Wheres the Aussie Spirit gone??

[dazzler]

Bit of a bugger.

A few years back I was heading out of melbourne very late at night and not far from Seymour the generator in the beetle stopped working.  Damn brushes had worn out. 

It was raining hard and I was off the road under the bonnet trying to fix it with a small torch.  Young bloke pulls up and helps with an umbrella for about twenty minutes but got nowhere.  He offered a lift into Seymour though he was going to Albury.  Dropped me off at a motel.  WOuldnt take petrol money.

Next morning the hotel owner said he would drive me back down to drop me off.  Went to the battery place and grabbed a new battery then drove what turned out to be 60k to the beetle and he helped fire it up.  Offered him petrol money but wouldnt take it.

Really appreciated the help being 1500k from home.


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[sol]

We used to always pull up to help someone broken down or with a flat tyre, until the day we were heading home between Charters Towers and Townsville.
A young woman was on the side of the road trying to undo the wheel nuts on an old Ford Falcon.
We pulled up behind her, put hazard lights on and I got out to help. Undid the first one and just as I started to do the next one Jen calls out " quick get in the car" as two guys were coming out behind a couple of trees about 30 metres away . No more.

     

[ewwreckers]

We got a flat coming home across the Hay Plains on Monday, about 20 cars passed us, only 1 pulled up to see if we needed a hand. He was a 4WDer and as he said, he'd hope that someone would stop for him if he was broken down.
We always stop and see if people need a hand, it's the aussie way as far as we're concerned.

[elle.mac]

We had two incidents on our road trip last year - 20-30kms east of Barkley Homestead RoadHouse the car decided to act funny and slowly die. I safely guided the car to the side and let my husband drive so he could figure out what it was doing - it went no worries 1km later started again - refused to start instead spluttering like it had no fuel which according to the fuel gauge we had fuel...turns out the car was right not the gauge, and thankfully we had two jerry cans to refuel it. Wasn't until we had put them in and was trying to get the Prado going again did someone stop to ensure we were okay and actually stayed until the car started.

Towards the end of our road trip heading from Darwin to Katherine we had a tyre blow-out - my husband somehow managed to keep the car straight and pull of the road without a curse.  The only person that stopped to check if we were okay was a guy travelling in the opposite direction as he saw it happen and I think was expecting it end worse. 

[Jeepers Creepers]

The movie Wolf Creek has a lot to answer for..... 

Yeah, we would've stopped and made sure you were ok.

[SteveandViv]

Up here it really depends on the who and where. On the Tanami Road locals will from time to time stop you, steel your car et.

I tend to slow down and if they need help, they can wave. Out on the track I think it's a bit different as well but it always pays to be careful.

[Bird]

The movie Wolf Creek has a lot to answer for..... 

or before that The Thin Blue Line... Top movie/doco...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_(film)

[Chesapeake]

The movie Wolf Creek has a lot to answer for.....  ;






They reckon it did for backpackers travelling the outback what Jaws did for ocean swimming.

[SteveandViv]

or before that The Thin Blue Line... Top movie/doco...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_(film)

Yea, good point.

[nab]

I like to stop and help, especially in the city where someone needs a hand to push. Its amazing how many people drive past and honk/yell instead of helping push.

I just hope if the car buggers up while my wife is in it with the kids that someone would help her too.

[Symon]

We used to always pull up to help someone broken down or with a flat tyre, until the day we were heading home between Charters Towers and Townsville.
A young woman was on the side of the road trying to undo the wheel nuts on an old Ford Falcon.
We pulled up behind her, put hazard lights on and I got out to help. Undid the first one and just as I started to do the next one Jen calls out " quick get in the car" as two guys were coming out behind a couple of trees about 30 metres away . No more.

Having grown up in remote areas I think I've lost count of the amount of times I've pulled up to help someone, but driving back from Cloncurry I had the same thing happen to me - Falcon on the side of the road with the bonnet up, lady beside it looking distressed, about 50km from the nearest town.  As I was slowing down I happened to glance to the right and noticed faces in the shrubs beside the road, I sped up and got out of there.  It has made me a bit more wary now.

These days if I see a car on the side of the road I'll glance down at my phone and see if there is service - if there is I'm pretty hesitant to spend too much time helping.  If there isn't service I will at least pull over and see what the problem is.

[D4D]

Bloody hell Symon that could have been ugly. Good tip about checking phone service.

[GeoffA]

Bloody hell Symon that could have been ugly. Good tip about checking phone service.

Yep. These are worrying tales......

[achjimmy]

In the mid 70's My dad managed a motorcycle accessory wholesaler in a Brisbane. They had reps travell up north once or twice a month. Roadside shenagans and assaults were reasonably common in FNQ back then.

[TOPNDR]

the real lesson that I'm taking out of this is how proud I am of my resilient family .... even miss 16 coped fairly well..not to much complaining really...

Reminds me of the time friends driving from Darwin to Adelaide broke down near Daly Waters, and were waiting in the heat for the AANT - their vehicle for the benefit of me Country Cuz from Bright was a Disco!

Any how, mum & dad in the front, two teenagers in the back, and dad says, "ahhh kids, there's something I've gotta tell you. Before I met yer mum I had a girlfriend you see, and ahh well, she had a baby, and ahh well while we're in Adelaide you'll be meeting your sister and her kids".

Kids in the back were speechless, as they knew nothing of dad's sordid past, until master 16 says "how did that happen?"

Dad replied, "I didn't wear a condom"!

Sorry for the thread drift.

[Top.ender]

 

Reminds me of the time friends driving from Darwin to Adelaide broke down near Daly Waters, and were waiting in the heat for the AANT - their vehicle for the benefit of me Country Cuz from Bright was a Disco!

Any how, mum & dad in the front, two teenagers in the back, and dad says, "ahhh kids, there's something I've gotta tell you. Before I met yer mum I had a girlfriend you see, and ahh well, she had a baby, and ahh well while we're in Adelaide you'll be meeting your sister and her kids".

Kids in the back were speechless, as they knew nothing of dad's sordid past, until master 16 says "how did that happen?"

Dad replied, "I didn't wear a condom"!

Sorry for the thread drift.

[Dion]

we came across a older couple i would say in their 50's ....

so after a discussion ....

i strapped them onto the roof of my Camper trailer

Geez you could have at least given them a seat inside 

I too have heard of the "traps".  Friend of a friend got out of it by handing over whatever cash he had in his wallet (travelling solo).  Not exactly the kind of thing you expect when you pull over to help someone.  He never got the rego, reported it at the cop station in the next town but of course they were gone by then.

[Garfish]

On the hway generally not, but will stop and push broken down cars in peak hour, they always seem to be in the middle lane, on the track generally down window and ask?

I originally thought this was about Bundy. Being the Aussie spirit

[swanny]

My Aussie Spirit is still kicking, I helped a few get off the beach at bribie yesty..... , I slept much better last night.

Maybe we here at myswag should really focus on bringing the Aussie Spirit back, and re-spread the word so to speak, defo worth giving a try in my books,

Swanny

[Rumpig]

My Aussie Spirit is still kicking, I helped a few get off the beach at bribie yesty..... , I slept much better last night.

Maybe we here at myswag should really focus on bringing the Aussie Spirit back, and re-spread the word so to speak, defo worth giving a try in my books,

Swanny

i helped a few people out doing recoveries whilst down at South Ballina beach this week just gone also...the problem with that is, you could spend your entire time helping people out at the beach exits and not have a holiday at all, there's just so many clueless people driving 4wd's on the beaches. it gets old really fast, when every time you try to exit the beach or even enter onto it, you find there's yet another person bogged and blocking the way

[fuji]

Don't forget to hang your flag out on Australia Day