the history of these old towns. It is sadly looking very unloved and all graves point to the west where they once overlooked the sea, that view however has now been replaced by the enormous Wheatstone gas project. If those old pioneers were to return to this land they would surely think they’d landed on another planet!
Back home we went and I was grateful to be back in our cool luxury and thankful that I was born when I was.