Power to the people

By Serena Shaddick ·  3 min read · From Video postcards

Those living in cities and large towns don't even think about it. Why would they? For them it's a non issue because it's just always there and if it isn't, then someone else will sort it out.

But for people living on the land and in the bush it's not that effortless. It's a constant concern. I'm talking about power!

Country people are practical people and when the power went out during one of my workshops on a station property this week it wasn't a huge surprise or a huge deal to the farming women who were attending. It was simply a matter of heading outside to the 'engine room' and powering up the generator.

Around here almost every farming family and pastoral operation has their own generator. It's a necessity really. Power fluctuations and outages are a regular occurrence on a farm, regardless of the weather. Just because the sun is shining and there isn't a thundercloud or bolt of lightning in sight doesn't mean you'll automatically have power. Dust on the power lines, fallen trees, loose wires or even just general wear and tear can all contribute to outages. In fact, living on a farm you even have to read your own power meter!

The Esperance Goldfields region is huge and there's a whole lot of wire and power poles linking all of us together. There is just no way the power workers can service and repair everything straight away. To keep freezers frozen, food fresh, welders wielding, water pumps pumping, kettles boiled and computers running - an alternative source of energy is a must.

When I used to live on a farm I found the disruptions to power very frustrating and all too frequent. So frequent that I had the power company's fault report number on speed dial on my mobile phone (mind you I had to go outside and stand in a certain position in order to get reception with my mobile - but that's an entirely different story).

At the start we didn't have a generator, so whole days planned to work on the computer, use the washing machine or to cook a casserole in the oven were turned upside down. Often it felt like I was camping.

The day we got a generator I did a little dance around the engine (rubbish) room. The generator was shiny red and smelled like a fuel depot. Start her up and the loud noise, along with the dust and fumes, made it feel like sitting sidetrack at the Speedway. Never before would I have thought that simply having access to 'power' could make me so happy! Living on the land you soon learn your priorities. Power meant freedom. Freedom to plan my days and complete my scheduled tasks with the aid of modern appliances.

I really love the above photo which was taken at the workshop this week. Check out the numerous power cords linking all the computers, laptops, notebooks and iPads. (Admittedly, when the power went out we thought it was because we had overloaded the power boards - but we hadn't, it was just one of those 'things'.) To me this photo symbolizes all that is great, but also not so great about living in a rural and regional area at this moment in time.

These days we have access to awesome technology, software and information that past generations could only have dreamed about and the best thing is that you don't have to be a millionaire in order to utilise it. Regardless of where we are in the world, we are able to communicate unlike ever before and ABC Open is a great example of this.

Nowadays those living in the country are able to participate and contribute in media projects just like their city cousins have previously been doing for years. But regardless of how brilliant this new technology is, it still comes with limitations. For example our upload and download speeds in this region are really quite dismal. We may have access to this fandangled new techno stuff, but we still require the infrastructure - like reliable power, service support and the people to help show us how to use it. Is it a case of build it and they will come? Gosh, I really do hope so.

Published 30 Aug 2013.  Munglinup WA 6450


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