Courtesy of the State Library of Western Australia.
About 50 kilometres northeast of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region lies Fossil Downs Station. Maxine MacDonald reflected on life on the station in a brief interview in 1966.
I came to Fossil Downs station as a young bride in 1938. I had no previous experience of station life.
I had always lived in Sydney and had no idea what I was really coming to. I came across by ship to Perth and had a look around the southwest of Western Australia and then I went north.
In those days you used to catch the plane at Guildford and fly nearly all day until you reached Carnarvon, and then keep going and going until you reach Port Hedland and the next day you got to Broome.
When we reached Broome, the pilot used to have a couple of days free before he went any further.
After we reached Fitzroy Crossing, we came out to Marble Bar which is a boundary, then towards Fossil [Downs] by car.
When we arrived, we had to walk up to the station because the river was still running and there was no vehicle on the other side for us. My husband had just started to build a new homestead here.
The beautiful roof timbers look like Jarrah and Karri but are not, as neither grow here. They are Leichhardt pine and fig, both of which are native to this country. The Leichhardt pine when cut is a very vivid orange colour with a very pungent pine smell. The fig is quite a soft wood.
The big heavy beams you can see out on the back verandah there are what we call black heart, a very hard timber. If you want to drive a nail into it, you have to use a brace and bore a hole to do so.
I had the misfortune to lose my husband three years ago.
He had been ill for quite a long while and fortunately had taught me quite a lot of the management of the station before he was taken from us, so carrying on the management of the homestead has been fairly easy for me.
GALLERY – Explore the magnificent sights of Fossil Downs Station, including the homestead, through photos from the State Library of Western Australia’s collection.
SOURCE –
[Interview with Maxine MacDonald]
MacDonald, Maxine.
Oral History | 1966.
Available Online (Call number: OH44 Audio)
