Dinky the Singing Dingo
We'd heard of this singing dingo. On a whim, as we approached Alice Springs, after the uplifting experiences at Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon we decided to pull into the Stuart Wells Roadhouse ...
Poor Dinky was completely stuffed. She is at least 12 years old, she'd been for a long walk that morning and was now sleeping it off under a table in the bar.
In response to popular demand Jim Cotterill, the landlord, put on his video about dingos and Dinky in particular. We certainly got the idea.
I thought I recognised the landlord's name ... of course Cotterill's Lookout at the top of King's Canyon. And, indeed, it was the same Cotterill.
Jim and his father Jack pioneered King's Canyon tourism in the sixties. He gave us chapter and verse. The pub has a whole wall devoted to newspaper cuttings of their exploits. Notably Jim developed a resort not far from King's Canyon on some land he leased from ... The daughter of the owner of the land wanted to take over his business, but didn't want to go into partnership or pay him for the development ... so he bulldozed it!
Jim kept us entertained for quite a while, he's a character!