Adelaide family play the waiting game in Broken Hill after failed trip home to SA

A mother, her former partner, and their young son are among about 20 South Australians stranded at a Broken Hill caravan park, unable to return home because of the state’s lockdown.

Earlier this month, Nikita Shaw travelled to the Queensland town of Kingaroy to help Jack Dowling — the father of her three-year-old boy Ahren — relocate to Adelaide.

On the long drive home they were stopped at the NSW-SA border checkpoint at Oodla Wirra.

The Mawson Lakes resident said she was shocked by the rejection after the trio had filled out Cross Border Travel Registrations with SAPOL.

“It was shattering, we were hours away from home,” she said.

“I provided them with the information the COVID hotline had given me. I had to explain that to a police officer. I told them exactly where we had travelled from and they said ‘too bad, so sad, turn around’.

“The people [officers] there were super lovely. They were willing to try and help us but I guess without that exemption they weren’t going to let us through, so it didn’t really matter what we did.”

Border rejection

The 28-year-old described the situation as a “technicality and misinterpretation of information by the SA Police”, but since July 19 South Australians returning via NSW can only do so for essential work or with an SA Health exemption.

The party of three, along with pet guinea pigs and bird, then made the nearly three-hour journey back to Broken Hill and booked into a caravan park.

There they met other South Australians who are also waiting for the green light from authorities to return home.

“We are all just sticking together and they are in pretty good spirits, considering,” she said.

“No-one has given us any numbers to call, no-one has given us any support financially, no-one is really reaching out and helping us.”

The wait for an SA Health exemption is draining the parents financially, with accommodation costing $115 per night while they are spending $60 on trailer hire.

Financial blowout

Nikita said she was growing increasingly anxious every day.

“There’s more money going out than is coming in. Realistically, we are already in the negative. We are borrowing money from family members who have been really, really helpful and really supportive.

“I don’t think there is going to be any reimbursement.

“I think what makes our story a little different to everyone else is where we’ve travelled from was the most direct route.” 

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