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Mildura Weekly - 15/1/10
www.milduraweekly.com.au
Stories from the outback
Origins of the Marree Man OUR Page One reference to the Marree Man in our story about outback publican Laurie Kalms last week certainly created some interest…and a bit of confusion, with many readers wanting to know the origins of the ‘Man.’ It was around 1995, and eccentric Adelaide Hills identity and artist Bardius Goldberg indicated to some close friends, including TV producer Glenn Adamus, that he wanted to do something to leave his mark on Earth before he died. Bardius was already wellknown in the Red Centre in the 80’s, doing some amazing things as a sculptor and artist – like the famous dot painting at Ipolera in the NT, and the 40ft green cross at Alice Springs. Friends taught him the basics of the GPS system, and Bardius told them later he had obtained $10,000 in sponsorship, and been given the use of an old ‘Cat D-6 dozer. Retired drilling contractor John Henderson later told the media he loaned Goldberg the GPS, and gave him 600 litres of diesel for the ‘Cat. Adamus told the media in 1998 that Goldberg phoned him two years before the Marree Man figure was discovered (in 1998), to tell him simply; “I’ve done the painting - I’ve left my mark on the Earth.” Around this time, Goldberg
had moved from Alice Springs to Hahndorf. He used his savings to buy 18 hectares of land on Kangaroo Island, and planned to plant thousands of eucalyptus trees in the shape of a giant kangaroo so that passing planes could see it. It was also reported that he bought a house in Snowtown, SA, and was planning to give the town a lift by secretly building a Virgin Mary into a wall and having it appear and disappear from time to time by plastering over it. Adamus said his eccentric friend had made and lost two fortunes in his 61 years. He died after getting into a fight with a younger man in a pub in 2002. One of his teeth got dislodged, he refused dental treatment and died from complications The Marree Man is more than 4km tall, and said to be 28km in circumference. Although now just a faint outline, there was a time when it could clearly be seen from space. Aboriginal groups and the State Government have resisted efforts to have Marree Man more clearly defined. The world’s largest geoglyph, it is etched into a huge sandy plateau about 20km from Marree, just outside the 200,000 square kilometre Woomera Rocket Range prohibited area.
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It was her final year of a medical course back home in Vienna. A 28-year-old with the world at her feet, starting with the Australian outback. She and her boyfriend planned their trip well… plenty of food and water, maps, and a 4WD. But when it got bogged, and they decided to walk to get help, it turned to tragedy. The Mildura Weekly’s ALAN ERSKINE has just returned from an outback trek to Marree, William Creek and Lake Eyre, and says that even with water, you just can’t walk 60km in our summer, and that’s why the young medico paid the ultimate price in what became…
Another lonely death in the SA outback • IN MEMORY: The memorial to medical student Caroline Grossmueller, 28, where she perished near Lake Eyre. It was erected by family and friends.
THE Australian outback around Marree, William Creek and Lake Eyre is a harsh, remote and unforgiving place in the fierce heat of summer. The mercury often peaks around 50 degrees Celsius – the record out here is said to be 61 degrees …there is little shade, water holes are almost non-existent, towns are few and far between, station properties are isolated, and basic first aid or medical facilities are a long, long way away. Even so, it’s relatively easy to survive if you follow the ‘rules.’ An estimated 80,000 people prove this by visiting the William Creek-Marree area of outback SA every year. You just need plenty of water and food, maps, basic safety equipment – and lots of common sense. That’s why some people around Marree and William Creek are still puzzled by the tragic story of the young female Austrian medical student who perished at Lake Eyre 10 years ago. Caroline Grossmueller was 28 when she and her travelling companion Karl Goeschka, 32, left the Wil-
liam Creek Hotel to travel the 70 kilometres to Lake Eyre as part of their Darwin to Cairns four-wheel drive holiday. The pair wanted to see as much of the Aussie outback as they could, traveling in one of the highly-recognisable and well-equipped Britz mobile homes, a converted Toyota fourwheel drive land cruiser. On December 7, 1999, and following the common practice in the outback, the couple ‘signed out’ in the William Creek hotel Search and Rescue book before leaving. They were told that if they hadn’t reported in by the next day, staff would “hit the panic button.” But an inquest later heard that the young man looking after the hotel for his father that day started a new book because he couldn’t find the normal one, and hadn’t told anyone about the travellers before leaving William Creek to return home to Horsham in Victoria. Caroline and Karl, meanwhile, travelled 10km out the Oodnadatta Track before turning off and driv-
ing the 60km along an isolated bush track to the Halligan Bay tourist shelter near Lake Eyre. Here, their 4WD became stuck in sand, and not being familiar with all capabilities of their camper, they were unsuccessful in their attempts to free the vehicle. The tourists were at a recognised bush camping area, where a large water tank provided hundreds of litres of water. Their van also carried 50 litres of water, they had plenty of fuel, and enough food to survive for weeks. Karl said later he and Caroline were confident the young man at the hotel would raise the alarm when they didn’t return, and that someone would come to their rescue. But after two days waiting at the banks of the dry salt lake, there was no sign of help. Caroline, a trained mountain walker, expressed concern to Karl that somehow they had been forgotten. She apparently told Karl they shouldn’t wait any longer, and they set off to walk the 60 kilometres back to the Oodnadatta Track. • Continued Page 13
Camels, an Aussie outback opportunity • From Page 9 He said the organisation pushing for this cull is Desert Knowledge, based in Alice Springs. “They produce wonderful and expensive desk top books, papers and reports,” Paddy says, “and now they have produced the ultimate ’bible,’ a very one- sided view of what they believe should be seen as a rural problem.” “It has cost them a million dollars, and in my view is an appalling publication littered with mistakes, inaccuracies, unproven assumptions and a whole lot of double
talk, pages of irrelevant information which has no bearing whatsoever on the camel. “The report is totally focused on justifying the cull, barely giving lip service to any alternatives such as the development of a commercial industry.” Paddy said the group demonstrated ‘lateral thinking’ when they “unbelievably” discussed the use of “camel pox” as a possible way of reducing camel numbers. “Now that’s a charming idea for a slow death,” he said. “Now they have a $20 million culling
campaign. Shooters will spend this money burning up fuel flying around the desert, having a wonderful time killing a few animals, but not making a dent in the camel population. In eight years they will have to spend many more millions doing the same thing. Paddy and others have suggested a better, longterm solution that will reduce the feral camel population, provide jobs for hundreds of people, and a huge new industry in catering and animal export. He says it’s a far better proposition than culling. “A big camel weighs
about a tonne. That’s a million tonnes of valuable meat left to rot in the sun… each camel probably has about 190 kg of carbon in its body. As it rots and absorbs oxygen, this carbon will increase into about 700 kg of carbon dioxide which will then dissipate into the atmosphere. “We are an arid land. Why don’t we farm an arid animal. Just in meat sales alone it could mean half a billion dollars in domestic and export earnings, and hundreds of jobs. These jobs, and income, is vitally important to the Aboriginal people.”