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In the Nogoa River, the area known as “the Big Hole” was where the railway put their large steam engine, to pump water for the trains. Grandfather William was offered the job of running the engines for the pumps as he had a steam ticket but told the Railways that he wanted to continue on west with the rail line. He was given the job of pumper as a “temporary” measure until a suitable replacement could be found. He retired from his position of pumper about forty years later! Some time after he retired, he and his wife moved to Park Avenue, Rockhampton. Later, they returned to Gindie and lived with their daughter Mabel Daniels, until their deaths - hers in 1935, and his in 1941.

Grandfather William was always on good terms with the aboriginals in the area. At that time there were at least three tribes based around what became the township of Emerald. He was in the habit of allowing the men to visit him at the pump station, even allowing them inside. Considering the heat generated by the big pumps, he was particularly favoured with their company in winter. It is believed that he was the only one who was this friendly with the natives, and no one else would allow them close, let alone inside the pump house. It was probably just as well that he was on such good terms with them, as his duties required him to walk a couple of kilometres from home to the pump in the river each day. This walk was usually through grass higher than he was.

At one time, when he was relieving another pumper at some other station, there was a relief pumper filling in for him in Emerald. This man evidently didn’t have such a good relationship with the aboriginals in the area. On returning to his own pump duties, William was walking along early one morning, in this very high dense grass, when something caught his attention and he turned sharply around. Behind him, about to clobber him with a nulla nulla was a native man of the area. On realising it was Grandfather, the native apologised and indicated that he thought he was the relieving pumper. As the nulla nullas of the time were studded with things like rusty nails and pieces of broken glass, there is a good chance that the relieving man just escaped some fatal attention from the locals.

There is another yarn involving natives in the area. At another time, the local police had had enough from the local natives and were going to pull them into line. During the day, they told the whites not to worry if they heard some shooting down river at the Blacks camp, as the police were going to shoot over the camp to scare them. Grandma acted as the local midwife to a lot of confinements but for her own, Grandfather William stepped into the breach. Grandma went into labour this day (with Mary Ann) and Grandfather was engaged in the preparations for delivery. Later that evening, when he was in the kitchen, he heard some noise and on investigating, found a young black woman, in labour, under their table. She had been in the camp when the police were shooting and fear had brought on her labour, but she was too afraid to stay in camp and have the native women attend her. On this occasion, Grandfather delivered two babies. Many years later, the native baby who was born that night, spied Grandma Mary Ann with her daughter Jean, sitting on the front steps of Jean’s house (near what is now the Plaza Shopping Centre) and made herself known by asking “You no remember me, Missy Munro? How old is your Mary Ann? I be same age your Mary Ann”.

At one stage, Grandfather William and a mate took up a large parcel of land, south/east of Emerald towards Yamala. It would appear they took up the land simply by right of use at the time, with no deeds and no improvements done. They ran cattle, which they’d muster once or twice a year and bring into Emerald. They’d brand the cleanskins and send all the fats off to Lakes Creek. What was left were taken back across the river and let go. All the cattle would be back along Sandhurst Creek in no time. About 1901, all this land was surveyed into 2,500 acre blocks and then, in a drought in 1902, all the water dried up. With no way of getting water to their stock, all died and that put an end to Grandfather’s grazing exploits.

Grandfather William continued to be “the pumper” and Grandmother Mary Ann was midwife to many, delivering all but one of her daughter Mabel’s children. They continued to live in Emerald and raise their family. Though they may not have been a very dramatic family, nor particularly successful if measured in monetary terms, they did raise a large, close family of good citizens and appear to have lived a life of peace and respect. That is no mean epitaph for anyone.

© Cynthia Mooney