by John Bishop
Chapter 1 - Alfred Blake And The Large Black Beetle
This is a story the Kalawonta elders have passed on to us and authorised us to tell.
There is a large black beetle still found in the forests of Kalawonta Shire. For centuries, local Aborigines have known the bite of this beetle is agonisingly painful but, as with many species of bee and wasp, it seems the insect has a means of sensing fear in humans and responding to it. Thus it appears those who fear they will be bitten are most likely to be so. Those without fear usually go unharmed, and this is of much practical value because the beetle makes its home at the base of a bush that has nutritious edible roots.1
Legend has it that, long before the arrival of the ghost people2, a band of Aboriginal hunters arrived near the forest and negotiated with the locals to pass through peacefully. In truth, the hunters had come to attack the locals and wanted first to assess their numbers. When the hunters retreated into the forest to prepare for the attack, they were set upon by beetles. Their screams brought the locals running, and the plot was uncovered. Subsequently, an old man in the tribe suggested a smell, causing the beetles to attack, must be exuded not only by those in fear of the beetle but also by others who sweat in nervous anticipation. Thereafter, the beetle became a test for anybody suspected of plotting mischief.
Before the arrival of Alfred Blake, stories had reached the tribe about strange light-skinned people who had appeared in neighbouring areas. It was said that some of these people were friendly, but others were treacherous. Alfred Blake’s party arrived with animals unknown to most of the indigenes, though some local men said they had seen such creatures when moving through lands to the south.3 The locals decided to use the beetle to test Alfred Blake. He was invited to meet with the elders who spoke to him through an Aboriginal guide the visitors had brought with them. Blake was told it was customary to introduce newcomers to a special food, which they must gather under supervision of locals. He was taken to a place where there was a large colony of beetles. There he gathered roots without being attacked and, instead of squashing the beetles, asked through his interpreter how he should deal with them. This was taken as proof he was friendly and cared for the land. The bond between Blake and the Aborigines was to grow with time and continue through the succeeding generations.
1. Wotherspoon, The Edible Plants of Early Australia, p172.
2. Niley, Languages of Kalawonta, p17. Niley identifies a word ‘gooba’, which she translates as ‘ghost’, as the local equivalent of similar words identified in indigenous languages in most areas of Australia. The notion that white humans were the spirits of Aboriginal ancestors is widespread in the literature about indigenous people.
3. It is known that Alfred Blake arrived with sheep. Domestic cattle were introduced to the district much later.
Caroline sat back and thought. She liked the beetle story and the simple style of its telling. If she could believe that the rest of the history would be as engaging and innocuous, she would support the project wholeheartedly. The remainder of the folder contained batches of material held together by paper-clips and staples. Typed drafts, extracts from transcripts, handwritten notes, and other documents, had been grouped behind facing sheets and identified by brief titles. As she turned over the batches the words EMILY’S DEMONS on a facing sheet caught her eye. The first item was a letter. It was dated the day after she was born.
Emily’s Demons
Tuesday 11th September 1990
The First and Last Hotel
Circular Quay
Sydney.
26th February 1938
Dear Walter,
The Calway exchange is out, so I'm writing in case I can't get through before I leave.
Don't ask me how I came to be staying at this place. Long story. Wonderful name for a pub, though. It's where dockworkers can get a drink (legally) at odd hours when they come off shift. I board my ship late today.
Congratulations Dad! I saw baby Caroline yesterday and gave her a cuddle for you. She was only a few hours old. I had to pull some strings. Babies don't come with timepieces, but a week premmie is no worry and I'm glad I was still here.
Emily's GP was right to suspect a difficult birth. If he hadn't insisted on sending her to Sydney, I think we might have lost them both. Caroline is fine and Emily will get the best of care at Royal North Shore. She's already been told she can't have any more children. For ethical reasons you'll have to get most of your info from the attending physicians, but there are some observations I can make as a grandfather who knows a bit of medicine.
There's a condition, which isn't well understood, that researchers are calling postnatal depression. I don't think it's normally evident so soon after the birth but I suspect you should be prepared for something of the kind. Emily is very low. When I went to hand the baby back to her she shook her head and pointed towards the nursery.
Obviously she's tired and sore after the ordeal, but I know her well enough to think it might be something deeper. I tried to jolly her along but her usual spark wasn't there. It's probably just as well I'm going overseas; otherwise, I'd find it hard not to get involved. I don't want to be alarmist but look after her.
I'll leave this for you at the hospital.
In haste.
Love
Dad
Next came a short passage clipped from one of the transcripts.
WALTER: I don’t think Dad realised how much he meant to Emily. His concerns about her having some sort of depression proved to be right. But he’d also told her he was going away to a conference. It took weeks to get to England by ship. She wanted him here.
MAX: They seem to have been very close.
WALTER: She adored him. Life with her own parents had been pretty awful. When I started bringing her home, Dad made her feel wanted. He taught her to hit golf balls into the south paddock. When he realised she was a natural, he paid for her to have lessons from a professional, and sponsored her membership of the golf club. Things have changed Max. In those days, applications were rejected for reasons that wouldn’t stand up today. The Johnsons weren’t liked. Without Dad’s backing, she’d have been rejected.
MAX: So his departure exacerbated the postnatal depression.
WALTER: It’s a strange condition. Emily was a wonderful mother but I think the complications of the birth must have upset her hormones in some way. She’d play happily with Caroline until it was time to put her down for a rest. Then things would go quiet and I’d find her sitting there, with a cold cup of tea, staring into space.
MAX: I know you’ve declared some things off limits, but do you think the depression was a factor in her leaving?
WALTER: In a way it would be comforting to think so, but I’m not even going to speculate. Let’s move on.
MAX: You said you wanted to come back to your mother’s death.
WALTER: Her story I do want told. This time I’ll try not to get emotional.
Caroline put the folder down. It contained a lot of new information—snippets about her mother she would love to have explored with Max and Judith were it not for her desire to keep other aspects of the past to herself. And other things: references to her grandmother Elspeth, history she’d never discussed with her father but which now aroused her curiosity.