On a hot, dusty dirt siding, 39 kilometres from the nearest town, tucked in between the Indian Pacific rail line and the main Barrier Highway between Adelaide and Broken Hill, lies a water tank on stilts emblazoned with a message of love.
It reads: ‘Magoo loves Juanita’.
It’s a message between young lovers, painted in white on the tank perched high above the ground once used to service passing steam trains.
Aerial shot of Magoo and Juanita graffiti. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
Travellers going past the outback track at Paratoo in South Australia’s north – 254km north-east of Adelaide - have been seeing the cryptic love note for more than 17 years, and it has become something of a landmark.
Sharp-eyed viewers of the SBS ‘slow TV’ documentary The Indian Pacific: Australia’s Longest Train Journey will see it too as the camera pans over the desolate landscape.
Just as the sign has endured the tough Australian climate, so too have the young lovers, Magoo and Juanita, now living happily in Broken Hill, New South Wales, with two children, Bonnie, 11 and Nate, 9.
Together they live in Juanita’s childhood home, a cottage with a bullnose verandah, a typical feature of homes in the outback mining town.
Juanita and Magoo. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
Juanita manages the Old Willyama Motor Inn and is well-known for her welcoming hospitality.
'Magoo' worked alongside her until recent times when health issues slowed him down, but he still operates a floor sanding enterprise and the couple also recently sold their local dog grooming business.
Theirs is a love story that began when Juanita Nielsen was 17 years old. Now aged 35, she still laughs at the day ‘Magoo’ – Ben McInness – and his mate ‘Woodsy’ decided to pull off the highway and declare Magoo’s love for his girl.
“We were originally from Broken Hill, where we live now, but for a short time we moved to Adelaide – which was really just a bigger version of Broken Hill - and one weekend we were heading back to the Hill for a party and Magoo and his mate Woodsy decided they’d be ‘the boys’ and leave their mark,” Juanita says.
“We were young and in love.”
Magoo says it was a “spur of the moment” decision, but not without danger.
“We just decided to climb up the ladders that were still on the outside of the tank back then and have a look. It’s pretty deep inside and really rusty so it was quite scary,” he said.
The original graffiti. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
“While we were up there Woodsy said we should paint something and had a spray can of paint in the boot of his car so he climbed down and got it.
“Because it’s really deep inside, I had to lean right out over the edge and spray our names upside down – it took a while to get it right, I had to really think about each letter as I was writing upside down.”
Juanita and a friend, Amy, waited below and watched nervously.
“It was a cold day, we had our little puppy Rosco with us, our first puppy Ben and I had together,” Juanita said.
“We were worried we’d get in trouble or someone would see us painting the tank, the boys were always up to some kind of innocent mischief.”
Juanita said they still see the sign and reminisce today whenever they travel past on the highway through to Adelaide. Friends in both Broken Hill and northern South Australia still comment on the message from the “only Magoo and Juanita” they know.
She loved cars and I took her for a drive in a ‘hot’ car one day and the rest is history.
It is a message that has stood the test of time in more ways than one.
The young couple met through a mutual friend, and as both of their families into “hot cars and hot rods” and it was ultimately a car that swayed her.
“She loved cars and I took her for a drive in a ‘hot’ car one day and the rest is history,” Ben said.
Juanita and Magoo are undeniably soulmates who have been through plenty of tough times but their love has remained strong.
“I just love everything about Juanita,” Magoo, now aged 43, said.
“We’ve been through everything together and she’s my soulmate. She’s just so strong, without her I don’t know where I’d be now.
“She’s so friendly and just out to help everyone….and she loves a beer!”
The couple have endured the loss of both of Juanita’s parents, and more recently Magoo was diagnosed with severe epilepsy, but she would not have it any other way.
“He’s my everything. He’s kept me grounded and got me through the worst times,” Juanita said.
“He’s just a piece of me and we work so well together. We’ve been through a bit and it’s been really hard at times but it’s just made us stronger.
“We just want to work hard and work well in life and he does that for me. We’re just a really good team.”
Slow Summer: four marathon slow TV events, three hours each, screening prime-time on SBS and streaming live on . Starts January 6 at 7.30pm with the Indian Pacific: Australia’s Longest Train Journey.
Join the conversation on social #SlowSummer.
