by Peter Watt
‘So, you are back in the business of owning a licensed bar,’ James said, gratefully swallowing a mouthful of the chilled ale from a glass, while Isabel and her mother sipped shandies and chatted between themselves.
‘Not exactly,’ Bernie grinned. ‘It’s what the Aussies call a sly grog shop, but the local police sergeant gives me a call before coming out so that I can hide the evidence. He’s a good Joe who knows that I provide a service to the Aussies way out here. Isabel wrote to us to say you’re out of the marines now, and that both of you will be returning to New Hampshire when Isabel’s hitch is up with the navy.’
The two men talked until the two bottles were empty and Bernie requested James’s assistance to unload some boxes of beer from his truck parked behind the store. James followed and the two men were alone.
‘Did you kill him?’ James asked bluntly.
‘I did,’ Bernie said. ‘The son of a bitch was talking big around the county how he was going to have Isabel. But not just him, he was going to share her with his pals. So I waited one night when I knew he would be alone on the road. I forced him off the road and finished him with a baseball bat. The sheriff’s department had me on their list of suspects, and you know the rest of the story.’
‘You got justice for us both,’ James said.
‘And the same will happen to you if you don’t treat my daughter right,’ Bernie grinned. ‘Welcome to an Irish family.’
*
So you whitefellas thought the story was over. Well, ol’ Wallarie knows it’s not. Families jus’ keep goin’ on. But they do not know the future like ol’ Wallarie does. Life is full of tears and happiness. Sometimes the tears are of happiness. You get me some baccy and I will continue to tell you the story of the Duffys and Macintoshes. The new generations hardly know who I am . . . but I know all about them. Who will live and who will die as the new ones go out into the world. Their story is not over yet.
AUTHOR NOTES
The end of the war in Europe was welcomed less enthusiastically in the Pacific. I had the honour of speaking with members of my regiment who had served under its colours in WWII. Their general comment was that it was hard to get excited when they were still out in the jungles of northern New Guinea fighting an enemy who refused to surrender and died to the last man. The incidents Major David Macintosh faced are all drawn from the personal accounts described in ‘The First at War; a history of the 2/1 Battalion 1939–45’, also known as the City of Sydney Battalion.
Near the end of the war Australia’s armed forces generally felt that General MacArthur had sent them to Pacific backwaters that could have been bypassed and left out of the push towards the Japanese home islands. That perception was strong amongst the men I met from the 2/1 Bn.
Tarakan was another bloody campaign perceived as a backwater battle. The accounts of Lieutenant Donald Macintosh are actual first-hand accounts of what happened there. I fear that I have not done justice to the men who fought in the Pacific, as they suffered so much to defend Australia. It has been a privilege to have belonged to an Army Reserve battalion in the 1980s whose members from WWI and WWII were able to recount personal experiences not found in history books.
Women served with our elite Z Force and have for many years been overlooked, unlike their sisters who served in Europe with the Special Operations Executive. Sergeant Jessica Duffy and her exploits are purely fictional, but pay tribute to the women who took on highly secretive operations in the Pacific war.
All the rest is pure fiction.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks go to my publishers, Pan Macmillan Australia, where a team of people work to produce something readable. I would like to name a few of them. Firstly, Cate Paterson and my publisher, Haylee Nash. On Haylee’s team: Georgia Douglas and Alex Lloyd. Also Roxarne Burns, Tracey Cheetham, LeeAnne Walker and Milly Ivanovic. In publicity I have Lara Wallace, who attempts to make me look good to the general public. Not an easy job.
Thanks also to Julia Stiles, Foong Ling Kong and Libby Turner for their work on the manuscript.
Thank you to my literary agents in Australia, Geoffrey Radford, and in the USA, Alan Nevins and Eddie Pietzak. Thanks to the team working on the Frontier TV project; Rod and Brett Hardy, Paul Currie and Suzanne De Passe. A special thanks to Kristie Hildebrand for her continued management of the Facebook site, Fans of Peter Watt Books.
Thanks to all the staff of my local library in Maclean who help me obtain the obscure research material for my stories.
On the domestic front; thanks to the following people who have made life easier, Dr Louis Trickhard and Christine, Jim and Robyn Gilvear, Jan Dean, Kevin Jones OAM and family, Bob Mansfield and his sister, Betty Irons, OAM. Mick and Andrea Prowse, John and June Riggall, realtor Darren Billett, solicitor Daniel Butt and manager of Summerland Credit Union, John Smith. A mention for John Carroll who is not forgotten.
A special mention for a cobber, Dave Sabben MG, and his wife, Di. It has been half a century since the battle of Long Tan, and Dave returned to the battlefield to mark the event in August 2016.
My family; brother-in-law Tyrone McKee, brother Tom Watt and family, sister Lindy Barclay and her husband, Jock. My cousins Luke and Tim Payne and Virginia Wolfe. A special thank you to my beloved Aunt Joan in Tweed Heads.
As always, a special mention to my Rural Fire Service Brigade comrades at Gulmarrad and all those I work with in the Rural Fire Service. I should also mention my friends in the Northern Rivers Retired Police Association and the 1/19 Royal New South Wales Regiment Association.
Last but not the least, my greatest supporter, Naomi, all my love. It was she who suggested the dedication.
About Peter Watt
Peter Watt has spent time as a soldier, articled clerk, prawn trawler deckhand, builder’s labourer, pipe layer, real estate salesman, private investigator, police sergeant, surveyor’s chairman and advisor to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. He speaks, reads and writes Vietnamese and Pidgin. He now lives at Maclean on the Clarence River in northern New South Wales. He has volunteered with the Volunteer Rescue Association, Queensland Ambulance Service and currently with the Rural Fire Service. Fishing and the vast open spaces of outback Queensland are his main interests in life.
Peter Watt can be contacted at www.peterwatt.com.
Author Photo: Shawn Peene
Also by Peter Watt
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
Cry of the Curlew
Shadow of the Osprey
Flight of the Eagle
To Chase the Storm
To Touch the Clouds
To Ride the Wind
Beyond the Horizon
War Clouds Gather
And Fire Falls
Beneath a Rising Sun
The Papua Series
Papua
Eden
The Pacific
The Silent Frontier
The Stone Dragon
The Frozen Circle
MORE BESTSELLING FICTION BY PETER WATT
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
Cry of the Curlew
A stark and vivid portrayal of Australia’s brutal past.
An epic tale of two families, the Macintoshes and the Duffys, who are locked in a deadly battle from the moment squatter Donald Macintosh commits an act of barbarity on his Queensland property.
Their paths cross in love, death and revenge as both families fight to tame the wild frontier of Australia’s north country.
Cry of the Curlew is the first bestselling novel in the compelling Duffy and Macintosh series depicting our turbulent history as never before.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
Shadow of the Osprey
A riveting tale of love, death and revenge.
Soldier of fortune Michael Duffy returns to colonial Sydney on a covert mission and with old s
cores to settle, still enraged by a bitter feud between his family and the ruthless Macintoshes.
The Palmer River gold rush lures American prospector Luke Tracy back to Australia’s rugged north country in his search for elusive riches and the great passion of his life, Kate O’Keefe.
From the boardrooms and backstreets of Sydney to the hazardous waters of the Coral Sea, the sequel to Cry of the Curlew confirms the exceptional talent of master storyteller Peter Watt.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
Flight of the Eagle
A deadly family curse holds two families in its powerful grip.
Captain Patrick Duffy’s passions are inflamed by the mysterious Irishwoman Catherine Fitzgerald, further pitting him against his father, Michael Duffy, and his adoring but scheming grandmother, Lady Enid Macintosh.
On the rugged Queensland frontier, Native Mounted Police trooper Peter Duffy is torn between his loyal bond with Gordon James, the love of his sister, Sarah, and the blood of his mother’s people, the Nerambura tribe.
Two men, the women who love them and a dreadful curse that still inextricably links the lives of the Macintoshes and the Duffys culminate in a stunning addition to the series featuring Cry of the Curlew and Shadow of the Osprey.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
To Chase the Storm
When Major Patrick Duffy’s beautiful wife Catherine leaves him and returns to her native Ireland, Patrick’s broken heart propels him out of the Sydney Macintosh home and into yet another bloody war. However, the battlefields of Africa hold more than nightmarish terrors and unspeakable conditions for Patrick – they bring him in contact with one he thought long dead and lost to him.
Back in Australia, the mysterious Michael O’Flynn mentors Patrick’s youngest son, Alex, and at his grandmother’s request takes him on a journey to their Queensland property, Glen View. But will the terrible curse that has inextricably linked the Duffys and Macintoshes for generations ensure that no true happiness can ever come to them? So much seems to depend on Wallarie, the last warrior of the Nerambura tribe, whose mere name evokes a legend approaching myth.
Through the dawn of a new century in a now federated nation, To Chase the Storm charts an explosive tale of love and loss, from South Africa to Palestine, from Townsville to the green hills of Ireland, and to the more sinister politics that lurk behind them. By public demand, master storyteller Peter Watt returns to this much-loved series following on from the bestselling Cry of the Curlew, Shadow of the Osprey and Flight of the Eagle.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
To Touch the Clouds
They had all forgotten the curse . . . except one . . . until it touched them. I will tell you of those times when the whitefella touched the clouds and lightning came down on the earth for many years.
In 1914, the storm clouds of war are gathering. Matthew Duffy and his cousin Alexander Macintosh are sent by Colonel Patrick Duffy to conduct reconnaissance on German-controlled New Guinea. At the same time, Alexander’s sister, Fenella, is making a name for herself in the burgeoning Australian film industry.
But someone close to them has an agenda of his own – someone who would betray not only his country to satisfy his greed and lust for power. As the world teeters on the brink of conflict, one family is plunged into a nightmare of murder, drugs, treachery and treason.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
To Ride the Wind
It is 1916, and war rages across Europe and the Middle East. Patrick and Matthew Duffy are both fighting the enemy, Patrick in the fields of France and Matthew in the skies above Egypt.
But there is another, secret foe. George Macintosh is passing information to the Germans, seeking to consolidate his power within the family company. And half a world away from the trenches, one of their own will meet a shocking death.
Meanwhile, a young man is haunted by dreams of a sacred cave, and seeks fiery stars that will help him take back his people’s land.
To Ride the Wind continues the story of the Duffys and Macintoshes, following Peter Watt’s much-loved characters as they fight to survive one of the most devastating conflicts in history – and each other.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
Beyond the Horizon
It is 1918, a year when war will end, but an even greater killer arises.
On the bloody fields of the Western Front and the battle-scarred desert plains of the Middle East, Tom and Matthew Duffy are battling the enemy in the final year of the Great War. Even as they are trapped on the front lines, they must also find the courage to fight for the women they love when all hope is lost.
Back in Australia, George Macintosh is outraged by the stipulations of his father’s will that provide for his despised nephew, and is determined to eliminate any threats to his power. And in a sacred cave in the far outback, old Wallarie foresees a tide of unspeakable death sweeping through his homeland.
As all nations come to terms with the devastating consequences of the Great War, a new world will be born. But not everyone will live to see it.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
War Clouds Gather
Against the backdrop of impending war and the rise of the Nazi Party, the epic saga of the Macintosh and Duffy families continues.
It’s 1936. While Europe is starting to feel the shadow of the upcoming turmoil, George Macintosh is determined to keep control of his business empire. He takes extreme measures to prevent his nephew David from taking a seat on the Board. Meanwhile, George’s son Donald is packed off to the family station Glen View in Northern Queensland in an effort to curb his excesses.
In Iraq, Captain Matthew Duffy doesn’t escape the stain of growing fanaticism. Recruited by British Intelligence, he once more faces a German enemy, although this one has a more pleasing aspect. Matthew is confused by his attraction to Diane and finds himself having to make a hard decision. And just as he is coming to terms with his choice, he meets his estranged son, James Barrington Jnr.
In the middle of all this upheaval, the two families experience loss, love, greatness and tragedy, and find themselves brought closer together and pulled further apart. Romance blooms in the unlikeliest of hearts under the gathering clouds of war.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
And Fire Falls
It is 1942 and the war in the Pacific is on Australia’s doorstep, changing the lives of the Duffy and Macintosh families as never before.
In Sydney, siblings Donald and Sarah Macintosh battle for their father’s approval, and control of his empire, while their cousin David fights the enemy across the continents.
US Marine Pilot James Duffy defies his grandfather’s wishes, and, a number of times, death, protecting Australian skies from the Japanese. Trapped in the jungles of Malaya, Diane Duffy is caught between saving the lives of hundreds of orphaned children, or that of her son.
While Tom Duffy finds himself enlisting in yet another world war, his daughter Jessica narrowly escapes slaughter at a mission station, causing her to revoke her vows and follow in her father’s footsteps.
The Duffy/Macintosh Series
Beneath A Rising Sun
As the Allied forces fight to repel invaders in the Pacific, the Duffy and Macintosh clans face their greatest challenges at home.
Sergeant Jessica Duffy relishes her work as a code breaker in MacArthur’s headquarters but is also secretly reporting on the Americans to the Prime Minister. When she uncovers treason at the highest levels, neither duty nor dishonour will stop her getting justice.
Captain James Duffy, a decorated fighter pilot with the United States Marine Corps, is expected to wait out the war assisting the bond effort, helping to make movies that gloss over the tragic realities of combat. Despite his scars, he is desperate to return to the cockpit . . . until a chance meeting gives him something new to fight for.
Major David Macintosh has survived prison camps, torture and countless battles, but can he endure the machinations of his obsessive cousin, Sarah? Sarah is prepared to do anything to take over the family companies, and will destroy anyone who gets in her way.
From the frontlines of the Pacific to the back lots of Hollywood, a new generation faces deadly missions, impossible choices and an inescapable family legacy.
Excerpts from emails sent to Peter Watt
‘. . . you are by far and away my favourite author. Your portrayal of an early Australia and its rich, and not so rich history told by a skilled storyteller should have gained more accolades than has been the case.’
‘Wow . . . another sensational story, I have just finished reading And Fire Falls. I would like to take this opportunity to say how much I love your stories, the ability to capture you at page 1 and keep you reading page after page, not wanting to put the book down. The same, book after book, every book, for that matter. All I can say is . . . write faster, because I’m running out of books to read!’
‘Thank you for such an inspiring yarn.’
‘I have come lately to your works, and what a cracking good read they are . . . What I like about your books is that you capture the frailties of human nature pretty much as I see it, and see people for what they are, with station in life and the colour of your skin counting for nought other than to show how prejudice and bigotry can still be so prevalent because of them . . . I am not filling your pockets when I say this, but I reckon from your books I have read so far (including the Papua series) that you remain true to the spirit which you capture so well, and although your output is prodigious, you maintain a freshness and write with a great turn of phrase which is true to life in the bush.’