Open Features: Getting Into Hot Water
Astra Warren says that the getting of hot water on Australian bush stations is a miracle of ingenuity. "Basic component is the ubiquitous 44-gallon drum, sealedand lying on its side on a raised frame with space underneath to feed the fire with old fence posts. It is amazingly efficient despite the Heath Robinson tangle of soot-encrusted pipes and a tendency to thump and vibrate in an alarming manner when the water gets really hot...''
Astra worked as a governess on a remote station. This is the tenth in a series of broadcasts she made for ABC radio recounting her vivid experiences. The talks are available on CD. Contact Astra at astrawarren@yahoo.com.au
Suburban dwellers take certain luxuries for granted, like hot water for instance. Whether heated by electricity, gas or solar power - turn the tap and out gushes a stream of steaming water. In many outback places the getting of hot water is a labour intensive process that makes you really value the end result.
Of course there may be an artesian bore with a pipe to the
homestead. A creaking windmill summons hot, sulphur-smelling water from underground where it has lain for millenia, saturated with enough chemicals to etch the surface off tiles or flake skin if you stay under long enough. In any case it leaves a distinct odour on the skin that defeats any attempts with talc or body lotion to mask it. It does generate a healthy tingle though. In some parts of the world, its real or imagined therapeutic properties would be capitalised on as a spa resort with tourists flocking in to take a health cure.
But on most stations, the getting of hot water is a miracle of bush ingenuity. Basic component is the ubiquitous 44-gallon drum, sealed and lying on its side on a raised frame with space underneath to feed the fire with old fence posts. It is amazingly efficient despite the Heath Robinson tangle of soot-encrusted pipes and a tendency to thump and vibrate in an alarming manner when the water gets really hot.
The firelighting chore is usually assigned to the ankle-biters. But occasionally, absorbed in their own pastimes, they forget their responsibilities until the declining sun warns them of the passage of time and the imminence of parental wrath, as hard-working adults come in tired and aching to find only cold water in the pipes.
General panic sets in as the frantic children blunder around trying to create an instant firestorm with thick pieces of wood and reckless applications of old diesel oil which only produces clouds of billowing black smoke.
It is now that an astute and sneaky governess with superior fire- lighting skills and a cunningly concealed pile of dry kindling can trade off a rescue package against a promise to do extra reading or finishing an assignment.
The ability to heat water can become a powerful weapon to prevent getting into hot water! Or as we all know, old age and cunning will defeat youth and energy any day.
