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receded, but still yielding from two to three tons per hectare at harvest. Having surveyed the plains by boat during
the height of the flood it was decided to establish operations on the plains below Beatrice Hill. (The camp at old
Humpty Doo had been inundated during the flood). In the 1956 dry season a road was constructed from Humpty
Doo to Beatrice Hill. The original corduroy crossing of the lagoon was replaced with a bridge completed on the
opening day of the Olympic Games in Melbourne; hence the name ‘Olympic Bridge’. On the same dry season a
road to Humpty Doo was built from the 22-mile signpost on the Stuart Highway. Prior to this, all access to the rice
operations had been over old Army tracks that were impassable during the Wet Season. In the first wet season, on
one section of this road, 34 vehicles were bogged for up to one month.
In the 1956–1957 wet season rice trials were successfully grown at old Humpty Doo and at Beatrice Hill.
Adequate supplies of seed were harvested and provided for the exponential expansion of the commercial
operations. These commercial operations also moved from the lower poorly drained areas below Humpty Doo to
the wider better-drained expanses of flood plain near Fogg Dam, which was constructed the following year. In the
1957/1958 season rice trial crops were only sown at Beatrice Hill. Yields between four to five tons per hectare
were obtained and the varieties available for commercial sowings were significantly upgraded. Territory Rice Pty
Ltd, in an endeavour to successfully fulfil the very onerous acreage covenants placed on it, delayed plantings in the
1957–1958 wet season. This was an attempt to have adequate subsoil moisture for germination prior to planting.
Very heavy rains in December made sowing impossible and in desperation the company tried aerial seeding.
By this time the rice bays were weed infested and the seed failed to establish and was cleaned up by magpie geese.
Prior to this geese had only invaded the swampy areas of Humpty Doo to nest when the wild rice was flowering.
They had only caused minor trouble at sowing but had been a problem at harvest. Now with the attempt at aerial
seeding even the Army with Bren guns could not contain the migration from the Goose Camp.
Territory Rice Pty Ltd, in its attempt to justify the failure of this 1957–1958 crop, blamed the lack of infrastructure
and background agronomy in the region. Friction developed between the company and the Northern Territory
Administration. The Commonwealth Government seconded CSIRO from the Kimberleys where the Ord River
Scheme was in abeyance and personnel were available. The initial plan was for Jack Turnour to work with CSIRO
at Beatrice Hill but the Director of Agriculture, W M Curteis, decided to move the Administration’s rice work to
the Marrakai soils on the Upper Adelaide River flood plains. To establish the new experiment station a road was
built with farm machinery from the existing 60-Mile farm to the Adelaide River at what is now known as Tortilla
Flats. Jack Turnour using a compass and a roll of toilet paper laid out the road.
In the 1958–1959 season, Turnour conducted trials at both Beatrice Hill and at Upper Adelaide River.
Territory Rice Pty Ltd was running out of cash and operations were winding down. CSIRO was still developing
its infrastructure prior to commencing rice trials on the coastal plains. All the trials conducted by Turnour were
successful and rice/pasture rotations were instigated. Spectacular growth of Phasey Bean and Townsville Stylo
pastures were obtained under water logged conditions. From 1959 to 1963 Turnour also supported the establishment
of a number of small private rice areas in the upper Adelaide River basin helping with irrigation layout and hire
of machinery to establish initial crops. Ron Wells, Heinz Mollman and Rob Lawrie owned these farms. In the
dry seasons, because Tortilla had the workshop closest to the Daly River, Turnour also helped the early seed
growers on the Daly River maintain their machinery to get their Townsville Stylo seed crops harvested. Within
a few years the seed industry on the Daly and in the upper Adelaide River region proved commercially viable,
producing most of Australia’s Townsville Stylo seed. At this time, the Forster Committee was conducting its
enquiry into agriculture in the Top End. Because of the success of the rice and pastures on the Marrakai soils the
Forster Committee recommended the establishment of pilot farms in this area as well as at Humpty Doo and in the
Daly River basin.
In December 1956, he married Joan Edith Pearce. With his wife, Turnour in 1959 bought leases at Coomalie
Creek from Bill Wyatt, former owner of Adelaide River Station, and Major WJ Crosby who saw service in
Timor during the Second World War. He resigned from the Agricultural Branch in July 1963 in order to obtain
a Primary Producer’s Loan, which under the Administration’s ruling was not available to public servants or their
wives. The initial cattle herd was purchased from a contract musterer caught by early wet season rains on the
Marrakai Plains. He established a banana plantation and other horticultural pursuits to provide an initial cash flow.
He introduced tropical pasture seed, and was the first Territory farmer to grow Siratro seed commercially. Because
the cyclones on the vacuum harvesters for Townsville lucerne were expensive to maintain Turnour introduced the
first Barrow Linton Blower Harvesters and modified them to local conditions. He set up his own seed cleaning
operation to certification standards. In 1964, the property at Coomalie was burnt out including a seed area of
100 acres of Siratro.
In 1967, he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study seed production in tropical areas in the United States
of America, Kenya, Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. In 1970 80 tons of Townsville Stylo seed was sold to
Seabring in Florida.
Turnour had helped found the Adelaide River–Batchelor–Noonamah Primary Producers Association and
pioneered bush fire legislation. He was a foundation member of the Northern Territory Bush Fire Council and
government appointee to the Batchelor School Committee. In 1960 he used his own tractor to upgrade the race
course at Adelaide River to re-activate racing there; there were stockmen’s races and gymkhana events.
From 1959 to 1970, Turnour and his wife experienced perpetual frustration with the Lands Branch over
leasehold land tenure at Coomalie Creek. Although they were making a good living off the 1 500 hectares, they
had purchased and had completed the covenants and applied for freehold title, this was refused, as the area was
not considered a living area. Permission was denied to establish facilities for caravanners at the road crossing
where pollution of the water hole was creating a health hazard. The lease was expanded to 6 000 hectares and lease