Heavenly Beverley : An Excellent Port Hedland Sojourn

We arrived in Port Hedland on Tuesday from the backblocks. I'd driven the last hundred kilometres from the south but decided to pull over at the visitors' information bay. Just viewing the modern interchanges and overpass was enough to give me the willies. I had no experience of pulling Digger into Civilisation. And I certainly wasn't going to attempt pointing our vehicle and caravan onto unfamiliar transport networks.

So Michael performed the honours of delivering us safely to the Cooke Point caravan park. By this stage, having been in the environs of Hedland for all of half an hour, we began using a catchcry that would be repeated frequently for the duration of our stay..."Wow! That's changed!"

Port Hedland surpassed all of our expectations. The frontier town of the seventies and the red and dusty less than attractive town of the nineties had diminished, whilst still leaving fond echoes of the bygone eras. The town had become bold and proud and surprisingly beautiful. There was an air of permanence and stability that had not been evident when both of us had last been here.

There were families with children everywhere. Every second young woman appeared to be pregnant. And families were present everywhere we went. On the foreshore in one of the lovely parks, in the cafes, at the markets and last night at the official opening of the Courthouse Gallery.

We have met so many residents, long term and newer, who are all promoting the town in a positive light. Julie, the Volunteer of the Year at the Dalgety House Museum. Jess at Beard and Shears who turned Michael from a country hick into a remarkably presentable and handsome artist about town. Katie at the Visitors Centre who sparked our interest to have a really good look at Port Hedland. Katie at the Courthouse Gallery who entertained us amongst the chaos of last-minute renovations just prior to the opening of its inaugural exhibition, titled "Bloom". Nicole at Spinifex Hill Gallery who allowed us full rein to wander around when she probably was ready to lock up late on a Friday afternoon. And Kira from PHYSIOlogical who took us both In-Hand, apologised profusely as I repeatedly squirmed and shrieked, and unknotted our locked muscles with two spectacular deep tissue massages.

Whilst Michael was being whipped into shape, in the nicest possible way, I explored the very interesting Port Walk, the whizz-bang Esplanade Hotel and the extraordinary Hedland Emporium. A trip inside the Emporium was a trip back in time to the glorious department stores of the past, that stocked everything from furniture to bath plugs. When we later returned, we were able to replace Michael's decimated padded flannelette jacket with a brand spanking new one.

Michael spent his alone time revisiting his brother Darryl's houses - 157 Anderson Street and 6 Bell Street. He also paid tribute to the Seafarers Cemetery and took more photographs of the Dalgety House Museum. Plus he worked out where the old hospital had stood, a few dilapidated buildings all that was left. Forty years seemed to have passed in a blink of an eye.

Following my session in Kira's holistic torture chamber, I felt rather light-headed and much looser of body. I decided to adjourn to the Esplanade for a glass of vino. Michael tracked me down and we shared a delicious lunch.

We had wanted to view the Spinifex Hill Gallery, located in South Hedland. Both of us had less than happy memories of the place - mostly involving getting lost and this time was no exception. A kindly local guided us to the front door. At four o'clock on a Friday afternoon, Nicole was gearing up to close the doors after she finished priming a few canvases for the artists. Plus she was attending the Courthouse Gallery opening later and wished to change out of her paint-spattered work gear. She allowed us to wander about and we eventually bought a couple of very interesting books. We also discovered the location of Lucky and Jude's house, their home for fifteen years. 76 Bottlebrush Court was still there...

Our last evening was spent at the Courthouse Gallery grand opening and the launch of the "Bloom" exhibition. Locals rubbed shoulders with gatecrashers from all over the country. Once more, there were kids everywhere and they were well behaved and well-tolerated.

All in all, our Port Hedland stay was an adventure down Memory Lane. We were able to piece together reminiscences as well as admiring what Port Hedland had become. The ugly duckling of the Pilbara is unfurling her wings and blossoming like a Desert Rose.