A Dunny in the desert

Project of Track Care Western Australia (Inc.)

"Well that will be the last time we have to shift this 'Long Drop' cess pool," my wife Ronele proclaimed in July 1996. "We will have to do something about a proper toilet here soon or the place will be overrun with filled pits in a few years and eventually the effluent will find its way into the water stream down by the northern cliffs"."

It was not to be and again in July 1997 we had to go through the whole process again and dig a new pit and shift the Long Drop at Durba Springs on the Canning Stock Route again. This was definitely to be the last time as in May 1997 we had visited the Northern Territory and part of our visit to all the usual tourist destinations was spent talking with the Rangers about the benefits of Composting toilets.

This type of toilet uses aerobic composting of all excrement material while the urine is evaporated to atmosphere. This appeared to be the answer to the problem at Durba Springs and after making
enquiries from the manufacturers and working out a budget we took our proposals to Track Care.

Western Australia (Inc.) a group we had become associated with November 1996. The Committee of Track Care were enthusiastic with our proposals and immediately adopted the plans. Like all proposals that need financial backing and being a young and vibrant organization it did not take long to get the fund raising under way. The budget called for Track Care to raise $ 17000. This may seem a lot for a composting toilet but it also covered the cost of the building and of course the transport of everything to this very remote site in the Little Sandy Desert south of Lake Disappointment in Western Australia.

Track Care Western Australia sent letters asking for a donation to every tour company in Australia which conducts tours alone the Canning as well as to the individual State Four Wheel Drive Club Associations requesting donations for this worthwhile project. Further letters were sent to Four Wheel heel Drive vehicle distributors and to the magazines which cover this type of recreation. The response was immediate from all contacts. Twenty two out of twenty four tour operators around Australia responded and so did a major 4 X 4 distributor, Toyota W. A. Other major contributors were 4 X 4 accessories suppliers A.R.B. & Outback Accessories.
Local Artist Bill Reed (Shorty Forty) offered to paint a magnificent painting of Durba Springs which was offered as a prize in a raffle. It wasn't long before the bank account for the toilet project began to grow.

We were fortunate enough to gain an interview on National radio to promote the project. This program was broadcast Australia wide and from this we received further donations and an offer from local design engineer Darryl Althorpe to draw up plans for a cyclone proof and virtually indestructible building. Volunteer workers and past Canning travelers responded with all sorts of offers both with labour and money. All offers were immediately accepted and the plans drawn and redrawn many times before the engineer was satisfied that the building would meet all environmental, weather and safety requirements.

We set a target date for construction of Easter 1998 so that the toilet would be up and working before the start of the Canning Tourist Season, which runs from May to August each year. Easter is not an ideal time to be traveling and working in the desert as it follows straight on from the 'wet season'. Temperatures are still quite high and after the rains of the 'wet' each year, come the bush flies. The flies can be a torment for twenty four hours a day. There is always a full moon at Easter and the desert with its crystal clear skys is so radiant that one can even read a book by the light of the moon. Unfortunately for the workers the flies don't go to bed when the sun goes down and can be a real nuisance when trying to sleep in the open under the stars. However with hat fly nets to cover the workers this was seen as a minor problem.
By the first week of March 1998 it was tune to start prefabricating the building and this was done under the supervision of Eric Stallard a local roofing contractor and steel worker The work; required two weekends at the premises of a major four wheel drive accessory supplier, Outback Accessories in Perth.

A major problem began to raise its ugly head with three weeks to departure for Durba. We had not been able to find a suitable 4 X 4 truck to transport all the building materials. It became a real headache but eventually after with contact George Fallon of the Royal Australian Navy and the approval of Lieutenant Commander Ian Cook from H.M.A.S. Stirling and the cooperation of the Joint Logistics Unit we were able to secure the services of an Army Unimog and trailer.

Finally on Good Friday a convoy of ten vehicles with 20 volunteers including five from the Navy and two from the Army we left Perth heading north and out into the desert.

The route took us out through the northern wheatbelt, through the Murchison Goldfields and into Iron Ore country around Mount Newman and eventually into the desert via the Jiggalong Aboriginal Community. From here we took a short cut across from the junction of the Savory and Boondawarri Creeks direct to Canning's Cairn on the north west corner of the Durba Hills. No one in the convoy had ever traveled this route before and it turned out to be one of the most picturesque routes we had ever traveled on in the deserts of Western Australia. The track meanders along the Savory Creek for 16 kilometers before eventually breaking away and heading for the Durba Hills and with only one sand dune to cross it presented no problems for all the light weight 4 X 4 vehicles.

The Army Unimog with an eight ton trailer in tow baulked at this one big dune and after a night spent camped in the middle of the track we decided to leave the trailer with its giant composting bin and go on to Durba and get construction of the building under way. The composting bin which is made from polyethelyne is rather large and although not heavy would be collected a few days later on one of the tray back; vehicles.

Everyone rolled into Durba about 11.00 a.m. and after a hasty lunch work began in earnest. The site was picked being careful to avoid an area where there were young trees growing. It was soon cleared of the tall spinifex and with a professional builder Phil Tarca supervising, the site was pegged out and the footings dug. An eager group began mixing concrete by hand while others collected rocks which had to be broken down with sledge hammers for aggregate.

There was no shortage of sand for the concrete as what was dug from the footing holes went straight into the concrete mix. Water was on hand from the north eastern pool of Durba although it had to carried by hand 150 meters to the construction site.

These footings were allowed to set overnight and by seven o'clock the next morning everyone was back at work. Two more volunteers, Geoff Young & Phil Spencer from the Department of Conservation and Land Management in Kalgoorlie had arrived late the first night after driving all the way from Kalgoorlie in two days. They were eagerly welcomed and set to work along with the rest of the volunteers.

Day two saw the main building support legs concreted in and the floor and stairs leading to the verandah placed in position. Groups took it in turns at mixing concrete while still others continued with collecting and breaking up rocks This involved collecting what appeared to be many tons of rock which had fallen from the Durba cliff face No one was in the least deterred by this daunting job and although the heat and humidity soared in the morning there was no thought at any time of anybody giving up.

Day three dawned just as it had on the two previous days, hot humid with a myriad of flies. Today we sent a vehicle to recover the composting bin from the trailer thirty kilometers away while the walls and roof were placed and fixed in position. Our electrical expert Robert Briggs and his father Bob were soon on the job running all the cables for the solar powered extraction fan and lighting system. They resolved to run all the cables through the steel framework rather than use the conduit provided. This way all cables would be hidden and not subject to any possible future vandalism.

The ladies in the party were just as willing workers. They all took turns on the rock pile and paint brushes while others turned their hand to mixing concrete. The beautiful Jarrah doors for the toilet made by another volunteer, Bruce Robb in Perth were given three coats of preservative and the stairs leading to the verandah were given two final coats. During all this time the ladies were also kept busy ferrying drinking water from nearby Killagurra Springs. This is no mean feat as all the water had to be carried by hand from the spring 200 meters over rocky ground to the vehicles. A twenty litre container of water weighs 20 kilograms and as most people will agree a water container of this size can be an awkward item to carry over rough terrain. The water at Durba Springs is unfit for drinking this year as there had not been sufficient rainfall to date to replenish the normally accessible drinking water supply. This will pose some problems for the tourist later in the year.

Day four saw the departure of our Navy and Army personnel. A huge storm burst the previous night just at dusk and thoroughly drenched the camp site. Some big branches of some of the River Red Gums were blown down, one narrowly missing the CALM camp. The Service personnel decided to leave ahead of everybody else as they were concerned that they may get bogged down on some of the claypans on the way back to Jiggalong. They also had to recover the trailer and there was further concern that they may have problems getting across Savory Creek because of the very sandy approaches. They were 'Piped' out of Durba by Colin Hodgson, a farmer from Yearlering in Western Australia. Colin never goes camping anywhere in the bush without his beloved Bagpipes. His renditions from the cliff top at sundown brought many an emotive tear to the eyes of many volunteers.

Construction continued throughout the day. The building was clad and the composting unit and pedestals installed. Doors and internal walls were screwed into position and the toilet was ready for use. While all this was going on a busy group laid a path of patchwork stone leading to the stairs from the main camping area. Existing small trees were protected from being walked over by placing stone rings around their base and a log barrier erected some five meters out from the toilet to prevent vehicles from driving to close to the building A donation box was also concreted in close to the base of the toilet steps. It is hoped travelers will contribute to future projects to help preserve the Canning as well as the continuing maintenance of the new toilet facilities.

We had thought we had finished with the old 'Long Drop' for ever but there was one last job to do after dismantling it. There were six bags of cement left over from the new construction and this was promptly used to mix up a brew to seal the old holes, we hope for ever. Having done this everybody retired for a night of relaxation and anecdotes after four clays of solid word;. Colin again produced his Bagpipes and rendered many Scottish melodies and dance tunes which saw some party members trying to dance a rendition of a Scottish Highland fling.

There was just one small job to do next morning before an official opening ceremony. We welded a chain to the composting bin doors so a padlock could be fitted. This was done and everybody gathered for an official opening ceremony. A gold bow was tied to the stair rail and a long sheet of toilet paper tied across the stairway. This was duly cut amid much mirth and laughter from all present and the toilet declared official open for use.

By this time all the volunteers except four were ready to depart for the 1600 kilometer return drive to Perth. These tour volunteers stayed behind for an extra day to have a good look around the Durba Springs area. It was finally 10.30 am before we set off homeward bound down the Canning to Wiluna. Between Wells 16 & 15 we passed the first group of tourists heading north. They were members of the South Gippsland Four Wheel Drive Club. They warned us of a possible big bog hole on the track; between Well 10 & Well 9. We were later informed by those that stayed the extra day that they were most complimentary of the new toilet at Durba particularly the night lighting facility

It is not every day that one can see an ambition fulfilled. With the completion of the Durba Dunny project one can look back with pride. This was a project by people for people. It would not have been carried out without the generosity of many small donors and businesses who have a vested interest in preserving the environment for future generations. To all those people, Track Care Western Australia (Inc.) would like to say a big thank you. To all those volunteers who were involved in the project who could not be there to see the fruits of there labour also go our sincere thanks. We have a list of 126 names and to list them all here would be to long. They know who they are and it is our sincere wish that one day they will be able to visit Durba Springs and see for themselves the final result.

The project was carried out without any financial assistance from any Government Department. Both State & Local Governments Departments were most enthusiastic and helpful in their approvals and for this we thank them. We hope that all future Canning Stock Route travelers will appreciate the effort and time which went into this project and help protect it for both their own use and the use by others.

Track Care will continue to appraise the tracks which follow the routes taken by early explorers in Western Australia. Already there are plans to improve conditions on the Holland track between Hyden and Coolgardie. Of course all of this work is undertaken by volunteers and without the support of donors nothing could be accomplished. Donations are welcomed and can be sent to Track Care Western Australia (Inc.) at the address given below.

Eric & Ronele Gard Project Coordinators Track Care Western Australia (Inc.)

Text by Eric Gard
Photographs © By Ronele Gard

All correspondence to Track Care Western Australia (Inc.
P O Box 8338
Perth Buslness Centre W A 6849

Ph/Fax (08) 9341 2524