Paul's pancreatitis

Paul had to go to accident and emergency in a lot of stomach pain Monday night.   They put him on morphine for a bit so it was all very exciting! :(

It ended up being Pancreatitis but they did not find out what caused it - even with subsequent scans and tests etc - everything seemed good inside which is good news.

After spending the night in accident and emergency he was transferred to the private hospital we he had his own room in the maternity ward of all places.   He had to stay for a few days to be monitored and got out on the thursday morning.

Pauls goes sailing to Dundee for an overnighter

Paul went with John and Sandy and their family (John is a work colleague) to Dundee for the night.

John wanted to give the boat a run as he is planning to do the Darwin to Ambon in August.

It was Paul's first real trip in a sailboat and it was fantastic to cruise along just using windpower.

We went into the Lodge of Dundee for dinner and then back out to "Sirocco" to sleep very comfortably for the night - albeit in a wet and rough trip back out in the little zodiac tender.

Was a little bit rocky at night initially, even in a 60' cataraman, but was good cool sleeping weather and the wind eased later in the night.  We motored most of the way home as the lighter wind on the sunday was pretty much on the nose.

John and his son Paul with me up the front of the little tender heading into the lodge

Sanra, John and their other son Stephen.



Paul loses his Gallbladder

Paul went to Adelaide to get his Gallbladder removed this week (operation was on the 7th of December).  He stayed at Craigs the 1st night and at the hospital the next 3 nights.  Operation went well although he didn't enjoy going under very much...   and had a few issues afterwards that he hoped was just the medication!

Was just keyhole surgery so fairly minor although Paul was suprised how much it knocked him around..  took him a month or so to feel somewhat "normal"....

One bonus of the trip was that he met his brother Craig's fiance Lyn for the first time!

Paul gets permanency with ConocoPhillips

Paul's gamble to work with ConocoPhillips on a short term contract thankfully paid off as he was successful in a fulltime position as a ConocoPhillips employee (before he was a contractor).

Paul's title is an "Analyst" and he works in the IT's Infrastructure department.  He initially mainly worked at the Darwin LNG site but then alternated between there and the office in the Darwin CBD.

Paul gets a job at Batchelor

Paul started work in May 2003 as an IT Desktop Support Officer at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education - or "Batchelor College" as it is better known as.

Approximately 6 months later he became the Network Administrator, and 12 months after that he became the IT Manager.

Paul was at Batchelor for nearly 8 years.  Everyday he would catch the bus from Palmerston in the morning at 7am and either drive or ride as a passenger in the 50 minute coaster bus trip.   He'd back back at Palmerston at around 5.15pm each day.

As the IT Manager Paul had about 13 staff and a $2million budget to manage so quite a lot of responsibility.

Paul starts work at Batchelor Institute

Paul started work at Batchelor Institute this month in 2000.  He initially applied for two positions, and A03 Desktop Support Officer and an A05 Network Administrator.  When at the Network Administrator interview he discovered that they used Novell Netware that he had no experience in he pretty much talked them out of it and took the more junior position.   But soon after starting he was doing the Network Admin role anyways albeit at the lower salary!  He found the different system wasn't that different than those he was used to.

Early days photoshopped photo.  From left to right;
Jessel (Service Desk), Nick (IT Manager), Paul (Network Admin),
Ian Fox "Foxy" (Desktop Support), Brian (Desktop Support).
Shave for Cancer day.

He was employed in the Network Admin role a few months later and after around 18 months he was successful in becoming the IT Manager (A07 level).   This had quite a lot of responsibilities including around 14 staff and a $2.5million annual budget.  He was a member of the Senior and ATSI staff at Batchelor.   In total Paul was at Batchelor for around 8 years.

Paul in his Batchelor Office

Paul gets a job at Nungalinya College

Paul started work with Nungalinya College in Casuarina in June 1998 where he stayed for almost 5 years.

He was initially employed as the "Abstudy Officer" where he would help the indigenous students with their abstudy forms and status, their travel etc.

After a couple of years he setup a computer network, a student database, an email system and a website and ended up becoming the college's first IT Staff member.

Paul gets baptised

Paul was baptised tonight at the Community Church by pastor Peter Ezzy.

Pauls work camp moves from Mount Todd to Harriet Creek

Unfortunately the company that Bruce had the mining contract with at Mount Todd Gold Mine has gone broke and Bruce is stuck with some expensive machinery that he needs work for to pay off.

Harriet Creek is a large creek that crosses the Kakadu Highway just over 25km from the turnoff at Pine Creek.  Bruce successfully got a job to build a bridge to cross this creek for the new highway.

We started demobilising our camp at Mount Todd in mid February 1988 (Rob and Jessie moved there on the 22nd) and setting up a new camp at Harriet Creek.

Paul was mainly labouring at this site - including the very hard work of using a pnuematic hand held rock drill to drill holes in the granite so explosives could be placed in the rock to break it.  Often he did night shift on the drill which meant very long hard nights.

The Harriet Creek bridge project

Rob and Bruce at Harriet Creek

Paul moves to Mount Todd gold mine

Around October 1987 Bruce moved to Mount Todd which was near Edith Falls, between Pine Creek and Katherine.

It was a big move and expansion for Bruce as he had to get a large loan for all sorts of machinery including a new Kobelco 30 ton excavator and 3 Terex articulated 23 ton dump trucks.  A lot of investment in setting up the camp would've been required also.

Paul helped setup the new camp at Mount Todd and then started driving Toyota DA tip trucks carting mine extractions whilst they were waiting for the new machinery to arrive.  By November the 3rd Paul mentioned in a letter to Gwenny that he was driving a Terex so they arrived sometime before then (in another letter dated October 26th Paul was driving the tip truck still).

A Terex dump truck similar to the ones Bruce bought

Paul goes back to Katherine to work for Bruce

Paul thinks it was around this time, in mid August 1987, that he went back to Katherine to work for Bruce.   The catching that he was doing with Uncle Peter (catching lone bulls) had wound up and Goucho just wanted Peter and Brett to stay on with the more general mustering.

Paul lived back at Bruce and Jeannie's place - probably in the caravan in the back yard.

Paul goes Bull Catching

Paul and Peter tying up a bull with Charles watching on

Uncle Peter got a contract with Henry Gayoso to catch wild cattle and buffalo at Elizabeth Downs station which is on the other side of the Daly River.

We all drove down in a big convoy at the start of the dry season in 1987.  There was trucks towing caravans, catchers and all sorts.  Paul drove his Suzuki Sierra.

Paul mainly did roping from a special seat on the bullbar with Uncle Peter driving.  They caught about 50 bulls this way.  He also helped setup portable yards for helicopter musters etc.  Paul only did it for 2 or 3 months but Peterboy stayed on until near the end of the year.

One day he and Uncle Peter were working somewhere by themselves out in the bush Uncle Peter asked him whether he had ever had a girl friend.  "I suppose a good looking fella like you have had quite a few?" he asked.  Paul responded in the negative and Uncle Peter then said "you know that Gwenyth Pattemore would make a lovely wife!"

Paul knew who Gwenyth Pattemore was - a girl at church -and he thought she was very nice but had never seriously considered anything more.  When he was living at Bruce and Jeannie's Gwenyth visited once and they played monopoly together and got along pretty well, although they were both a bit shy.  He dreamt about her that night and from then on just couldn't stop thinking about her!

Brett walking across the flat whilst they load a bull

Blind "Sibby" in the chair Paul roped from

Aunty Wendy with one of the "Hazer" catchers

Paul buys his first car

Sometime probably in January 1987 Paul bought his yellow long wheel base Suzuki Sierra from a dealership in Katherine.  He bought it second hand for $9000 he recalls - it was a 1984 model.

It wasn't really his first car as he did buy an old 2 stroke 3 cylinder bush basher Suzuki (an LJ50) from Humpy Doo when he was living at the Thomsen's, but this car was never registered whilst he owned it (or since as he cut the roof of it etc!)

Soon after Paul bought it he met his mum and dad on the Vic Highway coming back from their holiday in Perth.   Apparently dad pointed to his car on the side of the road and told mum "thats the sort of car that Paul bought" without realising it was him waving at them.

Paul in his belove "Suzy" - with his cousin Adam or Matthew Tucker

Pauls moves back to Katherine to work for Bruce

Towards the end of 1986 the Thomsens still hadn't gone buffalo catching and Paul had various jobs picking fruit and working with crocodiles.  Peterboy was still going to school but took Paul to Katherine to work for Bruce.  Peter and Brett had worked for Bruce previously in their school holidays.  They knew him through church.

Paul asked Bruce if he could have a job labouring with him and Bruce asked "can you stand on in the sun all day?".  Paul replied that he was sure he could so Bruce said he'd give him a go.  Pauls first job was shovelling dirt at a new road crossing for a week which nearly killed him with blisters!

Paul and Peter worked at Tindal for a couple of months until Peter went back home to go to school at Taminmin High.  At the time Brett was working with them on excavators and other machinery (Peter and Paul naturally always complained Brett had it easy whilst they sweated in the trenches!).

Paul and Peter moved in with Paul's mum and dad on Riverbank Drive until his parents went back to Darwin in around April the following year (although Peter left earlier to go back to school in Darwin).

Paul then moved in with Brett in a caravan at the back of Bruce and Jeannie's house.

Paul goes out to live with Uncle Pete

Being wooed by his cousin Peter about the glories of catching buffalo Paul left his job at Prouds in Casuarina.  He didn't think the job suited him anyway.  His mum was a bit worried that he was giving up a job with prospects of a career but in the end Paul certainly had no regrets.

He had a great time out at the Thomsens where he discovered his love for the bush and for his extended family there.  It was very valuable to spend some time with his Uncle Peter also as he was to pass away a few years later from cancer.  They got to know each other really well and Uncle Peter was like another father figure to Paul.

Paul didn't go catching buffalo this year as things didn't go as intended with Uncle Peter's plans for catching.  He ended up doing a couple of interesting jobs though.

Firstly he worked at the Panorama Mango farm at Middle Point for some nice old greek people.  It was called a mango farm but there was no mangoes when he was there he recalls.   He picked fruit like big queensland blue pumpkins (watch out for the sharp cut stem when catching them!), rock melons, egg plant, water melons, and acres of dreaded zuccinis!  He couldn't believe how quick zuccinis grew - the first job every morning was to walk along the rows of zuccinis as far as the eye could see and carefully pick them and put them in one of the plastic shopping bags he was carrying.  These were left full on the side of the row and picked up later.

He also worked at the Janamba Crocodile farm where he had all sorts of duties like skinning small crocodiles for hides, feeding very big crocodiles, mending fences etc.  He won a radio competition once for people to ring up with the worst job that they had when he told them how he'd have to bansaw maggoty chickens up for the croc meals.

During this time at the Thomsens Paul did a lot of hunting and stuff in the bush with his cousin Peter and others that he really enjoyed.

Paul finishes school and gets his first job

At the end of 1985 Paul finished school as he really wasn't achieving anything anyway.  He had already repeated year 11 at Katherine and did not do very well.  He wasn't really a bad behaved rude student or anything - he was just a day dreamer and didn't do his work.  Although he did muck around with other students a bit.  Because he was repeating year 11 he shared some classes with his younger brother Craig.

The family visited Darwin at the end of the year and Paul decided to stay on at his Aunty Kristine's house and not go back with the family to Katherine - which broke his mother's heart!

Fortunately he quickly got a job in Casuarina Shopping Square at Proud's Jewellers as a salesperson.  They must've thought he was ok as the boss called him into the office one day and asked him if he wanted to accept the position of a trainee manager.  He recalls the other girls in the shop being pretty cheesed off at this, because although they liked Paul, they thought they were much more deserving of such an offer.  Paul has no doubt that they were 100% correct!  His boss was male and this was most likely sexual discrimination Paul reckons.  Paul remembers the girls being very professional, experienced, hard working and efficient, and him being mostly quite the opposite!

At some time Paul moved in with Uncle Geoff (his mum's twin brother) as his uncle could use someone to help out with the rent in his flat just across from the shops.

During this time his cousin Peter would come and visit him in the shop and tell him that he should go buffalo catching with him which appealed to him much more than working in a jewellers shop!

Paul's family moves to Katherine

Paul and his family moved to Katherine at this time when he was aged 16.  Both he and Craig weren't too happy about it at the time because they were loving their fishing and hanging out with their mates John and Graham.  But their dad had got a transfer to look after the Katherine Fire Station so we had to go!

It turned out Katherine wasn't so bad - was lovely weather in the Dry Season and where we lived on Riverbank Drive it was a short walk to lovely Hot Springs.  Paul and Craig attended Katherine High School which was a bit of a rough joint - the girls were scarier than the boys!

Paul's 16th birthday

Paul when aged around 16 perhaps

Paul typically didn't want a party or anything and took the day off school (it was a Tuesday) and caught the ferry over to Mandorah by himself and just fished for the day from the wharf.  Strange lad that Paul...

Paul thinks this was his 16th birthday but it could've been his 15th he admits.

The end of Paul's BMX career

In around November 1983 Paul had his BMX bike stolen from Nightcliff High School.  He had been slack and didn't even bother locking it up!

He really hadn't been that serious about his BMX in the last few months and never really got back to his top form after breaking his arm.   When he lost his bike then it was all over.  He recalls getting driven past a place by some policemen who wanted him to see if he recognised his bike in their yard - he didn't.

Some of the highlights of his career were;

• Coming 2nd in the Centralian Championships in 1982 in Alice Springs for his age group
• Winning the Top End Titles in 2003 for his age group
• Holding the all time record for his 13 year age group and the age above it for the Wanguri Track (was never broken)
• Leading the final of the Topend Titles in 1983 just after getting his arm out of plaster, but going of the track and ending up coming 8th.
• Winning several normal 5 week rounds
• Sponsorship by Telford Topend and membership of the Kuwahura club

John and Graham return to Darwin

Craig and Graham (Craig's project car)

Paul and Craig's best mates who are also brothers returned to Darwin in October 1983.   They had been living in Alice Springs and Melbourne for a few years.  They left Darwin in January 1980.

They were keen on fishing when they returned and got Paul and Craig to become keen anglers also.  They lived in Woods St in Darwin City.  Previously they had lived at Wanguri when Paul and Craig first became friends with them (they all went to Wanguri Primary School and met there).