The Fruit-picker's Dream continued
Picking fruit sounds like a fun way to earn money; but it isn't easy
There were two pubs in Mundy (Mundubbera), both with pokies (slot machines). A classic example of addiction was a guy we knew as Souley who, being a gun (top) picker, could earn $1,000 a week and promptly blew most of it on his day off. Others were the same, leading us to believe that they had no intention of returning to their "loved" ones; using the excuse that they didn't have enough money yet. Needless to say, under those circumstances they never would; so there was no point in looking back. It was sad, really. They were in general a good bunch; but obviously preferred to be loners and free spirits.
Anyway, back to the picking. Except for a stint in Kumbia Queensland where the nectarine trees were small due to the fact that the boss liked picking; and being short himself he kept the trees pruned so that the fruit could be picked from the ground. In the main, though, most of the trees were tall and needed ladders to pick the tops. For some, tripod ladders were okay. These had two feet at the front with a swinging leg at the back which could be fed through the lower branches of the trunks making it possible to reach the fruit further in. Then there were the much bigger trees and these required climbing up bow ladders.
They were up to thirteen feet high and were curved like an archer's bow with two spiked feet spread far apart at the bottom and the rest of the ladder tapering considerably at the top. What about the leg to support them, we wondered? Not needed, as we were to discover. The routine was to pick up the ladder which wasn't too heavy because it was aluminium; take it to the tree; raise it a bit; slam the feet down onto the ground to drive the spikes in; then lower the curved top to rest comfortably against the tree. Then, up we went. Bear in mind that we were picking into canvas bags strapped to our shoulders and these held up to 20 kilos of fruit. So, when using bow ladders it was best to start at the top with an empty bag. A little concerned at first that even this was pretty risky; more so as our weight tended to push the ladder further into the foliage; but it would eventually contact a branch strong enough to prevent it and us going any further.
We soon got the hang of bow-ladder picking, and learned enough to start at the very top with an empty bag, filling it as we worked our way back down, taking extra care not to lean too far sideways. We came to this conclusion when I did just that causing one of the foot spikes to come out of the ground. The ladder spun on the remaining leg and it was only fortunate that I managed to hang on, stuck in the tree until Ruth straightened the ladder. We'd seen other pickers do the same, so it wasn't just our inexperience and no-one thought the worst of us. It did, however, prompt the comment: "That's nothing. Wait till you ride the wild pony."
We weren't in ignorance of this delight for too long. Many of the navel trees, as well as being huge were also quite old; and some of their branches had a tendency to break under weight; as I discovered when up the top of my bow ladder. Following a loud crack, a branch or two broke and there was I, riding the wild pony right into the middle of the tree; and not so gaily either! The ride stopped short of plunging me to the ground, I was tipped off the ladder to be left quaking and standing on one branch that luckily stayed intact. Not wishing to waste the opportunity, I noticed a mass of fruit before me that I would never have been able to pick from the outside of the tree; so I hurriedly stuffed it in my bag. Wrong move - I couldn't see anything below past the bulging bag in front of me and had to feel around with my feet as I wormed my way down. Needless to say I survived to pick another day, harbouring an eternal mistrust of bow ladders.
Eventually we returned to Western Australia where we continued picking for a further four years. In many instances machinery made it easier for us, learning to operate cherry pickers and fork-lifts; and again we thoroughly enjoyed this hard but simple life. As is the way, however, good things must come to an end and these times did. Poor health dictated an earlier retirement than we had originally planned and a more sedentary lifestyle took over. In a way it seemed meant-to-be. Thanks to our fruit-picking earnings which set us up to be financially comfortable we were able to start running this website. We now spend our days with me creating the content and Ruth scripting and loading it onto the Internet.
As for looking back we do this frequently, reminiscing over those good times on the road and the colourful people we met along the way, some of whom are friends we keep in touch with to this day. Needless to say, we do miss it; but adopting my mum's philosophy that a day past can never be taken away from you we can honestly say that we've led full, enjoyable lives. It may only have begun as a dream, but we turned it into a reality. No-one can ask for more.
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