The late Barbara Fox (see Post & Rails) wrote a book on her experiences as a nurse with BCA in Outback South Australia. The book was based on letters that she had written to a friend over her years with the Society. “At the time I did not maintain a diary, so the letters sparked memories of things I had forgotten. When Anne, who now lives in Canada, returned them to me in early 1999, I saw it as confirmation that God was prompting me to tell the story of my life with BCA and share it with my family and friends.” Here is an excerpt from her book Fox Tales from Far Flung Places…

One week that I described to Anne, began on a Sunday at 7am, when a young woman banged on the door, announcing, “This time it’s the real thing!”. She safely delivered a baby girl three hours later. The baby decided to air her lungs just as we were dozing off to sleep that night.

Monday was hot, around 102 degrees, and the north wind made it feel even hotter. Around 2.30, the wind came around to the south and the temperature began to cool down. I went to the post office and when I came out, there were huge clouds of dust to the north. I was warned to put on my skates, as we were in for a storm, and I didn’t waste time. It was a tremendous sight, really. Suddenly the wind changed and the dust was upon us. It didn’t just drift in. There was a terrific gale and the whole place shook. The lino lifted underneath our feet and dust swirled everywhere. Our power failed, so the ceiling fans went off and the new baby began to get hot. The gale was so strong it lifted the roof of the Ladies Rest House, vacated by the new mother the day before, and blew our ‘windproof’ iron incinerator lid 300 yards away. It also blew most of the roof off one of our sheds. Then it rained and the dust turned to mud. It rained and it poured until, by morning, Cook was like a lake with a few houses in the centre.

When it was all over, we swept out the whole place. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees, so I had to start putting clothes back on the baby. Maude had the Bible class and ended up sending one child home because of his behaviour. He shouted out “Bible Bashers” as he left and threatened to throw stones on the roof as he graciously departed. The rain must have dampened his enthusiasm! We tackled the ironing, until the iron fused. We weren’t able to use the kitchen sink, as the drains were blocked and unpleasant odours were wafting up. On Tuesday, we had to clean up the floors, which were covered in mud. As I was taking the baby to her mother for a feed, the baby had a cyanotic attack and went rigid. I sucked out a whole lot of rubbish and gave her oxygen, and she rallied round. I expressed the desire that she give a good yell and then made the mistake of putting her in my room for the night, so I could keep an eye on her. She yelled all night. Little wonder I was tired.

On the Wednesday I straightened things up, as the Department Health Inspector was due the next day. He arrived by plane the following morning, along with the pilot, John Lindridge, and a couple of guests. The inspection wasn’t as harrowing as I’d feared and everything was in order. It was a beautiful day so John took the group around Cook. They ended up walking back from the school, however, since our bomb of a car ground to an abrupt halt. We had it fixed but when I tried to start it the next afternoon, smoke poured out of the thing. It was such a bomb, but we were very glad to have it.