Inarrabri

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Feature
Dennis Lowder - Wee Waa
“You had to register for National Service
when you turned twenty, which I did.
I registered and got notice I was being called
up and I went for a quick trip over to New
Zealand. Because of that I missed the first call
up to go in so I went in on the next one. They
didn’t miss me, they still got me.
Anyway, it was a pretty memorable two years
of my life, the army. I ended up in Vietnam
after near twelve months in Australia in
various parts. Singleton, Puckapunyal, up
in Brisbane and then went oversees for ten
months.
Before I went in the army I was working for
my father doing a mail run which I did for
four years after I left school. As soon as I
came back I started driving the school bus
and I did the same run for thirty eight years.
Spring Plains way. Just about on to the third
generation of school kids coming on the bus.
Dad started picking school kids up about
1957, in a car. One thing led to another and
ended up with Volkswagen Kombis. 1960, I
think it was, he bought his first bus.
I got out of the army and went working for
him and eventually ended up part of the
business.
In 2012, there was myself and three other
guys I was in Vietnam with, plus our wives
and partners, went back over there to have
a look about to see what changes had been
made forty years later. Where our camp was
at Vung Tau, there’s nothing recognisable. It
was right on the beach and it’s all four and
five star hotels now. Very touristy. And cheap.
I took over running Anzac Day from Jim
Haire and he left the ground work for me
which I still follow. Everything that’s done for
every service I keep here in a book so I know
what’s been done, where I’m up to and who’s
turn it is to do what and all the rest of it. I’ve
been doing it now since ninety six, I think it
is. It’s one of those jobs that once you’ve got it
you’ve got it for life. And maybe longer.
Life’s been good in general but one of the
things that was a big change in my life was
doing National Service. The people that I met
when I was in the army, they are still life long
friends and we have reunions now and again.
Quite often they’ll come through and stay
with me or I’ll go and visit them. I think that
was the biggest influence on my life. It gave
me a couple of years to see and do things I
probably would never have done otherwise.
I came back and started to have a family and
that put the brakes on for a while.
We have twenty five members at the Men’s
Shed and ten or twelve turn up every day
which is pretty good for a town like this.
We’ve just got a new computer down there.
Opened up a facebook page on it but no one
really knows how to do it. Put a few things
on there we’ve got for sale. We got a grant so
we got this you-beaut computer. Someone
will eventually learn how to drive it.”
photo: John Burgess
Words & Photography by Namoi based
professional photographer, John Burgess.
To contact John, phone 0423 690 586 or via Humans of the Namoi
14 | iNarrabri Magazine | October 2016