The 2006 Legendary Outback Expeditions (LOE) took expeditioners into the Kimberley in Western Australia. Read all about the trip in the following article, written by Ron & Viv Moon, which appeared in 3 parts in the January, March and April issues of 4x4 Australia magazine.
The Remote Kimberley - Part 3
Part 1 Part 2
Ten years of research and a previous failed expedition behind them, Ron and Viv Moon finally find the tree blazed by Frederick Brockman and open up a new route in the Kimberley.
The creek was wide and rocky as I hop scotched my way across the dry boulder strewn surface. Already the sun was hot even though it was only minutes ago that it had climbed above the ridge to the east. ‘This has to be the spot’ I thought for the third or fourth time that morning, convincing myself that our group was exploring the right place. The creek and the gap in the range just to the west of where I was walking, at the latitude of Brockman’s Camp 11 as stated in his diary, indicated we were in the right place. We even had a copy of a photo taken of Brockman’s party at the distinctive tree, but where was that bloody blazed boab?
I walked back to a group of likely trees that I had checked earlier and walked around them again scanning their smooth skin for any telltale sign. Spread over a square kilometre or more, others of our group were doing the same, their presence known by the occasional chatter over the hand held UHF radios.
The discovery of the tree, which had seemed an easy and quick thing to do while talking around the campfire at breakfast, was now looking like taking a bit longer.
A few days earlier we had arrived at Marion Downs homestead and had been treated to some fine Kimberley hospitality by the owners. Both our expedition parties had come to Marion Downs and while the first group had then headed to Bells Gorge and the delights of Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek our second party was all for pushing into the unknown and whatever that held in store.
Pics: The guys working hard during mustering; Getting the old bull catcher going; A litter of very cute puppies born at the station.
Our Marion Downs hosts wouldn’t let us go though until we checked out another blazed tree, which would have to rate as one of the biggest single trunk boabs in the Kimberley. Using a long cable we measured the trunks circumference at over 16 metres, or close to 50 feet! Others had also found it to be an awe inspiring tree. Blazed with an ‘FH’, which wasn’t a Frank Hann blaze, the date and the Rising Sun emblem indicated a now unknown WW1 soldier who travelled this remote region in 1920.
After saying goodbye to our hosts we thrummed our way east across tracks that are marked on most modern maps as ‘Impassable – access limited’. Only where recent stock mustering had occurred was any track visible and in places it petered out to nothing. A few of the group of 11 vehicles picked up punctures along this section and while there were a couple of washed out creek crossings progress was still pretty good, our real-time GPS mapping systems working overtime.Pic Right: Could this be the largest single trunk boab in the Kimberley?
Finding a faint track junction north of Teronis Gorge (unmarked on all maps) we crossed a creek and then started to head north along the wide Chamberlain River valley. This track (again unmarked on all maps) crosses the river at times and while the crossings themselves are rarely a problem the climb down and up proved to be challenging in a number of cases. With the trailer on behind I got caught at one sandy spot while others in our group needed recovery on a particularly steep creek exit.
Pics Left & Right: Travelling along the Chamberlain River Valley; Crossing one of many river crossing on the Chamberlain River Valley track.
Along the river long deep stretches of water provide succour for a dense growth of scrub and trees, which are a veritable haven for wildlife and mobs of cattle. These waterholes also hold barra and big crocs as unlike most other Kimberley streams no large waterfalls hinder their movement between the upper reaches of the river and the waters of a distant Cambridge Gulf.
With the sun fast heading towards the horizon we crossed the dry bed of a major tributary flowing from a distinctive break in the range. I knew this was the very same gap that Brockman had used over 100 years previously to escape from the confines of the Chamberlain valley and to head west on his exploration of the Kimberley.
Next morning we were out early looking for the blazed boab and while everyone wanted to find it, it was Karen our hard working Red Desert guide who first discovered it. ‘You bloody beauty’, I thought as I turned from the trees I was inspecting and walked hurriedly in her direction, about 600 metres south from where I had been looking. The blaze was smaller than I imagined and nowhere near as big as those that Frank Hann had chopped into the sides of boabs 15 years earlier. The tree though remained pretty much as Brockman had left it but the ground around it had been torn and ripped away by some seriously big floods in the intervening years.
I was elated. Ten years previously I had tried to find this tree but the route north from the Teronis Gorge track was much rougher and we had then been caught in an uncharacteristic dry season storm, which had ruined one of our camps. Only one keen local bushwalker had been to this tree before our party arrived (in 1998), his small blaze near the Brockman initials a self-gratifying piece of graffiti. No wonder he didn’t help us find it!
Pics Left & Right: Brockman's blazed boab.
A few photos followed by a well deserved morning tea and it was time to leave. We turned south and backtracked our way to Teronis Gorge. We had already received permission to use the track south and east to the main highway and the heavy duty gate that is found on the southern side of the gorge was unlocked for us. A day later we were in Halls Creek another great fulfilling Kimberley adventure behind us.
Travelling through Teronis Gorge.
Frederick Brockman – Surveyor
Frederick Brockman (or more correctly, Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman) was the WA’s Chief Surveyor and leader of the 1901 Kimberley Exploring Expedition. The group left their Parry Creek camp, outside Wyndham, in early May 1901, with seven months of supplies. They headed south, then west, swinging along the southern ramparts of the Cockburn Range, close to where the Gibb River Road is today, before arriving at the Pentecost River on the 17th of that month.
After a few days exploring around the junction of the rivers Brockman headed south along the Chamberlain River. The expedition was forced to stay in this river valley for the next 11 days. Their Camp 11, about 110km south of the river’s junction with the Pentecost, was located at a gorge that gave them their first chance to head west. From this point they struck north-west, meeting with the Hann River and following that to the vicinity of Mt Elizabeth.
Heading west from Mt Elizabeth, they followed the Charnley River downstream before crossing over the range to follow the Calder River (which he named) down to Walcott Inlet. Exploring this rugged country they crossed Bachsten Creek and pushed north.
By the beginning of August they were on the southern rim of the Prince Regent and by the mid September were further north when they discovered and named the King Edward River. The beginning of October was spent exploring the coast from near present day Kalumburu westward around Napier Broome Bay to Vansittart Bay.
By the 20th October, Brockman was camped on the Drysdale River and after exploring the river to the coast headed south following the course of this rock shrouded river till early November, when he turned south-east, crossing the Pentecost at his starting point before pushing on to Wyndham, which he reached on the 26th November.
His report to the government of the day was full of hope for the six million acres of ‘good grass lands ...’ which he discovered and considered, ‘eminently suitable for sheep,...cattle or horses...’
Frederick Brockman died in Perth in 1917, aged 60.
Raising Money for the RFDS
As with most Red Desert run trips there were locks of hair chopped off – the ‘Kimberley Clip Club’ – in the name of the RFDS.
4x4 Readers trip winner, ‘Doc’ Lodi had brought along his young son Sam on the trip and in the spirit of the event Sam volunteered to have his long hair cut – for a price. His locks went for $600 while the group donated a total of $1550 to the Victorian branch of the RFDS.'Doc' and a very brave Sam - what a fantastic effort and sacrifice on his part - he loved his long, blonde locks!!
To continue reading about the LOE 2006 adventure, go to LOE 2006 Part 1, and LOE 2006 Part 2
Travel Planner
You need permission of a few properties to travel the Tablelands Track beyond the turn off to Mornington Wilderness Camp and to head up the Chamberlain River.
The remote Marion Downs Station, ph: (08) 9191 4660, will generally let you through, although permission is essential. The property is not accessible during the Wet Season.
A locked gate is found on the southern side of Teronis Gorge. To access this route you need permission from Bedford Downs Station, ph: (08) 9167 8829. Access is only granted if the station tracks are dry.
The Chamberlain River track junction, north of Teronis Gorge, is at GPS 17°17’04”S 127°14’39”E (Datum WGS 84).
The Brockman tree (GPS 16°51’07”S 127°32’10”E) is about 60km north of the track junction and can be found south of the major but unnamed creek near here (Brockman Camp Creek we called it) and just west of the vehicle track.
The town of Halls Creek offers all a traveller needs. The surrounding area has plenty of places to visit and enjoy that are not on the normal tourist beat. For more info check out the Visitor’s Centre, ph: (08) 9168 6262.
The best guide for the area is, The Kimberley - an Adventurer’s Guide, by Ron and Viv Moon. The best map is Hema Maps, The Kimberley.
