For the medics and gunners it was lookout duty most of the time, although the Seaman and Coxn’s courses also did some of this. Andrew enjoyed the trip. It was only for three hours, out around Flat Top Island and along the coast for a few miles but it was a lovely day: sparkling blue water, bright sunshine and the ocean dotted with distant islands. What did annoy Andrew was finding that he had great difficulty actually holding his binoculars steady enough to focus on objects as the launch yawed, pitched and rolled. To his surprise he found it harder to focus on close objects than ones further away and he felt some sympathy for those on the Signallers Course as they worked in pairs, one cadet trying to read the messages while the other wrote them down. When he looked at one of the tiny semaphore stations in the distance Andrew could barely distinguish the movements. Likewise with the signal flags being sent up a flag pole on the seashore. The wind was at the wrong angle (“Always bloody is!” said the navy instructors) so that the flags blew straight out away from the observers, making the colours very hard to distinguish.
Lunch was eaten on board and during it Andrew had to sit near Muriel but he just gave her a friendly nod and kept talking to Blake. After lunch the launch took them back to the harbour. Then a bus took them back to the depot. The bus trip at least allowed them some chance of seeing a bit of Mackay in daylight. He decided it was very similar to Cairns, being green and tropical but without the close ring of mountains. Andrew was also struck by the large number of pretty girls there seemed to be.
From 1500 hrs to 1600 hrs there was a rehearsal for the Ceremonial Sunset parade. They were then able to fall out after ‘secure’ and have an hour to themselves. Andrew used this to get his washing done and to play handball with Simmo, Blake and Luke. By then he had settled well into the routine so that changing into night clothing (W 9s- cam work dress), supper, cleaning up ready for rounds, and rounds all just flowed.
The night lessons were on lookout duties in the dark and included another bus trip. This was down to the shore to try using binoculars at night. Adding greatly to the interest was a chance to use the latest army night vision sights, brought along by members of the local Army Reserve unit. Seeing those really clear green images of people in the blackness of the night gave Andrew the shivers. To him it was an awesome revelation of the importance of modern technology.
While travelling back through the brightly lit streets of the city Andrew could only agree with Blake when he wistfully wished they could have some local leave. “Lots of pretty girls in this town. I wouldn’t mind getting to know some of them,” he commented.
“What about Shona?” Andrew replied.
“Humpff!” Blake answered, adding, “No fraternizing at camp.”
The way he said that made Andrew suspect that Blake was having girl trouble too so he tactfully dropped the subject.
Apart from a Fire Drill half an hour after ‘lights out’ the night was uneventful. Andrew slept soundly the whole night through.
Day 4 was not as interesting. During it there were lessons on the safe handling of 9mm pistols (that was good), and various other small arms such as civilian shotguns and sporting rifles. Then there were lessons on identifying all the types of ammunition used by the navy. Mostly this was done by video and Data Projector but there were some ‘Drill Rounds’ for them to practice on. The course covered the recognition, storage and safe handling of 4.5” and 5” shells, 76mm, 40mm, 0.5" MG ammo, 81mm mortar bombs of various kinds, types of explosives, pyrotechnics, Man Overboard Marker Smoke flares and Lights. Andrew found it all interesting enough and was amazed at the variety of types.
The physical aspects of safely carrying shells and of loading and unloading the old ‘drill purpose’ 40/60mmm Bofors gun in the front yard tested his muscles and left a few aching unpleasantly. The hour of drill at the end of the day increased his sweat so that he was glad to fall out at ‘secure’ and head for the showers.
That evening there was another movie about the modern navy and revision but Andrew missed most of this because he was rostered on as part of the Duty Watch. For two hours at a time he stood at the front door as Duty Quartermaster. This went on all night, with a four hour break to sleep, then another stint on watch from 0200 to 0400. The boredom he dealt with by talking quietly to the other cadet on sentry, or by fantasizing about guarding the depot from rebels or fanatical terrorists. But that got him into thinking about rescuing girls, or at least impressing them mightily with his bravery and brilliant tactics. That led to picturing Muriel and then confused and unhappy thoughts.
Thursday dawned cool and overcast, which caused a deal of gloomy speculation as to whether the sailing race scheduled for that afternoon would go ahead. But Andrew did not particularly care and was not focused on that. During the morning the QMG Course was going to the rifle range to fire live ammunition and he as really looking forward to it.
There was another bus trip. This time it was out into the country. To Andrew the flat sugar cane farms of the Pioneer Valley reminded him of the country around Innisfail, except that there was more of it and the mountains were further away. At the rifle range they were revised and tested at their safe weapon handling and the Tests of Elementary Training. To assist the adult Navy Cadet instructors run the shoot there were five army NCOs.
Andrew enjoyed the shoot and was gratified to find that he was a good shot- scoring 20 out of 20 on the first practice at 50 metres and 19 out of 20 at the next, which was at 100 metres. He found the Steyr easy to use, except for the barrel replacement after unloading, and was satisfied he could use one if he had to. His only disappointment was that it did not match his expectations of drama. There was almost no recoil and the sound was trivial, not at all like the descriptions from older relatives who had fired the obsolete weapons of the 20th Century: the .303 and the 7.62mm SLR.
There was a third shoot after lunch, during which they fired at ranges up to 300 metres. That was a lot more testing and Andrew only scored 15 out of 20. After that they cleaned the range, picking up all the spent brass cartridge cases. By then the clouds had cleared away, the wind had dropped and the heat increased until they were all perspiring freely.
Another hire bus took them back to the depot at Mackay. By then it was 1430 hrs but they now had to clean the rifles. Andrew even enjoyed that, although he was called away half way through to go off for the sailing race. The race was only a short one and was won by the Seamanship Course.
That evening the lessons for the QMG Course were on Gunnery Communications. By the time that he went to bed Andrew was feeling both keyed up with tension over the next day’s testing, and also aware of a feeling of sadness because the camp was nearly over and he was really enjoying it. He went to sleep wishing he was already grown up and in the navy.
Friday was a very busy day. After ‘colours’ all the courses were drilled as a rehearsal for the ceremonial parade planned for that evening. The QMG Course then spent an hour doing practical tests on the Steyr rifle. After that there were oral and practical tests on the 40/60mm Bofors, on ammunition handling and safety, on lookout duties and on gunnery communications. There was then a break for lunch, followed by one hour of written tests.
1400- 1500 hrs was set aside for retests. As Andrew had none to do he was able to sit on his stretcher and polish his boots and brass ready for the parade. There was then another rehearsal between 1500 and 1600 hrs. As soon as the rehearsal was over there was a frenzy of polishing, ironing and quick showers so that by 1700 everyone was dressed in their best Ceremonial S1s ready for the ‘Ceremonial Sunset’ ceremony.
To Andrew dressing in the full ceremonial uniform for the guard: white cap with the cloth band down under his chin; white long-sleeved jacket with the traditional ‘silk’ and collar; white web belt with polished brass; white longs worn tucked into white gaiters; and all ending in highly polished black boots was an almost mystical ritual. When fully dressed and armed with the rifle he felt very proud and determined to do his best.
The armed guard was
formed up to one side and was commanded by a Cadet Midshipman from Townsville, Cdt Mid. Mainwaring, whom Andrew thought was just the most perfect example of what a young officer should be like. While waiting to march on Andrew watched with interest everything that went on. He was particularly struck by the number of official guests and parents. Among the official guests were the local mayor and member of Federal parliament, the local Army Cadet major and the Air Cadet squadron leader. There were even a few army cadets and air cadets among the crowd that assembled at the front of the parade ground. Seeing the other cadets really added a fine edge of determination to Andrew’s desire to do good drill.
‘There is no way they are going to have anything to criticise about the Navy Cadets,’ he told himself.
The ceremony began at 1715. First the unarmed divisions marched on and were right dressed by the Cadet Warrant Officer from TS ‘Pioneer’. Once he was satisfied he handed over to the Cadet Midshipman commanding the parade, a girl from Mackay. She posted the four Cadet Midshipman who were in command of the divisions. Each carried a drawn sword and the blades of these twinkled and glittered in the sun.
Seeing the officers with swords fired Andrew’s ambition. ‘That is what I am going to be,’ he told himself. ‘First I will get to be a cadet midshipman, then I will become a real midshipman in the navy and then an admiral.’
Next it was the turn of the armed guard and the sweating and stiff self-discipline came into full play. The guard marched on, faced the front and were right dressed. Once they were exactly lined up they were also stood at ease. When the RAN Captain commanding Queensland, plus two Commanders, one RAN and one ANC, arrived by car the guard were called to attention. The captain, who was the Reviewing Officer, was met by Lt Cdr Hazard, who was the camp commander. The captain was then given a present arms by the armed guard.
As Andrew stood rigidly holding the present arms he looked at the captain in his dress whites and was even more determined to become a naval officer. To Andrew the peaked cap with its gold badge and old oak leaves on the shiny leather brim, the crisp white uniform with its gold badges and bright display of medals, and even the white shoes, all looked splendid.
‘That will be me in twenty years time,’ he vowed.
After the present arms came an inspection. This seemed to go on for a very long time and as Andrew stood there sweating he became alarmed lest he faint. Remembering what the drill instructors had kept advising he continually wriggled his toes inside his boots and bounced his knee caps. He also kept his head up and took a close interest in the audience, noting a number of very pretty girls.
‘This Mackay place seems to have lots of good looking chicks,’ he decided.
Then the inspection party was in front of him and he swallowed and stiffened into immobility. All he noted were the blur of white uniforms, the bright splashes of colour which were medal ribbons and the shimmering glitter of sword blades and medals. Just for a second the captain looked him right in the eye. The captain gave a nod of approval and moved on, allowing a relieved Andrew to relax a little.
The inspection was followed by a march past. This was done to music from a loudspeaker and that embarrassed Andrew a little as he was sure the army and air cadets were sneering at that. Some of the marching from the junior divisions wasn’t very good either and that further embarrassed him.
A long speech followed during which several cadets fell out. Even the cadet next to Andrew left the ranks and he began to sweat with anxiety that he might not be able to stay standing himself. He was sure he was saved from this humiliation by the award of prizes. To his delight he was named as having topped the QMG Course. He fell out and marched across to where the captain stood. After saluting and shaking hands he was presented with a small trophy. Still without it really sinking in he saluted again, turned left and handed the trophy to a waiting officer, then resumed his place in he ranks.
After the prizes there was the ceremony of ‘sunset’, again with piped music to play the famous bugle tune. Standing rigidly at attention at the present arms Andrew watched the flags and colours coming slowly down the halyards and felt a great surge of pride. Watching the last of the sunlight lighting up the red, white and blue of the Australian flag made him feel very patriotic.
There was another present arms as the VIPs departed and then the guard marched off. They were halted inside the depot and Cadet Midshipman Mainwaring turned to face them.
“Well done guard,” he said. “That was an excellent effort.” He then handed command to the Petty Officer, a burly lad armed with a silver bladed cutlass. The P.O. marched them over to the armoury to return the rifles to secure storage. They were then dismissed.
The evening meal was a barbeque out on the side lawn. As Andrew made is way out to join the queue of cadets he looked happily around, pleased that the parade had gone off well. He noted that all the parents and friends were now mingling and eating. Some of the VIPs were still there being social and even the army and air cadets were part of the crowd. Andrew particularly wanted to talk to them.
He never got the chance. To his surprise Luke came along the line and took his sleeve. “Come with me man,” he said. “I want you to meet my Uncle Moses and his friend Jordan.”
The request came as quite a shock to Andrew but he allowed himself to be led towards a group of Torres Strait Islanders. He had noted them during the parade, their black skins making them stand out in such a gathering, but he had not connected them with either Luke or himself. Now his thoughts began to race with speculation.
“Do they know about the wreck of the Deeral?” Andrew asked as he and Luke made their way through the small crowd.
“Too right!” Luke replied, nodding vigorously. “I mailed them a copy of your assignment. They really interested. They want to talk to you man. They both really like to know what happened to their grandfathers too.”
“So do I,” Andrew answered, suddenly gripped by a feeling of intense curiosity. “But I don’t know how to go about it.”
“They got a few ideas,” Luke replied. “So come and meet them and hear what they got to say.”
CHAPTER 27
UNEXPECTED ALLIES
As he and Luke made their way through the crowd towards the group of Torres Strait Islanders Andrew felt unaccountably nervous. He was used to talking to Luke, and was also used to seeing black people, at least ten percent of the students at his school being of either Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. But facing up to being the only white face among such a group of very black ones made him feel uncomfortable. There was an uneasiness which sprang from the knowledge that here was a complete culture about which he knew very little and because he did not wish to offend. His ignorance made him feel ashamed.
Then he spotted Carmen talking to Shona and Tina Babcock. “Hey Luke, let’s get Carmen to join us. She will be interested in meeting your relatives,” he said.
“Yeah, ok,” Luke agreed.
The two boys detoured across. Andrew gestured to Carmen who asked what he wanted. Andrew pointed to the group of T.Is and said, “Come and meet Luke’s uncle. He is the son of Solomon Tapau who vanished with the Deeral.”
Carmen looked surprised. “His son! Does he know what happened?”
“No. But he has read my assignment and is very interested in finding out, so Luke says,” Andrew answered.
Luke nodded. “That’s right. He always wondered what happened to his poppy and he says he might be able to help us find out.”
Carmen nodded with satisfaction, then turned to the other two girls. “Excuse us please you two. This might be very important.”
Leaving Shona and Tina to the attentions of two male cadets from Mackay the three made their way across to the group of T.Is. As they did Andrew received a vivid impression of very black, very vibrant people. They were all well dressed and seemed very cheerful and were quite happily joining in the social activities. It reminded Andrew of comments he had heard about the differences between the Aboriginal and To
rres Strait Island people. The T.I s had retained much of their culture and pride to a much greater extent and had more readily adapted to the changing economic and social systems. They had an excellent reputation for being very reliable and hard working people and it was obvious they intermarried much less.
Andrew found himself shaking hands with a large man who had almost coal black skin, his grizzled face topped by a whitening thatch of the fuzzy ‘steel wool’ looking hair of a typical Melanesian. The man was about fifty and was quite fat but still looked fit and strong. He was Luke’s uncle: Moses Tapau.
Moses gripped his hand and shook it vigorously, grinning happily while he did. Andrew was next introduced to another man; a very strong and fit looking man in his thirties named Jordan Wania. “He my cousin,” Moses explained.
So apparently were several other people. Luke was embraced and kissed by two big strapping girls with bold, flashing eyes and jutting bosoms. They looked a couple of years older than him and he explained they were his cousins Bernice and Amy.
The two girls gave Andrew laughing smiles that made him blush deeply, much to their obvious amusement. Next he met several older women. They all had the characteristic bulk of their race and several had young children. Carmen was more at ease and even got several of the young children to give her shy smiles. Luke shook hands with more cousins, big lads named David and Reuben.
Then Moses called to a wizened old man who was seated on a folding chair. “Hey Absalom, you come meet this fella here eh?”
Old Absalom hoisted himself to his feet and hobbled over on twisted legs. He peered at Andrew through eyes that looked amazingly bloodshot and also yellowed. For a moment a puzzled frown formed on his face. Then his eyes went wide and his lips opened. He gave a shrill cry of astonishment then said, “Bert Collins! You be just like Bert Collins.”
“I’m his grandson,” Andrew replied, the hair on the back of his neck prickling in reaction.
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