Of far greater concern to Edie than the planes overhead was the water shortage that threatened. Indeed, water was becoming a matter of concern to the whole of Townsville. The wet season of 1941–42 from November to April had provided the customary tropical downpour, but water supplies were already threateningly low, and with the month of May heralding the start of the dry season, there was talk of restrictions being set in place.

‘It’s all you Yankees,’ Aunty Edie said accusingly to her American officers when they delivered their laundry. ‘You’re the ones usin’ up all our water. Well, don’t you come cryin’ to me if I can’t do your laundry, ’cos if we run dry it’ll be all your fault.’

‘Don’t you worry, Aunty,’ the captain promised her, ‘we’ll keep your tank topped up. Can’t risk losing the best laundry service in town, can we,’ he added, giving her a wink that he shared with his buddies. They all liked Aunty Edie.

The captain was true to his word – her tank was topped up regularly. Edie was grateful. But it didn’t stop her being critical of the situation.

‘Too many people, not enough water,’ she said. ‘Simple as that. They’re nice boys them Yankees, but too many of ’em. Too many of ’em all in one place.’

Edie was right about that, too. The population of Townsville had already doubled and was rapidly on the way to tripling in number. With such a vastly expanding populace, the town’s water supply was under tremendous strain. And adding to the strain was ignorance.

From the outset, the American military had demanded clean, fresh water for its troops and it was up to the Townsville City Council to provide and regulate the supply. But the American troops had no idea of the value of water or the need to employ its use economically. In many a military barracks ablutions block, men simply dumped their clothes on the floor and turned on all the showers as a method of laundering. The City Council not unsurprisingly determined to bring this practice to a halt, and regular inspections of military camps came into play, with fines imposed upon offenders. The American Command, by now aware of the problem, supported the TCC and helped enforce the penalties incurred by its troops, but the water supply continued to be an ongoing problem, and was destined to become even more so.

‘The council’s approached the Bulletin with the idea of running daily water-usage tallies,’ Pete Vickers confided to his good mate Bruce Desmond. They’d met up at the magnificent Queen’s Hotel on The Strand, home to the American Officers’ Club, and a popular watering hole for many when its bar was operating.