Comments on: Shearing – South Gap Station – South Australia

By: Barb Nelson

Barb Nelson — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:40:57 +0000

Hello Laurie – I’m just thinking about writing a book of my mother’s life. She was born at home in the Glanville Hotel, South Australia, on 15th November 1905. When she was sixteen she was sent to South Gap to stop with friends of her mother’s. She boarded the train in Adelaide and went to Port Augusta, changing there to the train which went to Perth. She had to get out at a station called Bookaloo, arriving there at night where she had to sleep at the station master’s house until next morning, when the coach left for the sheep station. In her words “It was a long journey. We stopped to have lunch at a farm house on the way and to go to the toilet but I was too shy to go, so by the time we got to our destination I was very sick and distressed. My mother’s friends met me and I was soon settled into a comfortable place. I woke next morning to see a camel looking at me over the fence. They were quite tame and we used to go for rides on them. They were used mainly to carry heavy supplies from the railways. It was beautiful country and I was quite happy and used to go out riding to bring in the cattle. I was there for about a month and was getting home-sick so i was taken to the station and arrived back in Adelaide to be met by my father (not my mother who I expected) and he took me to his sister’s place at Larg’s Bay. It seems my mother had run off to Melbourne with one of the boarders (from the Nuriootpa Hotel which the family owned) and took my two sisters with her, so my two brothers and I were left with my aunty and uncle.” Anyway, subsequently my mother was dressed as an adult, with a veil, and smuggled off to Melbourne to be reunited with her mother and sisters, in spite of the Police having been alerted by her father to look out for her. I hope I haven’t bored you with all this but I feel South Gap should feature in mum’s story and so I really enjoyed reading your article and seeing the photos. I’ll have to get an Aussie map out and see if I can locate it and perhaps write to the present owners to see if they have any records of life there in 1922 when mum said they were running cattle.

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:31:35 +0000

Hi Laurie,
My name is Brett Meegan and I’m fiteen years old. Each year I go to South Gap to go mustering.

And I heard Paul say something about a photographer which led me to this website.

I just thought I’d let you know how it was going up there. Since the rains have come the grass is

about knee hight. All the sheep are in good conditon. The road was flooded at one stage but the

sheep were relatively dry.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:53:44 +0000

G’day Vincent. Great to hear from you!

The turn off from the Stuart Highway is about 90km from Port Augusta, roughly half way between Port Augusta and Pimba. On the right, quite near the left turn into the disused Bookaloo railway siding. The road is quite clearly marked.

I guess it’s about half an hour to the fork in the road; left to Pernatty and right to South Gap. You’ll see the South Gap wool shed from the fork. It’s another 16km to the homestead.

I’m guessing you’ll find the roads in reasonable order, so long as it doesn’t rain.

I can probably find a phone number if that helps. Give us a hoy.

Please say G’day to the people there. I think they’ll remember me.

Regards,
Laurie.

By: Vincent Branson

Vincent Branson — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:07:45 +0000

Just wondering how do you get to South Gap Station from Port Augusta. I am married to Jillian Jarrett whose mother was Margaret Glover who came from South Gap Station and we just wanted to take the grannies up there as a part of family history and geneology. Could I gat a response ASAP.

Thanking You

Vincent Branson