Heavenly Beverley : Humans of Marble Bar

We farewelled Marble Bar two days ago. In my excitement at the bright lights and other attractions of Port Hedland, my final Marble Bar post almost was lost in the ether. However, in a few brief windows today (why is the caravanning life still very busy?!) I will attempt to produce a coherent post regarding Marble Bar and her humans.

"Manners maketh the man" is a reasonably famous quote by some bloke named William Horman whose works were published in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In Marble Bar, the humans maketh the town. Over an eventful five days, we met a variety of residents, some very colourful but all worth knowing. Marble Bar really is a place that people want to be. Otherwise, they would go elsewhere. Don't misunderstand me, Marble Bar and her surroundings are starkly and stunningly beautiful. And the town's War Memorial park is a haven of soft green and relative cool, somewhere to contemplate one's navel or play on the equipment or throw a ball for our dog. Which we did.

The Marble Bar Holiday Park was busy with travellers who wanted to be there. Some used the caravan park as a handy stopover on their way to elsewhere. Some, like us, just wanted to stop for a while and revel in the warm days and cool nights, with enough time to wander hither and yonder. Others were there on a more semi-permanent basis.

Pat, a familiar chap whom I have also seen in Beverley, is currently frequenting the caravan park. As the companion of a schoolteacher, who spent three years in Marble Bar and now resident (for how long?) in Beverley again, he would prefer her make up her mind where she wants to live before becoming a more permanent part of her life. Wise chap perhaps?

Nick, the local copper who had been head at the Marble Bar police station for two years enjoys regional and remote postings. Son-in-law Shaun was able to fix the puncture on our tyre and then popped up again being a garbo in the caravan park. His wife Kara works at Travellers Rest Roadhouse as required as does Christine, married to Bruce who runs the caravan park.

Local Legend and Volunteer Extraordinaire Margaret still operates the Marble Bar Visitors' Centre. Last year, we shared the excitement of a northwest earthquake together. This year, she bought three of Michael's world-famous redback spider fridge magnets from us. Make sure to pop in and chat to Margaret when coming to Marble Bar.

Nurse and ambo Adrienne is on the council when she is not attending to patients at the Nursing Post or scraping a Beverley Hillbilly off the pavement outside the Community Resource Centre. Other nurse Brian enjoys a spot of pool or snooker (which is which) at the Ironclad of an evening. Cheryl manages the Ironclad with the help of a charming French backpacker (forgotten her name!) whilst Sheryl works at the General Store, bakery and post office.

Isaiah and big brother flashed enormous smiles at the General Store when I asked if I might photograph them. Posing with gusto, I was struck by their easy and confident manner.

Travel Writer to the Stars, Stephen Scourfield and his wife Virginia Ward were kind enough to acknowledge our greetings at "The Bar". Away from the Big Smoke with friends, I am sure that Stephen and his party may not have been thrilled to be bailed up by a starry-eyed Gallery front-of-house, but they engaged in our conversation anyway. Two days running!

Shire staff Chloe and Lisa came running when I attempted to do the Watusi Quickstep in the pike position. These young women were a godsend for an upended Beverley Hillbilly and stayed with Michael and me until the ambos arrived. The following morning the path was being fixed, under Lisa's watchful eye. And they submitted a full incident statement to the letter.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a summary of just some of the Humans of Marble Bar. A snippet of around six hundred and fifty. We shared brief glimpses of others - a young girl having a baby in another two weeks, the young copper who needed guidance about which Cheryl/Sheryl to deposit the station's money, Bruce and sidekick Geoff roaring around on their quadbike at the caravan park and a happy group of friends who came to camp together on the Port Hedland Race Day long weekend.

Even though the races themselves were cancelled...