Thursday, November 14, 2013

Vale Dugall Bell

Today I found out that a good friend of ours had passed away tragically in a house fire.  You can read about it here.  I first meet Dugall and his wife Elma when they lived on "Arizona" Station north of Julia Creek.  They had migrated from Scotland a few years prior and after spending some time living in Townsville they decided that they wanted to live on the land and become cattle producers, hence the move to "Arizona".
We got to know them through my in-laws and we spent many a night as guests in their home.  They were wonderful hosts and we had many "fine-dining" experiences with them over the years.  Elma had been a student of the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris and was an extremely talented cook.
Their son Jamie came to work for us as a jackaroo and stayed with us for quite a few years.  He was a "hard as nails" worker and we enjoyed the time that he worked for us.
Elma and Dugall eventually sold "Arizona" and bought "Jackton" at Kynuna.  They immediately changed the name of the property to "Angus Downs"….a very scottish name!  They stayed there for quite a few years before age caught up with them and they decided to move to a milder climate at Mulgowie.  We purchased "Angus Downs" from them.
 I will always remember the "boozy" lunches that we had at "Angus Downs" and then the long nap in the afternoon before starting all over again that evening.  Dugall always awoke after his nap and because it was usually so damned hot he donned a sarong…... and nothing else!  I remember feeling so embarrassed the first time I saw him in this attire,  but I have to tell you he wore it so well!
I have so many fond memories of Elma and Dugall.  It is hard to believe that they have now both passed on and my deepest sympathies are with their children Victoria and Jamie.

No comments:

Post a Comment