BORE driller Des Murray has had that sinking feeling for a long time, writes SIMON PINDER
Not many people would endure a dirty, boring job for 50 years, but Des Murray, of Creswick, is one.Des has been finding water for his many country clients all that time.
Des and his wife, Elaine, eventually started their drilling company in the 1970s, but sinking bores for water soon became the biggest part of their business.
"I enjoy finding water for people and I enjoy meeting the people," Des said.
"Every bore you drill is a different structure and I enjoy drilling the holes."
Des learned his drilling skills on the job after he left his hometown of Daylesford at the age of 16 and began work for a Melbourne drilling business, W.L Sides and Son.
He said one memorable time in his early working life was drilling bores for clients around Alice Springs in the mid-sixties.
Early in his career, he worked on some large-scale projects.
These included the Upper Yarra Reservoir and numerous holes he sank searching for gas and oil around Morwell.
In the 1970s, Des went back to study to gain more formal qualifications in order to branch out on his own.
The result was the starting up of his own business, D.K. & E.M Murray Water Boring.
Des said the company's jobs were now concentrated in the Macedon Ranges area, although they often worked in central regional towns and in Melbourne.
He said about 90 per cent of the work was sinking stock and domestic water bores, with the rest of the time spent looking for farm irrigation water or test drilling for mining companies.
Des said if a landowner wanted to drill a domestic bore, he or she must have the approved permit before organising a site inspection.
If the site was suitable, it usually took a day to sink the bore, he said.
"Water depth varies and it depends on the soil and rock formation and geology," Des said.
He said the average bore would likely be sunk to at least 45 metres so it would not run dry.
The water is directed to the surface through thick PVC pipes.
Des said that, after receiving an inquiry, his company inspected the site to look for evidence of basalt and sandstone bedrock, as these are the formations which often hold aquifers.
Des said coastal limestone had proved to be the easiest rock to access water, while deep lead country was the hardest.
"Deep lead country means sand and gravel that is under rock, like around Moolort in central Victoria," he said.
In deep lead country, the drillers have to go deep and then use stainless steel screens to stop sand spoiling the supply.
Des said the drilling machines used when he first began in the industry had percussion bits operated by cables, but the advent of modern air compression equipment had made boring more efficient.
On a recent job at Lauriston, Des and his son, Gary, plus grandson Joshua, drilled a stock and domestic bore using one of their two down-the-hole air hammer compression rigs.
This rig is mounted on a US-made Crane Carrier Company truck equipped with a 1340Kw Detroit diesel deck motor to drive the hydraulic rig, the air compressor and the drilling bit.
Des said the rig was rated to drill to 762 metres.
He said their most powerful rig, mounted on the back of a Mack tri-axle drive cab-over-engine truck, was licensed to drill to 1067 metres.
He said he was currently considering his hands-on role in the business, as he has Gary and Joshua virtually running it now.
His other grandchildren, Bradley, Jason and Dylan, also occasionally lend a hand.
Des said he was now feeling more like enjoying the salt water near his holiday house at Hervey Bay in Queensland.
To contact D.K. & E.M Murray, phone 0428 518 159 or visit their website.
Applications for permits for stock and domestic bores are available through your relevant local water authority.
