by Di Morrissey
‘But you’re only really interested in your client’s victory, I suppose?’
‘I try not to think of it as winning and losing. There are opportunities and there are compromises.’
‘I don’t think that will happen here,’ said Jacqui. ‘Can’t you see how determined people are? They’ll fight for years to stop that gas project being built at The Point.’
‘Just not in my backyard, eh?’ remarked Cameron pointedly.
‘Cameron, you know there’s a lot at stake here. This is the world’s last great wilderness, it’s a people’s heritage, ancestry, belonging. Have you been out to The Point and seen how lovely it is? And out to sea you have part of the world’s great treasure: reefs, whales and myriad other sea creatures, deserted islands with ancient remains, not to mention the coastal strip which houses wonderful rock art, dinosaur footprints, waterfalls . . .’ To her shock, Jacqui found she could go no further, and burst into tears.
Cameron sat quietly and took a sip of his drink as she wiped her eyes and nose. Jacqui picked up her glass and took a gulp.
‘I’m sorry you’re upset,’ he said finally. ‘The decision isn’t mine. What I do has no direct bearing on what happens at The Point.’ They sat in silence for a few moments, and then Cameron said gently, ‘Look, shall we eat?’
Jacqui was relieved at the distraction and they returned to small talk as they heated the meal, dished it up with the warmed garlic bread and ate at the kitchen table.
‘This is awfully good. Thank you, I didn’t realise how hungry I was,’ said Jacqui.
‘Those mussels were delicious,’ said Cameron as he ate his last one and topped up their wineglasses. ‘How’s your son?’
‘Oh, don’t ask! I’m so upset about it all.’ Jacqui jumped up and took their plates to the sink.
‘Sorry. I hope everything is all right.’
‘It’s difficult. His father has cancelled Jean-Luc’s visits to Broome for the foreseeable future and plans to send him to board at a nearby international school.’
‘That doesn’t seem at all fair to you or your son,’ said Cameron sympathetically. ‘I can’t begin to imagine how hard that must be for you.’
Jacqui looked at Cameron in surprise. He was not mocking or being cynical and seemed genuinely sensitive to her feelings.
‘Thanks. Yes, I think it is all very unfair as well. I’m not quite sure what I can do about it, but I’ll try to think of something to make Jean-Luc’s father change his mind.’
Jacqui busied herself putting the coffee on, trying to push the issue of Jean-Luc and his father from her mind. But as she poured the coffee an idea came to her that she thought might appeal to this more mellow Cameron.
‘You know, maybe the town doesn’t want its future determined by a mining company,’ she said slowly, placing the coffee cups on the table. ‘The locals value what they have here and most don’t want to see it change too dramatically. And you’re right, many Aboriginal people can see that the money Chamberlains will inject into this area could be of great benefit. But other, wiser heads believe that something of even greater value will be lost. Eddie has made that clear.’
‘I don’t dispute that. But unfortunately we live under white man’s law when it comes to dealing with international corporations, government officials, and bureaucrats.’ Cameron reached for his coffee.
‘Listen, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’
‘Who? When?’
‘Tomorrow; can you do that?’
‘If you think it’s important, then yes.’
‘Thank you. I don’t think you’ll regret it.’
After Cameron left, Jacqui tried to reach Lydia to tell her what she was proposing, but her friend wasn’t answering her phone. Probably dancing up a storm somewhere, thought Jacqui. She sighed and headed for bed.
*
The next day, after Jacqui had contacted Wally and run her idea past him, she texted Cameron and arranged to meet him at Wally’s place.
She arrived ahead of Cameron, with a couple of bottles of beer for Wally, and the two of them sat out on Wally’s patio chatting about what a success the concert had been.
‘It was a lot of fun, all the kids enjoyed it. And I’m just a big kid, so I enjoyed it, too,’ said Wally. ‘But it sure sent a message right around the world, eh, Jacqui?’
‘Sure did. Now, you’re clear on what you need to tell Cameron?’
‘I’ll do my best. The young fellas in my family like to hear my stories. You met one of my grandsons at the writers’ festival, didn’t you? I’ve been training them up. In fact, we talked about that yesterday. Maybe it’s getting close to time I went back out there again.’
‘How many grandchildren do you have now?’
‘Blowed if I know, love. Maybe thirty. Got great-grandchildren, too. Hard to keep track at times,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘A couple of the lads, they asked when they could go back and sing the songs. The kids are keen again, to know all the culture. That’s good, isn’t it?’
‘You bet. By the way, how’s the book coming along?’
‘Look, I got ’em all ready here. On to book number eight.’ He pointed to eight school exercise books sitting on the little table in Wally’s small unit.
Jacqui picked one up. ‘May I?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Hope you can read my writing. Don’t look at the spelling!’
Jacqui flipped through the pages of neat penmanship. There were sketches on several pages. ‘Look after these, Wally. You seem to have so much to tell. I’ve a good mind to photocopy them for you.’
‘I’m doing it for my family. We got to make sure all this important stuff isn’t lost. Some families, their kids got no interest in the old knowledge. Then one day they want to know, and there’s nobody here t’teach them.’
There was a knock on the door.
‘Ah, there’s your friend.’
Jacqui opened the door to Cameron, then brought him out to the patio and introduced him to Wally.
‘Jacqui brought me round some beers. Would you like one?’ Wally asked.
Cameron shook his head. ‘No, thanks. You enjoy them.’ He pulled up a chair.
‘Now, young man, what’s your connection with this company that’s trying to set up this monstrosity on our coast?’ asked Wally bluntly.
Cameron smiled. ‘I was hired by the company to help establish exploration licences for them in the Kimberley. I have nothing to do with the gas hub at The Point.’
‘But what you’re doing in other parts of the Kimberley sounds like you’re making it easier for them to bulldoze through our land,’ said Wally.
‘Subject to environmental and cultural studies,’ said Cameron rather defensively.
‘Yeah, well, sometimes they didn’t wait for the right information. There’s a lot of smart people volunteering their time and expertise to help catalogue what’s out there,’ said Wally.
Cameron nodded. ‘You’re right about that. Now, I know Jacqui was very keen for me to speak with you, so, Wally, why don’t you tell me your story?’
Jacqui looked sharply at Cameron, to see if he was issuing a challenge to the old man, but Cameron’s expression was benign. Maybe he really is interested in what Wally has to say, she thought.
‘Jacqui calls you a grand man, straddling two cultures,’ said Cameron.
‘I might be just that,’ Wally replied. ‘I worked on cattle stations all around the Kimberley. That’s when I met Elsie, who was mission raised. We ended up getting together and moved to Broome, where I worked in the pearling industry. ’Course, our marriage didn’t go down too well in the town. It was difficult at times, as Elsie was banned from a lot of places. We couldn’t even sit together in the pictures. So, we took off to the bush. I got work on a station near where a lot of her tribe still lived. Over time, I got to know the elders and they c
ame to trust me, and they’d tell me about their customs and their stories. That’s how I gradually learned their culture, the old ways. As the old fellas started to die out, they passed the knowledge on to me, as there wasn’t anybody else then. So, I’ve written it all down in those little books.’
‘Do you still visit your wife’s place?’ asked Cameron.
‘For sure. I promised her I would, and I take the kids to do ceremony every year.’
Cameron nodded thoughtfully. ‘You said earlier something about having “the right information”. What did you mean by that?’ he asked.
Jacqui glanced at Cameron, wondering if his casual question was curiosity or some kind of test.
But Wally was unfazed. ‘That’s the Songlines for that country. They’re the dreaming tracks made by the ancestor spirits when they made the land.’ Wally tapped his head. ‘More than a map, this is important knowledge of culture, values, social history. You have to know the stories to sing up your country, keep it alive. You have to learn everything in your special country; the stories, the animals, the plants, the seasons; it’s like an encyclopedia. You know where the invisible borders are. No government maps can show you those things.’
‘And the serpent’s back? The snake’s back?’ prompted Jacqui.
‘Y’know how the artists always paint country, like they are in the sky looking down on it? Well, imagine you’re looking down on our land, and all across and up our peninsula there is the range of cliffs. That’s the spine of the snake, the dreaming totem. It runs across Elsie’s country. The snake is powerful, so if those mining people dig up the land and break the body of the snake, well, that’s a terrible bad thing. Same if they cut into sacred trees, or anything.’ Wally struggled for words for a moment. ‘Thousands of years the land’s been safe. It’s something that just would never change, always there. But now . . . well, no wonder the elders are worried about all this.’
Jacqui looked at Cameron. ‘Can you see why this country means so much to the people, and why those responsible for keeping their part of the country safe, like Eddie and Arthur, don’t want to deal with Chamberlain Industries?’
Wally nodded emphatically. ‘If Chamberlains dig up and build on sites that have been important to Aboriginal people for centuries, then those people can’t do their ceremonies and the connection is broken. They lose their culture. Even though they might live away from their country, they must go back for ceremony.’
‘Do you understand?’ Jacqui said to Cameron. ‘They lose their knowledge if they can’t observe their ceremonies.’
Cameron looked from one to the other. ‘I get the picture. Fascinating. I grasp how invasive breaking into special sites would be.’
Wally eyed Cameron as he spoke. ‘Those big boys and the government always seem to manage to turn things around to suit themselves,’ he said quietly. ‘But a lot of people won’t make it easy for them.’
‘Money doesn’t always solve the issue,’ said Jacqui. ‘That’s why Chamberlains have a fight on their hands.’
‘Here,’ said Wally, indicating to Cameron the pile of exercise books he’d been working on. ‘I’ve been putting down my stories and the stories of Elsie’s people, too. It’s for my family, but if you’re interested, you can read them.’
‘Can I take a look, Wally? I’d be very interested,’ said Cameron.
‘Ah, but wait, there’s more!’ said Jacqui. ‘Wally, the film you were telling me about. Where is it?’
‘Aw gee, love. I dunno that it’s any good. Got to be fifty years old.’ He slowly got out of his chair.
‘What’s on the film?’ Cameron asked Jacqui.
She shrugged as they heard Wally rustling in his wardrobe. ‘He said someone did a documentary about him with Elsie out in the bush when they were doing some ceremony, singing, that sort of thing.’
Cameron raised his eyebrows. ‘Could be interesting.’
Wally returned with a leather pouch. ‘The tin’s inside; might be rusty. I never had a reason to open it. No projector thing.’
The can of film was securely wrapped in an oiled weatherproof cloth. The lid was jammed in place with a film of rust.
‘I’ll get a knife.’ Jacqui jumped up.
‘No. Let’s not take the chance of exposing it,’ said Cameron. ‘It should be done in a darkroom and it might need special restoration.’
‘I don’t know if there are people in town who could do that sort of thing,’ said Jacqui.
‘I doubt they’d know much about sixteen-millimetre film,’ said Cameron. ‘It might have to go to a specialist place, like the Film and Sound Archive in Canberra.’
‘Oh, it’s not that important,’ said Wally.
Jacqui was looking at the mould-spotted label on the can. ‘Maybe you should take Cameron’s suggestion and send it to the Film and Sound Archive, Wally.’
‘Seems like a lot of fuss,’ said Wally. ‘Here, Cameron, take a couple of my notebooks, if you want.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Cameron.
Jacqui was about to suggest he get photocopies made when Cameron added in a gentle voice, ‘I’m so pleased that you trust me with such a valuable record. I’ll look forward to reading them.’
There was silence for a moment, and then Jacqui said, ‘Sorry, you two, but I have to get to the bookshop. You coming, Cameron?’
‘No, I think I might stay a bit longer. I’d like to hear more of Wally’s stories, that is if you don’t mind, Wally.’
‘’Course not,’ said Wally. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’
Jacqui gave Wally a quick kiss.
‘See ya, love,’ called Wally as Jacqui headed outside to her car and drove home, deep in thought.
*
The bookshop opened late on Sunday mornings, but Jacqui rose early to catch up on house jobs and do some work in her garden. While she was pottering about, she heard a knock on the door. When she answered it, she was pleasantly surprised to see Wally standing there with Chester.
‘Ah, lovely excuse to stop for a cuppa,’ she said with a smile. ‘Hi, Chester, how are you? I had no idea you two knew each other.’
The two men chuckled. ‘Everyone knows everyone round this place,’ said Chester. ‘One of Wally’s daughters is one of my aunties. When old Wally here said he was great mates with you, too, I thought I’d come with him and say hello.’
‘I still can’t get over that snake cave you took us to,’ said Jacqui, ushering them inside. ‘What are you doing in town?’
‘Ah, just some family business.’
After Jacqui made the tea, they moved to the back verandah.
‘What did you think of Cameron North?’ Jacqui asked Wally. ‘Haven’t had a chance to ask you and I haven’t heard from Cameron either.’
‘Interesting chap,’ said Wally as he settled into a chair. ‘He stayed a couple of hours after you left last weekend.’
‘Really? What did he talk about?’
Wally chuckled. ‘He told me you two were pals when you were nippers,’ he said with a grin. ‘Actually, I did most of the talking! He wanted to know this and that. Then he asked me if I knew someone who could take him to walk on the heritage trail. So, I called Chester. They only did a bit of it. Camped the night and came back late yesterday.’
‘Did he like it?’ asked Jacqui curiously.
‘Seemed to like it,’ answered Chester. ‘He certainly asked a lot of questions, mainly about ceremonies and legends and even men’s business.’
‘Where is Cameron now? Still in Broome, or gone back to Perth?’
Chester looked thoughtful. ‘Not sure. He said he was going to some station out on the edge of the Gibson Desert,’ he said. ‘Challenging country. The road out there’s not for sissies.’
‘Interesting that he’d want to go out there. That Cameron’s a funny fellow to figure out,’ said Wally. ‘Talk
s a lot but doesn’t tell you much, y’know?’
‘That’s a political art form,’ said Jacqui dryly.
‘Well, he’s reading my books. And we’re going to find out about looking at my film. He’s interested in that one,’ said Wally.
Jacqui had enjoyed the visit from Wally and Chester and was returning to her gardening when she heard a footfall on the verandah.
‘I’m around the back,’ she called.
‘Only me,’ said Cameron as he ambled into the garden.
‘Oh, I’m gardening so I’m a mess,’ said Jacqui apologetically.
‘You look fine to me. I like the natural look.’
She dropped her trowel and wiped her forehead with the back of her gardening glove. ‘I need a cold drink.’
‘Look, I just stopped by to say I’m heading out of here soon, so could we have a chat before I go? I was hoping to ask you out to a late lunch or dinner.’
‘Thanks, but no to lunch. I have to get to the shop shortly. But I’ve time to get you a drink. Wally and Chester came over earlier this morning.’ Jacqui turned indoors.
‘Terrific fellows, aren’t they? I had a great time on the track with Chester. But actually, it’s Wally I wanted to speak to you about.’
‘I gather you have his can of film?’
‘Yes. Please don’t worry, it’ll be safe. I thought of having it sent to Canberra, but I’ve made inquiries over at Sun Pictures and I’ve been given the name of a restorer in Perth who has an excellent reputation. Be interesting to see what turns up. Think it will bring back a lot of memories for him. He says Elsie is in it quite a lot.’
Jacqui stared at him. ‘You’re being very kind to Wally. Is there a reason?’
Cameron smiled and sat down. ‘I find Wally very interesting. He’s been very generous with his time and I want to return the favour.’ Then he suddenly looked serious. ‘Okay, let me be frank. When I was hired by Daryl Johnson on behalf of Chamberlain Industries, it was to make sure that any arrangements between landholders and the mining company were watertight and legal. That was all. I was not required to make any other sort of judgement.’