A combination of Patrick Coltrane’s changed financial circumstances and the revelations made by Laura caused him to lose his House of Representative’s endorsement, which released her from any contractual obligations to him. She later returned to her childhood home of Yallambee and lived with the McKennas, as did Molly Gallimore. With regular therapy Kathleen continued to show some modest improvement in the mobility of her limbs.
Emma arranged for John Matheson to make urgent application to the Woorabinda Mission for Mary to be contracted out to Yallambee as a domestic. But the administrators advised that, although she appeared to be in good health when she arrived at Woorabinda from Essex Downs, the old woman had inexplicably died the following day.
Prime Minister ‘Honest’ Joe Lyons went on to win the general election of 1937 but with greatly reduced public support for his draconian right-wing policies. He died before completing his term in office. After the sale of Sydney Styles, Neale the Nib was appointed general manager of the new David Jones subsidiary. Many allegations of abuse of destitute children placed in the care of government and religious institutions during the 1930’s were made after the end of the Great Depression. Some were prosecuted in the courts. No convictions were ever recorded.
Nearly two hundred Australians made their way to Spain during the civil war. Most fought with the International Brigade. But there were also many Australian nurses who, compelled to follow their consciences, used their skills to care for anti-fascist casualties throughout the bloody conflict. More than half of the Australians who went to Spain never returned. Over two thousand innocent civilians were killed in the attack by the German Condor Legion on the defenseless town of Guernica.
*
Emma walked up the hillside in the morning sun with a small basket of flowers on her arm, as she had done so often as a girl. For generations the McKennas of Yallambee had buried their dead on the highest point of the entire property, a small plateau about half a mile from the homestead. It was the place where six months earlier Captain Jack McKenna and his namesake son were brought to their final resting place by Bruce and Harmony Jones.
Emma laid the last of the flowers beside the graves on the plateau. She rose to her feet and looked out over the property to the high ridge to the east. Here and there clusters of cattle and sheep dotted the rolling grasslands, now lush and green after summer rains. Already Bruce had almost restored the levels of livestock to where they had been in the old days. Emma smiled at the peace and serenity of it all, then started off back down to the house.
After a few moments she saw a telltale cloud of dust on the winding road leading down from the ridge, signaling the approach of a visitor to Yallambee. She kept watching as she walked. Soon she saw a motorcar ahead of the trail of dust. After a few minutes it came to a stop in front of the house. Someone got out of the car. She was still too far away to see clearly but it appeared to be a man. When he walked towards the house, Emma could see he moved with difficulty. Then she saw Christopher’s small frame bound out of the front door and dash over to the visitor. The man ran his hand through the boy’s hair. They seemed to talk briefly, then she saw Christopher turn and point up the hill towards the plateau. Then Emma saw Molly’s plump figure come out of the house and Bruce emerged from one of the outbuildings in the yard.
Molly and Bruce walked over to where Christopher and the man were standing. Soon everyone was looking up the hill towards her. Emma was still a few hundred yards away from the house when the man began to climb the hill. She quickened her pace. Everyone else remained where they were. Soon she could she that he man walked with a pronounced limp. Emma broke into a run. The man struggled desperately to hurry, awkwardly hobbling in his haste to close the gap between them. Tears blurred Emma’s vision. Her heart pounded. Soon the man was close enough for her to see his face.
A moment later Stephen held her tightly in his arms.
*
The two-man crew of the Junkers dive-bomber had been pulled from the wreckage of the plane soon after it crashed into the Bay of Biscay. Oberleutnant Enrico Conti died within minutes of being taken aboard a British merchant vessel homeward bound from Bilbao. Stephen Fairchild was taken to England and spent five months in a Liverpool hospital recovering from near-fatal lacerations before being deported to Australia.
*
A battered parcel arrived at Yallambee from Wales in January of 1938. It was simply addressed to Yallambee Station, Queensland, Australia and was postmarked Aberdare, in the Rhondda Valley. Inside it was an Australian Light Horseman’s slouch hat and a short note.
My son Glyn recently passed away from wounds suffered on active duty as a sergeant with the International Brigade in Spain. Glyn often spoke of an Australian friend, Bill Travis, who always wore this hat. Bill died fighting alongside Glyn in the Basque Country.
Glyn never knew which part of Australia Bill came from, but today I happened to notice the words stamped inside the hat. I hope this parcel finds his family in spite of the pain it might bring. Sometimes, knowing what has happened is better than not know anything at all.
Glyn always said the struggle against fascism in Spain would be a small price to pay for the saving of millions of lives in the worldwide conflagration which will surely follow if it is lost.
Let us hope Bill and Glyn did not die in vain.
Sincerely,
Gweneth Evans
END
David Crookes was born in Southampton, England. After living in Canada for twenty-three years he moved to Queensland, Australia with his wife and children. He has worked in many occupations,as a farm hand,factory worker,lumber-mill worker, costing surveyor,salesman,contractor,oilfield and construction industry executive and as a small business owner. He now writes fulltime. His travels have taken him to many parts of the world and his particular passion, apart from writing is single-handed ocean sailing.
His novels include: Blackbird -The Light Horseman's Daughter-Someday Soon
Children of the Sun-Redcoat-Borderline-Great Spirit Valley
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE.
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PART TWO
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
PART THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
PART FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
The Light Horseman's Daughter Page 37