Cockatoo

by Christopher Cummings

  Lunch was only sandwiches and was served early at 1130. As soon as it was over the cadets cleaned up, loaded their gear into a navy coach and were checked on board. As she settled into her seat next to Stella Tina found she was gripped by a delicious sense of mystery as they had no idea where they were going or what the story might be about.

  In fact they only went for a twenty minute trip to Gordonvale. Gordonvale is administratively part of the City of Cairns but is in fact a separate town which is dominated by a huge sugar mill. The coach turned off the Bruce Highway and made its way to the park which constituted the town ‘square’. As the coach pulled up Tina saw a large group of army cadets sitting in groups on the lawn opposite the police station.

  The sight of those army uniforms sent Tina into a bit of a tiz. ‘Is Graham there?’ she wondered. She knew he was taking part in the exercise but she also understood that there were different groups. Anxiously she scanned the group. ‘There he is!’ she thought, noting that her heart rate had shot up with anxiety rather than love. ‘No, it is Andrew I love. I just hope there isn’t any friction or unpleasantness between them.’

  To her relief Graham did no more than give her a friendly smile and a wave as he went about packing his gear. But Tina did note him and Andrew exchange unfriendly glances. That was good news for her she decided. ‘It must mean that Andrew still has some feelings for me,’ she thought.

  There were then more pleasant surprises. Seated to one side were about two dozen navy cadets. “From Townsville and Mackay,” Petty Officer O’Leary commented. Tina recognized a few but did not know any very well. However Andrew and his sister Carmen did and they at once went over to say hello. Seeing several blonde females among the Townsville navy cadets sent Tina’s anxiety level shooting up.

  ‘I wonder if any of them is the blonde nudist he keeps seeing?’ she worried.

  But she wasn’t introduced and stayed with her own group until they were told to be seated next to the other navy cadets.

  The exercise then began. A tubby, middle-aged major of army cadets moved to the front of the group and introduced himself. “I am Major Wickham, OC of 130 Army Cadet Unit, Heatley,” he said. “And I am the exercise director.”

  Major Wickham then gave a very detailed safety briefing and explanation of how the exercise was organized and who the staff were and the rules and expectations for behavior. Tina now learned that she was about to take part in a ‘One-sided, controlled exercise’. This meant that all the incidents were carefully planned and were to be staged by a separate team called the ‘Control Group’.

  “The Control Group,” Major Wickham explained, “is primarily there to provide safety check points and radio relay stations but they also provide the people who give you the action or the story. Some times they will be acting as innocent civilians such as woodcutters and, if you treat them correctly, they will give you the correct information. At other times they will act as the opposing force. You need to observe carefully how the people you meet are dressed.”

  That was a novel idea to Tina but she liked it. Major Wickham explained that the exercise was designed to be as real as possible, to ‘feel’ real, but not at the expense of safety. “Also we will stop to teach any necessary lessons and also, after every action, you will move in and sit like this so we can count heads. The exercise moves continually and we must keep careful track of where everyone is,” he explained.

  For that reason the group leaders were then required to make their own roll books and this allowed an opportunity for people to flex muscles and go to the toilet. The briefing then resumed with a lot of information on road safety and safety with vehicles and water.

  “You will not take any chances with safety,” Major Wickham emphasized. “If you have any concerns or doubts then stop the exercise and check everyone is safe. We will not risk hurting anyone just for a cadet training activity.”

  As she sat listening Tina decided that she liked Major Wickham. ‘He seems very thorough,’ she thought. She knew from what Capt Conkey had told her that no other army cadet unit in Australia did anything comparable. “It is only because Major Wickham makes the effort to plan and write the exercises,” he had explained.

  After nearly two hours the cadets were told to stand and put their kit bags beside a truck and then to pull on their packs and webbing. Tina had no trouble with hers and thanked their earlier expeditions in preparation. But it was obvious many of the other cadets, both army and navy, were not as ready. There were many groans and look of dismay as the strain came on.

  The whole group, now about 80 strong, marched off along the side of the park past the main shopping centre. They crossed two streets, practicing how to do it safely as a single group side by side. Then they walked two more blocks, past a caravan park to the Gordonvale State High School. Tina was surprised to learn that the cadets had hired the school hall and they were seated in long lines inside.

  For the next hour all packs and webbing were re-packed. Each cadet was then weighed twice, once with their pack and webbing on and once without. If the load exceeded 40% of their body mass the cadet was sent back to take things out. Officers and NCOs continually inspected and checked to ensure that the equipment was fitting correctly and the load well balanced.

  The army cadets then spent an hour walking around the oval to test the load and to toughen them up. They stopped every fifteen minutes to check and adjust. During this time the navy cadets unloaded all their canoes and boats and laid out all the paddles, sails, PFDs and other items of equipment. While they did Tina several times noticed Graham. He was smiling and joking and his fitness was very obvious. ‘That’s because of all those hikes he and his friends do,’ she thought.

  The evening meal was then prepared outside in section and platoon groups. For the navy cadets this meant in their teams which meant that Tina was in close proximity to Andrew much of the time. The cooking she enjoyed and she managed to relax a bit. It was a very social event and Tina got to know a couple of the Townsville navy cadets, including one of the blondes. She learned that her name was Anne and that she was not The Blonde who she now learned was not a navy cadet.

  But her brother was and Tina was now introduced to Martin Schipholl and thought him a very nice person. Apparently Andrew had saved him from drowning and later Martin had joined the Navy Cadets. Now he was an Able Seaman and nominated for the same Leading Seaman course she was to attend in the second week of the holidays.

  At 1900hrs the whole company was seated in the hall in their section groups and the ‘Story’ was begun. Major Wickham explained that the exercise was usually set in a historical time that precluded aircraft or motor vehicles. “Definitely no helicopters so you have to walk,” he said. “So this one is not set in North Queensland but in North America two hundred and fifty years ago. That is back in 1758, during a war called by the British ‘The Great War for the Empire’, by the Europeans the ‘Seven Years War’ and by the Americans the ‘French and Indian War’. We are playing the role of the British.”

  This was all a bit hard to follow for Tina and she puzzled over the map and handout that was then issued to everyone. From it, and the briefing that followed, she learned that in the 1750s the French, and their Indian allies, had set out to block British expansion inland in North America by establishing a chain of forts along the rives and lakes.

  Major Wickham pointed to a large wall map that had been hung up. “Most of North America was trackless forest or mountains. The easiest way to move both people and goods was by water. So the rivers and lakes were vital transport arteries. At key points, such as where two rivers joined, or at the ‘portages’, the tracks which led around rapids or waterfalls, both sides built forts. They even built huge stone forts armed with dozens of cannons at narrow choke points on the big lakes. The most famous was Fort Ticonderoga.”

  A picture of Fort Ticonderoga was displayed and Tina was amazed. ‘I had no idea any of this went on,’ she thought, uncomfortably aware that she was very ignorant
of world history.

  Major Wickham had another map displayed. “Now, the Special Idea for our exercise. We are pretending that the Atherton Tablelands are being fought over by the British and French. We are advancing in from the sea and the French are coming from the big rivers of the interior. For our exercise we are using the Mulgrave River, the Barron River and Lake Tinaroo. The town of Tinaroo is the key and the French have just set up some new forts there and near it to control the lake and the portage where the dam is. We will pretend there is no dam.”

  Tina had a vivid image of the black wall of the dam coming closer and closer as she and Sarah had sailed across the lake a few weeks before and she found she was now very interested.

  Major Wickham then explained the importance of artillery. “Most of the forts were just timber stockades but the more important ones like Fort Ticonderoga were built in peace time of stone and earthworks. The forts in our story are all new and have just been constructed in the last few weeks so are earthworks and logs. As far as we know none of them yet has cannons in them but the only effective way they can be attacked is by battering down their walls with artillery. That is the crux of our problem- to get cannons close enough to fire at the forts.”

  He paused and looked directly at the navy cadets. “That is to be the special role of the navy cadets. The sailors of that era were all trained in the use of cannons on ships so for the story you are crew members of the British Line-of-Battle Ship HMS Renown and you have been put ashore with a cannon and boats and the mission of supporting our expedition to provide our artillery. You must get a cannon to where it can fire on the town of Tinaroo.”

  As she heard that Tina felt a surge of excitement and anxiety. ‘This is good. It will be a real challenge,’ she thought. And she wondered where the cannon was coming from.

  As though in answer a group of cadets wheeled a small 18th Century ship’s cannon out of a side room. It had a black painted barrel about 1.5 metres long which was as thick as a person’s leg. The gun carriage had four black wheels about 30cm in diameter and was made of timber and painted a deep yellow. It was then explained that it was not a real cannon, just a timber replica.

  That was a bit of a disappointment, especially to the boys who wanted to fire it. Tina could only smile at their hopeful comments. She now learned that part of the challenge was the requirement to move all the necessary items needed to make a cannon work. These included one ‘cannonball’ (a tennis ball) and one ‘gunpowder’ cartridge (a packet of plain flower that had to be kept dry!) per cadet, plus felt wads, two rammers, two sponges, two wormers (for extracting misfires and cleaning), fuzes (plastic coil), cleaning cloths, plus tools to construct a gun position (an axe, two picks, two shovels and a couple of handspikes (long poles). It all added up to a quite formidable pile as five cadets brought it all out of the side room and piled it up.

  Major Wickham pointed to the extra items. “Most of this will be the navy’s responsibility to shift. The army cadets will carry some but will be there to do the infantry job.” He then explained that the exercise was not to teach warlike tactics. “But nor will we use all the drills of the time. The Seven Years War was when the modern tactics began to evolve. The British Army formed several units who specialized in forest fighting with rifles. The main one was the Royal American Regiment. They have evolved over time into the Rifle Brigade and still exist. The other unit was Roger’s Rangers, from which the American Ranger units claim descent.”

  He did some more explanations of organization and tactics then went into details of the exercise. There was a ten minute break and then the leaders were seated for what the army cadets called an ‘Orders Group’. Tina sat at the back and took notes and was impressed. The orders were highly detailed and in a very definite sequence and at the end she was quiet sure of what they were going to do the next day.

  The navy cadets then moved to one side and began a discussion on how to best move all the equipment and the cannon. This led to some quite animated arguments and some very good suggestions. Each team then was then allocated a task. To her dismay Tina found that their team had to move the gun carriage and the rammers and sponges.

  Andrew made the best suggestion. “We make catamarans out of the canoes to give them stability,” he said.

  “And how do we load the cannon? We have to pretend it is the real weight,” Petty Officer O’Leary asked.

  “Block and tackle,” Tina suggested.

  “Suspended from what?” Lt Ryan queried.

  “A tree branch?” Tina replied.

  Andrew nodded. “Or we make a sheer legs from two poles.”

  “Good thinking. So we need more ropes and some blocks,” Lt Ryan said.

  “Yes sir. Can we go back to the depot and get them?” Cadet Midshipman George asked.

  Lt Ryan grinned. “No need. Major Wickham thought of that and they are here.”

  Again Tina was impressed. She was also now very interested, alive with the challenge of getting the cannon to Tinaroo. ‘This is going to be good!’ she thought.

  That night they all slept on mats on the floor of the hall. The army cadets were up at 0400 and started moving in the dark at 0500. The navy cadets were roused at this time and through eyes made bleary from sleep Tina picked out Graham among the army cadets swinging on their packs. He was smiling and looked very happy but to her annoyance he did not even glance in her direction. As he tramped out the door she felt a twinge of regret and then of relief. ‘He isn’t the one,’ she told herself.

  As she thought this she looked around and found herself looking at Andrew. He met her eyes for a second and smiled, then bent to roll up his sleeping bag. ‘Well, that is something,’ she told herself.

  But how to rebuild the relationship?

  CHAPTER 40

  UPSTREAM AND UPHILL

  Morning routine kept the navy cadets busy until 0630. By then all of the army cadets had gone except one lieutenant who was there to lock up the building. The navy cadets cleaned up and swept the hall and then carried their gear out to the vehicles. At 0700 they began moving. The first activity was a simple navigation exercise with each group taking a different route through the town to the bank of the Mulgrave River. This involved marching with their packs. As there were only four different routes but 12 groups they were sent off ten minutes apart in time.

  Tina’s group marched back to the main square and then along a road beside the railway. This led them past the Catholic church and on along a light railway which crossed under the Bruce Highway bridge. On the other side the group turned left off the railway and followed a vehicle track down to a park beside the highway bridge over the Mulgrave. The walk was about 2 kilometres and took about half an hour but was far enough to have them all perspiring and to make Tina glad it was no further.

  She had often been to the picnic area at the highway bridge so there was no mystery yet. The only thrill had been the odd one of marching through the sleepy town, noticed only by the dogs and the occasional early riser. At the picnic area they found a truck and three 4WDs towing boat trailers. Two carried the unit’s power boats and another had four ‘Laser’ sailboats and the last trailer had 8 canoes on it. These were all unloaded and then work began on preparing them to carry the cannon and its accessories. Because it promised to be wet work they all stripped down to their bathers, Tina a little self-consciously.

  Then they set to work tying knots, lashing poles and boats together and loading stores aboard. This was all good teamwork activity. During the next hour they lashed two canoes together using the rammers and poles to make a catamaran. Then two long poles were placed side by side at right angles to the river bank. They were lashed loosely together with a diagonal lashing near their top ends and a block and tackle set up and lashed on above that. Then another block and tackle arrangement was secured to a tree well back from the river bank and also secured to the top of the two poles. The two poles were slid forward until much of their length was out over the water and then the shoreward ends
of the poles were spread apart and the butts dug into the river bank. The whole arrangement was then hauled up using the rear block and tackle until they were nearly vertical to form a sheer legs. Lt Ryan pointed out that if they were really going to lift a one tonne cannon they would have need much longer and stronger poles than the ones provided but they were to pretend for the sake of the exercise.

  The wooden gun carriage was then rolled in underneath the block and tackle dangling from the cross lashing. This was then used to haul the carriage up a few centimetres off the ground. The canoe catamaran was pulled in close to the bank and then the rear block and tackle eased off so that the dangling gun carriage was swung out over the catamaran. Very carefully the gun carriage was lowered down onto the cross beams and then moved until the trim of the raft was even. It was then unhooked and lashed in place.

  Tina enjoyed all of this and so did the others. She found it very satisfying work even if they got very wet doing it. In fact she deliberately made the most of being in her bathers to try to attract Andrew’s attention. Knowing by now that he liked to see breasts she used every opportunity to lean forward in front of him to give him an eyeful, or she squeezed her arms together to push up an eye-popping amount of cleavage. All the while she pretended that she was not aware of what was happening. That she succeeded she was sure of by the way he kept glancing at her and when she noted him lick his lips a few times she secretly smiled with satisfaction.

  ‘Good! He knows I exist,’ she thought. Then she blushed with shame, being well aware that everyone else there could also see. She noted, to her embarrassment, that even some of the adult males were giving her surreptitious glances. After that she eased up on her flaunting but still enjoyed the naughty thrill.