WOMEN IN
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Nicola Morris Nicola Morris, Trabajo Kelpies Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, VIC Article by Patsy Trevor Nicola grew up in Darwin right on the beachfront in Nightcliff. She always had a family dog, usually a stray that was a “bitsa” (bits of every breed). One of her favourite dogs as a child was one that she and her brother, Stephen named Dodo (after a TV cartoon show called “Dodo the Kid from Outer Space”), who turned up on their doorstep not long after Cyclone Tracey. Nicola realised much later in life that she was a black and tan kelpie cross.
lived to a decent age of about 14 or 15 and whilst Nicola says she doesn’t remember her exact age, she does remember how sad she was, how sad the whole family was when Dodo died. It was probably her first real experience of grief and loss that we experience throughout our lives. Despite that though, Nicola has always been very grateful to grow up with animals. She says “I think it teaches a child to be less focused on themselves and to be responsible for another living creature. It also teaches them compassion, acceptance, and about the circle of life. My happiest (and saddest) childhood memories all have dogs involved in them”.
All of their pets were considered part of the family and were allowed inside. However, there were rules like “no feeding the dog at the table” and “no dogs on the bed”. Rules that Nicola was always getting into trouble for breaking. She explained that she has never been much of a conformist and was always sneaking Dodo into her bedroom at night. Dodo would jump into her bed, snuggle underneath the doona then put her head on the pillow with the doona tucked under her chin; she always made Nicola feel safe.
Nicola loved all animals as a child, but dogs and horses were her favourites. She likes to think all her nagging finally paid off because in the late ’70s, her father, Richard, and a few of his friends invested in cattle stations just out of Katherine (NT) – Manbulloo, Gorrie and Dry River Stations. On these stations, there was an abundance of both dogs and horses, along with thousands of head of majestic Brahman cattle (and the occasional croc) down in the Katherine River below Manbulloo Homestead.
Nicola said that Dodo was also the only dog she’d ever known to gulp down Brussel sprouts and parsnips without a second thought! Dodo was a kind, gentle-natured girl who was so patient with children. She remembers dressing her up in human clothes and pushing her around the neighbourhood in a pram and Dodo just took it all in her stride and never objected. She
The Morris family visited Manbulloo on weekends and school holidays and Nicola says she was in heaven there, surrounded by all the station dogs chained up to their hollowed-out tree trunks, sometimes with the sounds of squeaking puppies coming from within. She has a vivid memory of sitting in the shade under the big Tamarind tree at the homestead watching
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