Search for Missing Rhoda

Chapter 1

The semi-crippled owner of the 183,600-acre cattle spread, Matilda-Eyre Station, in nor-western South Australia, Ritchie Rogers, called for a meeting of all 22 employees at 11.30 am that day to hear about changes to the running of the huge station (ranch), that covered just over 287 square miles of principally semi-arid land.

The mainly males arrived under the spreading canopy to the smell the two side of beef cooking on the huge barbecue and noticed the refrigerated 15 litre keg of beer ready for serving from, indicating that lunch plus refreshment would be available at the end of the meeting.

Good old Ritchie was acknowledged in appreciative mutterings.

White bearded Ritchie began: "I'm off to hospital tomorrow for treatment. As you all know, I have the Big C. As it has spread, I'm riddle with it around my organs and therefore don't anticipate being back here this side of my funeral."

There were groans of dismay and supportive cries.

"As you all know, my late paternal grandfather Samuel, established this spread and then my father Luke ran it for 32 years before he retired to Melbourne. I then took over at the age of 22 and four years later my active life was cut short, together with my chances of fathering children. A semi-wild bull approaching 4000 lb, took an immense dislike to me, flattened the horse I was riding and then horned and rolled me and left me near dead."

"Thanks to good guys and ladies like you lot, I was able to continue to hold the reins. Fortunately for the perpetuation of ownership, there is a successor to assume command from me. In retirement, my father sired a child from his younger third wife and so... well, allow me to introduce you to your new boss who, incidentally is the Australian-born."

"Come out, Rhoda."

Everyone had probably expected a see a swarthy-looking guy. Instead, the person who came out was a good-looking female.

There was a buzz of reaction from many in the gathering.

"Hi everyone. I'm Rhoda Rogers, age 28, the daughter of Ritchie's father and his third wife, who drowned in a boating accident eighteen months ago. She was my mother, Nicoletta Lambadi, the eldest child of Melbourne-born immigrants from Italy. I looked after the beef cows and their calves on my maternal parent's mainly cropping farm in north-west Victoria and for the last four years before they sold their farm, I managed it. I hold a Bachelor of Agriculture degree with Honours from Melbourne University."

Through the murmuring of approval, Rhoda clearly heard one comment, "With a degree in ag and farm management experience, she mightn't be entirely hopeless here."

Someone else called, "How do you go at disciplining stubborn men who are reluctant to take orders from a female, Rhoda?"

"I believe I'll do okay, but I'm not here to be tested today. That's sufficient introduction. Over drinks before lunch, I invite you to come up singularly or in pairs to say hi and introduce yourselves."

"Squawk, squawk, you are chicken if you don't try to discipline me," called the interjector.

"Omigod, there's always one smart-arse in every group of men. Very well Dumbo, come out to the front and attempt to wrestle with me. I trust that you have medical care insurance."

The wiry guy came to the front.

"Don't take him on, Rhoda," called the homestead manager, a motherly matron. "Smithy is a keen brawler and is this district's champion arm-wrestler."

Smithy walked forward to meet Rhoda, head-on, unexpectedly throwing a punch at her jaw. She ducked, it whistled over her shoulder. She grabbed that arm, dropped to the ground and pulled him at the same time. Smithy went flying over her, landed on his back and was partly winded.

Still retaining her grip, Rhoda rose and planted her right-hand new 'dress' cowboy boot on the side of his neck and pulled.

Smithy screamed "I submit, sorry, I submit boss."

Rhoda pulled Smithy to his feet, dusted the dirt from the bard ground from his back, turned him and propelled him forward with a boot to the arse.

Smithy turned and snarled. "I'm out of here within the hour with my termination pay in full in my hand or else."

Rhoda smiled and said pleasantly, "Smithy, leave right now without termination pay and without anyone driving you anywhere. You can take me to court seeking your rightful termination pay and listen in glee as I'm fined a piddling amount for breaching employment law plus the order to pay you out fully and failing in your bid seeking damages."

"Alternatively, you may stay, spending the first month on probation and then with no display of bad behaviour during that period, your disciplinary punishment will be over. But before probation can commence, I need your promise me that you'll never strike at a female again. I caught you by surprise, Smithy, because you assumed you were facing a pussy."

"And there it is, backdown and give me that promise or leave. The choice is yours. I hope you'll stay because at least you have get-up-a-go which I require from my stockmen in this harsh territory."

"Stay, Smithy," called two or three men and then two females also urged him to stay.

"Boss, I apologise for being a stupid jerk. I'm aware that you could have put me into hospital with that neck hold you had on me just by applying a little bit more pressure. You have my loyalty and I promise to remember to never hit a female. And guys, you witnessed her in action; Rhoda is no pussy."

"Well, after that wee speech Smithy, you may stay and the requirement of being on probation is hereby revoked. Just be your natural cheeky but nice self."

"Ritchie, join Smithy and me and that lovely lady who warned me not to take on Smithy, for a beer but I'll have red wine please, and introduce those two properly to me. Guys and gals, grab a drink while waiting for lunch to be ready for serving."

With lunch well underway, Rhoda stood and thanked everyone for making her welcome.

She was aware that the station had its own aircraft, a four-seat Piper, and said she was a registered pilot and would fly Ritchie to hospital in Adelaide next day. Martha Day, the homestead manager who was also the station's nurse, would accompany them. Ritchie had also invited the station's mechanic Stan Ludlow, who looked after all machinery and vehicles as well as servicing the aircraft, to go with them.

Rhoda said it was long-employed people there such as Martha and Stan that she'd most rely upon to get her up to speed in her new role as station manager."

"For the next month, I'll mainly watch and listen as everyone goes about their work, to learn what is being done, and why. I need to gain that background before I begin making any major adjustment to what we do around here and of course, it will take a full year before I know about everything, including cropping and ever longer to learn the measures that have to be taken in years of bad drought."

"I'm very conscious that the farm that I managed in Victoria could almost fit entirely in our horse paddock here. Thank you."

That earned Rhoda warm applause and the station's farm manager, Mick Street, expressed a warm welcome to Rhoda and he believed all would welcome her conservative approach to change.

* * *

A week after Rhoda's arrival, Martha the housekeeper greeted a visitor and took him to the office to meet Rhoda.

"God almighty," the visitor said in shock. "I heard that the new boss of Matilda-Eyre Station Ritchie's father's late-in-life daughter had arrived recently to take over the running of the entire outfit. But you are so young, and if I may say so, you're so beautiful."

"Oh, Mr Reid, the natural lighting is poor in this office. And age is relative, especially when I'm 49 years younger that Ritchie, my half step-brother."

"Wow, Rhoda, what an age-gap. Look, we are your nearest neighbours, thirty-eight miles separating our farm houses, please call me Austin and you'll soon meet my much younger wife Peggy and she hopes that that you and she will quickly become pals because she feels isolated out here."

"Fine, Austin, you're my first visitor since my arrival," Rhoda said, kissing him on the cheek. I'm aware that with this deadly virus sweeping the world has reached Australia, and that travel and the general movement of people in their daily lives will be curtailed severely to halt the continuing impact of the virus if it's impact gets worse and soon visitors here may become a rarity ."

"I welcome the promise of having good company with a female tomorrow who's the same age as me, which is 36, and who dines formally in a dress at home on Saturday night and for Sunday lunch. I can imagine the culture she misses from Perth City where she used to reside."

Grinning, Austin said, "Christ, you know much about us already."

"And perhaps a little more, Austin. Yesterday I flew over our neighbouring spreads with Martha Day as my only passenger to tell me what she knew as we flew over the five extensive properties."

"Martha Day, for heaven's sake, she's the biggest gossip in possibly 500 square miles of this location."

"Oh, really, Austin. I wonder if that was my reason for taking her with me on my reconnaissance flight instead of my knowledgeable stock manager or head stockman?"

Austin shook his head and said in admiration, "Strewth Rhoda, it really is true what people around here are saying, that you're no pussy. Please hand me a piece of plain paper and I draw a picture of where our landing strip is in relation to our farmhouse and out buildings."

"There's no need, I already have that information in memory. A light SSE wind is expected to continue all week and I noted the location of your two wind sockets at the strip."

Austin sighed and said, "I need to lighten up and know that women are sure not like they used to be."

His next comment really interested Rhoda.

"Actually, I'm well aware of the high-performance of some females, being married to one, and now meeting another."

She smiled and said, "Smoking is banned within this house. But I'll sit with you on the veranda. Beer or red wine?"

"Christ, Rhoda, it's only 10.40."

"You don't strike me as a stickler for convention, my friendly neighbour. After all, your second wife is almost young enough to be your daughter."

He laughed and said a tinny (can of beer) would go down nicely.

* * *

Rhoda radioed from her plane to the Reid's One Tree Hill cattle station that she would land on time.

"Hi, it's Austin, parked on the side of the landing strip with Peggy and confirming that the light wind is from the SSE. Great morning for flying. I'll be assessing your landing. Over and out."

The two females greeted each other with a hug and the female who'd boarded the aircraft shouted competing with the idling aircraft engine, "Omigod, you not only can win a punch-up and look stunning but you sure can fly a plane. Confirming, I'm Peggy Reid," said the striking redhead and put on her helmet incorporating a communications headset.

"What did your husband say about my flying?"

Peggy said, "Shit, that sexy babe put that Piper down as if she was landing on cotton-wool. She's probably a better flying than me, and is streets ahead of you."

"You'll learn to fly great, and I'll help you, Peggy. We'll talk about that after we land. Please point out landmarks and other places of interest as we journey. Now I'll need to concentrate as I aim to take off in the available landing strip that's left rather than turn and go back to turn and have maximum the benefit of the full length of strip. We have no other passengers and carry no freight, otherwise I'd have to use the full strip."

"Austin will have kittens."

"Just tell him what I just said to you, if he raises any concern when you next speak to him."

They waited almost a minute with the engine at high revs and suddenly Rhoda released the brakes, the Piper lurched forward, the revs increased and in what seemed a very short distance they left the grass strip.

"Crikey," Peggy said excitedly. "I've never experienced, or even seen, a fixed-wing take-off in such a short distance. How did you do it?"

"We have less that maximum fuel aboard, and as I said earlier, we have only two of the four seats occupied which has really reduced weight loading. I waited until I saw the wind socket ahead of us indicate it had been hit with a gust of wind coming from behind us that would maximise lift and I took to the air, deeming it safe to do so."

"Omigod, I'll welcome you tutoring me as I'm still wallowing in my initial training tuition as a pilot. Austin has the skills to tutor but certainly doesn't have the sensitivity and patience to tutor me effectively."

"No, I'll not offer you any guidance training until you become a preliminary licensed pilot, darling. However, observe what I'm doing and when we return from Adelaide, I'll allow you to fly this aircraft."

"Oh, goodness no, I can't. My training has been done in a Cessna."

"If you are progressing well darling, you'll take to flying an unfamiliar aircraft like a duck taking to water on an unfamiliar pond."

"Um, thanks for that, but why are you calling me darling?"

"Don't be nervous, darling. I don't have sex with women. I just feel that we're becoming great friends, and actually that's necessary and that's not only because of our residential remoteness. It's because we appear to be spiritual compatible, mutually fighting our way to be achieve greater relevance in a male-dominated rural world."

"Wow, darling," Peggy said, and pointed out to the far east a hill that was on their boundary with the Murphy brother's property. "Is there anything else in your mind that makes us compatible?"

"Possibly. Do you wish me to teach Austin how to have sex to provide you with greater enjoyment?"

"Omigod, Rhoda," Peggy laughed, rolling within the restraints of her safety seat harness. "Kindred souls we definitely are. None of my girlfriends and not even my mother had ever thought of asking me that question. You obviously must be brimful of great training ideas."

Chapter 2

Ten days after returning from Adelaide with 12 shopping bags packed with new clothing for herself, none of which contained useful farm clothing, Rhoda went out on one of the farm bikes late afternoon. She told Stan the station's mechanic she was out to enjoy an exhilarating motorbike riding in the wide-open spaces, and doing some wheelies.

She was off with a wave, acknowledging she'd heard Stan warn her to take care and particularly keep a look out for rogue bulls.

A dinner time, Martha noticed Rhoda wasn't around and so she called the bunkhouse where many of the men would be having a beer before chow and inquired had anyone seen her. Stan came to the phone and reported he'd waved her off on a recreational dirt-bike ride about 3.30 and that in all probability she'd was out of cell phone range and she hadn't been wearing a radio phone kit strapped to her back.

Martha acted without wasting time calling the farm manager or head stockman to recommending they send out a search party.

"What's the maximum distance she could be from here, Stan?"

"Dunno as it's difficult to tell. Conceivably, she could be 30 miles away. She moved out to the NNE.

"Get Digger to the phone quickly."

One of the foremen came to the phone,

"Hi Martha, you think she's lost."

"Who knows. Digger. Get eight men working in twos right now fanning out in a nor-east direction looking for tracks and for her. They'll spot fresh wheel tracks which they get out far enough."

"I can't do that without the authority of one of the bosses."

"Digger, she's the head boss and I'm doing what she'd want me to do. And if those eight are not off they bums in 30 seconds racing for a horse of a vehicle, I'll have your testicles for breakfast, do you hear me."

"Loud and clear, Digger yelped and cut the call.

She stood on the back veranda, fingers crossed, and spotted seven guys and a female running towards the vehicle sheds or the stables.

She then noticed another guy, it was Smithy, running from the aircraft hangar pulling on night goggles and pushing them back up to his forehead. Martha wondered was the fuck was he doing. She later saw him drive off in the station manager's Land Rover and that registered with her as a definite no-no." s

"Omigod, Smithy is aiming to be out all night searching if necessary," said out aloud and called Mick Street and said a full search was under way and why.

"Christ, it will be dark in two hours. Tell me what were your search instructions?"

She told him, and Mick said, "She took a nor-east direction you say."

"Yes, Stan saw her take off."

"Well, I can't think of any reason she might divert from that direction and if her bike is disabled, I reckon she would have the sense to stay with it as her wheel tracks would lead to that spot. You acted magnificently Martha, snipping at least 10 minutes off search activation had I been contacted and gone down to the bunkhouse to get full information before getting the search underway."

"I'm calling Austin Reid to get up in the air with Peggy as his spotter on her side of the aircraft and ask him to get a couple of his pilot pals around her to join the search area. Then I'll go up to Biggin's Hills to maximum radio coverage and act as search controller and alert local search and rescue HQ."

"Oh, I noticed Smithy joining the search after grabbing night glasses from the hangar and he's taken your vehicle, I reckon because its accessory lighting includes a railing of spot lights plus that search light on top of the cab."

"Fuck, but who said Smithy is brainless? Grab a vehicle for me Martha and bring it to the house."

"Aye, aye, sir."

He laughed and cut the call.

Over the next couple of hours, 'near' neighbours up to 100 miles away began arriving, because that was what Aussies in isolated communities do when searches are on for a missing person who is deemed 'one of their own" even if they'd never met him or them.

Many of the arriving males had adequate clothing and gear to join the search at daylight and females came with provisions to provide their contributions for food and drink for an expected crowd gathered at search headquarters.

Search HQ 180 miles away would have announced the search for missing person at Matilda-Eyre was underway

Almost all of those arriving wouldn't know Rhoda and hadn't even seen her in the distance. But women would know about Rhoda Stewart because of 'bush telegraph', known these days as telephone gossip or social media networking.

Mick didn't have to advise Martha that she was in charge of everything at HQ as everyone at the station knew that from once a month compulsory attendance of everyone on the station's payroll to listen to a 30-minute revision relating to emergency situations covering the station and its wider district.

Nearing nightfall, three aircraft involved in the search flew over the HQ in formation, the pilots dipping their aircraft's left wing to indicate the news were already known at ground HQ.

Rhoda had not been found, dead or alive.

The sombre mood at HQ lifted when Mick arrived back from Biggin's Hill and announced brightly, "Where's my beer."

Several guys joined the scrum rushing to get him a cold tinnie.

Martha, despite having plenty of female helpers, personally took Mick's barbecued steak and potato and salad additions to the plate. Mick's wife Shona without being asked, took the plate from Martha to allow Mick to hug and kiss her and to say loudly, "Well done Martha for triggering the search immaculately and presiding here at HQ."

He then raised his can of beer and said, "Cheers every one and thanks for being here and for god sake, be cheerful. Rhoda will be found, probably not even injured. I believe that, absolutely. And my thanks to our competent search teams. Is not their fault that they didn't find Rhoda in the first sortie because it one hell of a huge patch of territory out there."