The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The intention of the Yaraka newsletters is to allow our subscribers to have a continuing link with this place and the happenings. Many of our subscribers spend time here and Yaraka has a special place in their hearts.

Our last newsletter was about our celebrity emus and their fame and Yaraka becoming a subject of worldwide interest by the media.

It’s really not too difficult to find a happening here in Yaraka to write about now that debilitating Ross River Virus fingers are working again!

And now Yaraka has some more media attention and unfortunately, it’s bad and ugly. There have been some strange, unusual and unpleasant happenings going on here at the Yaraka Store and Post Office for the last couple of years. We the local residents, have attempted to deal with these events initially in humour; then covering up the verbal abuse, ignoring the annoyance and hoping things would change. The bottom line being we ‘swept things under the carpet’.

However, in the latter part of last month as ‘Seniors Week’ Celebrations were being held around Queensland our local Council sponsored a Seniors Dinner here at the hotel. One of the participants at this dinner was the Editor of ‘The Longreach Leader’. This newshound editor took little time to sniff out a story and the following edition of The Longreach Leader carried this frontpage headline;

‘ANCIENT SATANIC HATRED PRACTICED IN SHADOW OF STONEHENGE’.

It was a headline that attracted attention. The article went on to explain that Stonehenge in Queensland is so called after a stone hut built there and used as a stopping point for bullock teams in bygone days. But the true English Stonehenge has the distinction of having practiced witchery and sorcery and that Yaraka being in the ‘shadow’ of Stonehenge was sufficient for an eye grabber of a head line!

And yes, Yaraka actually does have a self – proclaimed witch who with her husband run and operate the Yaraka Store and the Post Office with both businesses under the same roof.
When this couple first arrived from South Australia they seemed to blend in well. I well remember a meeting happening at the hotel where she declared loudly, ‘I arrived here as a stranger and became part of a family’. And that statement summed up what Yaraka was all about then and now.

None of us are sure why or how the change happened but something upset them some time back. We residents were being told from neighbouring towns, which they would visit regularly, about what they were saying publicly and loudly about us; we were a terrible community and that we, the residents, were all very ignorant (the terrible community and the ignorant locals stories were also being relayed to tourists when they visited the shop. The tourists would come straight back to the hotel and tell us what they were saying!).
They were also telling all and sundry around the region that Yaraka had been destroyed and no travellers came to Yaraka any more.

We treated these statements with a sense of humour as we knew we were not a terrible community and the travellers were still arriving but there was perhaps a question mark over our ignorance. Ignorance is bliss and on most occasions we are a very blissful community.

After a while it became apparent to those listening to this ‘bad mouthing’ that it was not true and their credibility was dashed.

About this time verbal abuse started happening to any resident or tourist who queried mail deliveries or sought information or were to complain. If an unwise person argued back this caused loud abusive shouting matches. The venom became worse as they proclaimed, they were going to destroy the town and were really enjoying doing it and thrived on upsetting people and people were being told that she practiced witchcraft and had killed two people so far – true!

Some folk filmed and audio taped these happenings on their phones.

The hotel was getting horrible things said about it. I lost my sense of humour. Our Solicitor was briefed to send them a letter requesting that they desist in making defamatory and libellous statements otherwise we would sue. For a while it worked and then recently started up again.

This witch has been telling people she is putting death spells on me for some time. Fortunately I was diagnosed with Ross River Virus well before the death spells started so she can’t claim success over that sickness! If anything, the Ross River virus ailments seemed to improve as the death spells were cast!

So, we have this extraordinary situation whereby they control the Post Office and fuel supplies and are happy to voice their desire to see the Post Office (actually it’s an agency) closed down permanently and see the town destroyed. They have assisted in their goal of destruction by closing down the store.

They are not very skilled at what they are attempting as Yaraka is flourishing – other than the now closed store and postal agency operating for one hour twice a week!

I’m in no position to pass judgement but it would seem they may have some health issues. They claim to love upsetting the town folk and enjoy causing as much trouble and conflict as they attempt to destroy the place.

However, their behaviour is poisonous and it’s my belief they are ‘drinking’ their own poison. Their attitude and appearance would appear to reflect this. It’s certainly difficult to detect any joy, love or laughter in their lives but who am I to judge? They say they love and enjoy what they are doing so let their futile attempts continue.

But it is a major concern that the reliability of fuel cannot be guaranteed and it’s extremely annoying that there are issues with the mail.

But here, we still live in God’s Sanctuary where this wilderness region reflects peace and tranquillity and a glorious landscape.

It’s also interesting that we are described by them as ‘those Christians’, said, so we are told, with spittle flying and malice.

At times flies besiege and annoy us. At times mosquitos invade and bite us. At times sandflies infest us and the locusts and the insects, frogs and goannas. Then they all disappear but we know that at some time they will come back again.

However, one day this other irritation will disappear from this community and it will be safe to say they will never ever come back.