What did members of the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party do?
As part of the team, the members of the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party (GRCP) all had to work together, however, each one usually had a unique role they were responsible for.
A summary of some of these roles are explained below:
Photo: Len Beadell's Land Rover leading the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party, passing by Mt Beadell heading west, 1963. Photo: Doug Stoneham
Enjoying lunch at the camp From left: unknown, Len Beadell, Scotty Boord, Doug Stoneham, Rex Flatman, unknown. Photo: Scotty Boord
Doug Stoneham
Bulldozer driver
Doug worked with the Department of Works for 43 years until his retirement in 1990. He arrived at Maralinga early in 1955, met Len Beadell the surveyor and began the work that changed the maps of Australia forever. Doug drove a series of bulldozers, following Len’s flashing mirror and very pistol flares, during construction of the roads up to & including 1960 when he left due to family commitments.
Towards the very end of the projects in September 1963 he later re-joined the team when Len called him back to drive the grader during the last stages of the Windy Corner Road. He then drove the grader back to its final resting place at Giles Weather Station.
Doug cut the famous Gunbarrel Highway in stages between 1955 and 1958 and his work also included the Sandy Blight Junction Road, Windy Corner & Mt Davies Roads. Doug once said he “loved every minute of it. Work was close and handy, and it was better than working in town.” He also approved of straight roads, or at least ones with only “sweeping curves”!
After a long battle with cancer Doug Stoneham died on 17 January 2006 and was buried at Smithfield Memorial Park in a beaut spot, complete with a sweeping country view.
Left: Doug Stoneham on the Bulldozer, Gunbarrel Highway, 1958 Photo: Len Beadell
Above: Doug with the Caterpillar Grader at Jackie Junction in 1963 Photo: Doug Stoneham
Walter 'Scotty' Boord
Grader driver
Scotty was born in Scotland, moving to Australia early in life. He operated a road grader for many years on the country roads of South Australia with the Department of Works, also spending eight years in the bush with Len and the GRCP.
During this time Scotty also worked on projects at Woomera and Giles. Years of lifting heavy grader tyres got the better of his health, and he developed a hernia. He was a quiet man by nature but always got the job done.
Scotty Boord was the last surviving core member of the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party, and his death in July 2007 at the Murray Bridge Hospital marked the end of an era. Scotty was well known for his Scotsman's farewell which was, "Goodbye and Bugger ya".
Len and Scotty at the Camp table. Photo: Scotty Boord
Paul Christensen
Cook
GRCP at the camp table: from left Paul Christensen, Scotty Boord, unknown, Rex Flatman, Doug Stoneham
Photo: Doug Stoneham
Paul Christensen and Connie Sue Beadell, 1963
Paul Christensen with the ration truck Photo: Doug Stoneham
Paul had previously worked as a shearer’s cook and had lived in the bush all his life. He started with the GRCP in 1955 and had an exceptionally calm and quiet temperament and a good measure of bush humour. His food was very good and was enjoyed by all the team or they got the reply “go and get yourself a tin of bully beef”.
He made an especially good damper or ‘survey cake’ as Len called it. Len often joked that Paul only washed his left elbow on Wednesdays and Sundays to knock down his bread while lumbering along in his truck. Paul was with Len in the early and later years, leaving for a few years in the late 50’s. He had polio as a child and, according to Len, put his trousers on lying down.
Paul Christensen died in 1967 of pancreatic cancer; he was 60 years old.
Rex Flatman
Fitter and heavy equipment mechanic
Rex had prior specialised experience in the technical details required for heavy earth-moving plant. He was responsible for servicing the machinery including the bulldozer, grader, refrigeration equipment, the cherry picker’s Land Rover and the three Commer trucks. Rex’s work was of the highest calibre, and he was always thorough and meticulous.
Rex Flatman died on 27 February 1990 and his ashes were scattered near Giles Weather Station in 2004 overlooking the Rawlinson Ranges.
Doug Stoneham (left) with Rex Flatman (right) after the grader broke down on the Windy Corner Road, date 1963 Photo: Len Beadell
Willy (Bill) Appleton
Driver/Cherry Picker
Willy’s jobs included hand picking any sticks, roots or stones left after the final grading on a new section of road.
Frank Quinn
Long Distance Supply Driver
Frank Quinn: a real bush mechanic Photo: Len Beadell
Frank’s job was to bring fuel, rations, water & equipment to the flying camps which often involved driving hundreds of kilometres. He had plenty of experience, being the mail & goods driver around the NT/SA border for many years and had carted cattle, wool etc around the outback most of his life.
He also had an on & off again contract to cart fuel to Giles Weather Station in the 60’s. He worked with the GRCP in 1955, then again for the years 1960-63 although Len occasionally bought supplies off his truck in the intervening years. Nothing ever fazed Quinny who got on well with everyone and nothing could stop him from getting the job done, helped by his strength and ingenuity.
Frank Quinn had a favourite saying....."Time means money to me". He died late in 1977 after a heart pacemaker operation earlier in the year. His black kelpie dog "Lassie" is marked on a few of Len's plaques.
References
Beadell Tours website www.beadelltours.com.au
Len Beadell, Outback Highways 1979
Mark Shephard, A Lifetime in the Bush The biography of Len Beadell, 1998
Photo Credits
Photographs are copyright and are used with kind permission from the families of Len Beadell, Doug Stoneham and Scotty Boord.