This is the story of the Caterpillar D7 that was brought down from Darwin to Mt Isa, in 1946, by my uncle, David Barrett. He had just started tanksinking in western Queensland, with an Allis Chalmers WKO crawler tractor and a Britstand scoop, when World War Two broke out. As soon as he was old enough, he joined the RAAF and ended up flying Liberator bombers, and when the War ended, he was based in Darwin. During the War years, the WKO and scoop had been commandeered by the Civil Construction Corps and was never seen again! David arranged to take his discharge in Darwin, where he bought a Caterpillar D7 (7M 1809), a 3 ton nearly new Chev Blitz, and a dog-trailer, very cheaply from Disposals.

My father had flown up from Longreach to meet David, and he bought a 3 ton