You know when the weather during the Great British Summertime decides to do what it usually does and blow an almighty gale and insist on pissing down with incessant rain to the point where you fear your chimney pots might blow off and your fence panels will end up in next doors garden? Yeah well that’s what I experienced in Marvel Loch on my second day. The wind was unrelenting, the rain…well…just rain…and the temperature, not so great either. This is not what I came to Australia for.
Saying all this though, it could’ve been worse; my donga could’ve burnt to the ground, taking my passport and all my valuables with it after I forgot to turn off the electric wall-mounted heater while me and my new little family went on a day trip to Merredin. But it didn’t, and for that I was grateful.
Despite the weather, we left for Merredin around 8am and drove for two hours in order to reach the place; a little place that locals would probably refer to as a “town”. I on the other hand would prefer to use the term “shithole”. As sarcasm is usually my ultimate strong point, believe me when I say that I am not being sarcastic about Merredin, it really is a shithole. When referring to the smallest of “towns” that have pretty much nothing going for them as “The Big Smoke”, I usually tinge my voice with sardonic tones; this time my whole notion was one of sardonicism.
Merredin is the closest town to Marvel Loch after Southern Cross (and has a huge Crystal Meth problem, allegedly), and despite having branches of Bank West, Commonwealth and Westpac, and despite having a Target, albeit the smallest Target known to man (if I needed clothes, this would literally be the only place to get any from), and despite having a huge IGA and a pretty decent cafe, there’s not really much else in Merredin. Oh no, wait, they have a $2 shop: a bit like the Poundshop back home but far worse. And, get this for false advertising – most of the stuff in there costs more than $2, all of it shite too! So it was wth great relief when we finally left the place after spending two hours there (two hours too long if you ask me), and headed back to the mining site.
In all honesty I was grateful for a trip out to discover what else was on offer in this part of WA. And even though it didn’t provide me with an ounce of satisfaction or the slightest desire to return, for those that live in Marvel Loch, visiting Merredin once a fortnight is probably the most excitement they’ll get – a form of light relief, a change of scenery, and some innocent entertainment.
It comes with great disappointment then when I admit that I actually forgot to take any photos of the place. I feel my written description does Merredin no justice and to see it through the medium of my excellent photography skills would’ve provided you with hours of delight; I can just picture your little faces now when you’re presented with a photo of a town that looks like it’s still stuck in 1895. I did manage to capture this one of a petrol station though, so every cloud and all that.
The rest of the day followed suit in a similar vain to what I imagine the rest of my time here will be like (although without the monsoon, I hope) – I started work at 5pm and finished at midnight. The shift was straightforward and if I’m being frank, I actually really enjoyed it. Even though I like to cynically slag things off every now and then (it makes things interesting, I promise), I can genuinely say that I don’t think my time in Marvel Loch will be a chore at all. The miners, on first impressions, are a complete hoot – they’re normal blokes who work away from home for two weeks at a time, often in arduous conditions, and at the end of the day they just want a bit of a drink and some innocent banter; if I can provide that and get some personal enjoyment out of it too, then being here, I reckon, is gonna be a lot of fun.
Here’s a picture of some rain to end with. Bet you never thought you’d see that in Australia?!
Chasing Amy-Lou 