The Annual Brunette Downs Races Public Duty Once again the Tennant Creek Adult Division and St John Ambulance Service NT combined to provide First Aid and Ambulance coverage for the annual Brunette Downs Races.

Alice Springs Paramedic Bridget teamed up with Volunteers Darrin, Carolyn and me to provide coverage for the weekend’s events. We left Tennant Creek on Wednesday afternoon with the Alice Springs Bus and 4WD ambulance. Unfortunately, the ambulance suffered a mechanical failure and had to left at the Barkly Homestead. Knowing that it was vital for us to be present at the event, it was decided to continue on with the Bus only. Fortunately the Avon Police were told of our plight, so brought the Avon NTES vehicle, which is equipped as an ambulance, for our use. This proved invaluable and we pass on our thanks for its use.

We soon settled in the St John building now located at the race track. We were then joined by Pat, a Remote Area Nurse with Barkly Mobile. The team was soon providing clinic care to the many visitors attending the event. The weekend provided the usual challenges we have all come to expect from “Brunette” - long nights caring for casualties in freezing weather, intermingled with periods of relaxation and frivolity.

There were the usual interesting and challenging cases to deal with including a casualty who had been injured during the Rodeo. This case put a whole new meaning to “Pet Therapy”. The gentleman breeds snakes, mainly Black Headed Pythons. His pride and joy “Betsy”, who is heavily pregnant right now, normally never leaves his side. He would only allow us to treat him if he could have his snake with him.

Once we had established that the snake did not present a danger and its presence did not worry any of the team members, we all agreed that he could keep it with him. Of course this lead to a photo opportunity that we could not pass by. So with his consent we managed to obtain some rather different photos of us treating a casualty. He is one of very few people to have managed to breed this species of snake and is looking for support to continue his work, so was more than happy to have the photos published.

The weekend’s events were cut short by very heavy rains on Saturday night which turned the black soil plains of the Barkly Region into a sea of mud. Even though we were all concerned that things were looking pretty grim and there was a real possibility that we may be stranded for some time, after much consultation we decided we should try to drive the bus out. Luckily Carol had travelled with her husband Brian who had a well equipped four wheel drive vehicle. We were able to use Brian’s vehicle to assist the bus over the 12 km of muddy track back to the Barkly Stock route. We were all relieved when, after two hours the bus rolled onto sealed road. Brian’s car, being a bushfires vehicle, was equipped with a fire pump and tank so this was put to good use removing the mud from both vehicles before we all headed home for a well deserved rest. Our thanks to Brian for coming to our rescue.

Once going, “Brunette” did not fail to provide challenges to those attending. The weekend turned out to be an outstanding example of what a group of people can achieve when they work as a team.

The weekend provided several challenging and unexpected situations that fell outside what those attending a duty would normally have to deal with. The team’s tenacity and great sense of humour meant that St John was still able to provide full coverage for the events despite the numerous obstacles that had to be overcome.

Well Done Team!!!

Justin Hankinson
Divisional Superintendent
Tennant Creek Adult Division.