The two way radio crackled out the message that the flight that afternoon to Snake Bay from Darwin in the remote Northern Territory (NT) of Australia had been cancelled and the passengers had been re-allocated seats on the flight to Garden Point instead. Two of those passengers were my wife Denise and our six weeks old daughter Rebecca. Snake Bay was an indigenous community located on the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin. Whilst situated on ocean shores and encompassed by palm trees that made it appear idyllic it suffered from the same social problems that beset many remote Australian indigenous communities at that time. Yet despite these problems the local people were warm and friendly and we enjoyed living amongst them.

In 1974 the two way radio was the only method of communication with the outside world other than the mail service and was therefore our lifeline. Things like medical emergencies, conducting business and sending telegrams to family and friends were all done through that radio and we learnt to love it as we would a dear friend. On that day it had brought more challenges that made much of life on remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory in 1974 difficult.

It was unsettling to be unable to confirming Denise's booking on this different flight and know whether or not she would be on it or be left stranded in Darwin by another bureaucratic bungle so commonplace in NT in those days. How could she be confident that I had even received the message about the changed flight plans? Would she arrive at Garden Point with a small baby and no-one to meet her? These questions went through my mind as I began to think through ways to bring them home from our sister community about 60 miles away.

My problems were further compounded by the fact that my car had broken down that very morning and needed some parts from Darwin before it could be driven again. Knowing of my predicament one of the staff kindly offered me the use of his car but apologetically told me that while the car ran quite well all the side windows were jammed down and couldn't be closed. This meant that the notorious bull dust had easy access to the passengers. Around Snake Bay itself this didn't present much of a problem but on the open dirt roads of the day it was a significant issue.

It is difficult to comprehend what bull dust is like unless it has been personally experienced. In those days before many vehicles were air-conditioned it was the scourge of all who needed to drive on non-sealed roads. With a consistency roughly akin to fine talcum powder it permeated every part of one's being while driving. It was extremely uncomfortable when entering the eyes, nose and mouth in particular. Little wonder that an ice-cold beer was so welcome when finishing a trip over bull dust.

Then I pondered how our small baby might be affected by this awful dust. Rebecca had been taken to Darwin for treatment for severe eczema. Would this trip aggravate this condition? There were no car seats for babies in those days. How would she travel just being held by Denise? Worst of all, what would happen if the car broke down on the way? These were the challenges that confronted me that afternoon.

In the end I realised that I had to go for there was simply no realistic alternative to doing so.

After putting some sheets and towels to wrap around Rebecca in the car and ensuring I had plenty of water and extra petrol as well as my rifle I drove out of Snake Bay with some trepidation.

The trip to Garden Point was uneventful. I drove as carefully as possible trying to avoid as much of the bull dust as I could. As the journey continued I had a strong feeling of foreboding that things may not be so uneventful when making the return journey in the dark.

The plane circled the Garden Point airstrip as I arrived. It then landed and taxied to a stop and Denise disembarked with Rebecca in her arms. I was so relieved to see them both but was completely disarmed when Denise and the few folk at the airstrip burst into laughter at the sight of me. I wondered why they were laughing until one of the indigenous passengers told me that I looked like one of them. I was covered in bull dust from head to toe with my eyes peering out from between the dirt!!

The laughter soon left Denise's lips however when I explained what had happened and that Rebecca and her were now going to share the experience with me on the way home.

Dusk was falling as we wrapped Rebecca as protectively as possible and began the return trip to Snake Bay. I 'm not sure that I have ever driven more carefully than I did that night. Then it happened.

The car stopped dead. There was no warning as there is when there are engine problems. There were no steering difficulties as if there had been a blowout in the tyres. The headlights went out as the car just stopped. Because we weren't driving very fast we halted fairly quickly without harm to persons or vehicle. We realised that it would be too far to walk to either Garden Point or Snake Bay for help. We felt alone and somewhat afraid on this pitch black moonless night.

Feeling like that however wasn't going to get us moving again. With my rifle at the ready in case any wild animals were around I checked under the bonnet to discover that one of the battery leads was loose. Hopefully simply tightening it would be all that was required and with a push start we could be on our way.

Then came one of those moments that make a marriage special for we had different points of view as to whether we were on an upward or downward incline and hence would need to either push the car backwards or forwards to start it. Denise was certain that we were some way up an incline when we stopped while I was equally convinced that we were facing downwards. The discussion grew increasingly heated until we agreed that we would try my way first. I would push and Denise would drive.

I went to the back of the car to start pushing when Denise asked what she should do with Rebecca while she was driving. I suggested that I could hold her under one arm and push with the other. While this sounded all right in theory it didn't work in practice because I couldn't push hard enough to get sufficient speed up. In the end we padded her onto the back seat as best we could hoping that she wouldn't roll off when the car started (if it did). With both arms now free I pushed for all my worth and to our great relief the car started at the first attempt.

The remainder of the trip was wonderfully uneventful and we were not sure if we had seen a more welcome sight than the lights of campfires and kerosene lanterns of Snake Bay in the distance. The short walk to our front door and the knowledge that we were now home was exhilarating.

When we switched the lights on Denise let out a great scream for there was our baby covered completely in bull dust. Denise was to say later that it was in every orifice that it could have been in. The next little while was spent bathing washing and scrubbing Rebecca until she was spotlessly clean once more.

Yet one mystery remained. How was it (we pondered) that through all the drama of the night Rebecca had slept, seemingly oblivious to all that was going on around her?