In a Great Southern Land
Page 33
And all because men had united under the Southern Cross, that sky-flung symbol of freedom, and the Australian public and her juries had refused to allow them to be punished for doing so. For ultimately all they’d wanted was fairness and equality, two things they would now hopefully build this land on, giving future generations a parliament where all classes could be represented, from all the nations on earth. Giving them something Kieran would never again take for granted: a voice.
Kieran reflected back on his own part in the Eureka Stockade, to that critical moment when his heart had chosen to protect his mate Dave, even though so much of it belonged to Eve. But he’d learnt there was room for many people inside; your heart simply swelled when faced with the privilege of loving more than one. And it chose your loyalty for you, overruling all thought, or any vow, made by your mind. It rendered sense insensible and logic illogical when it came to the moment of truth.
Staring up at the stars Kieran reflected that it really wasn’t ever about who or what you loved more, it was just, simply, about love.
The door creaked open then and out came his new wife, Eve, and he wrapped his arms around her under those southern stars.
‘Is she asleep?’
‘Ages ago. I just adore watching her though. She really is rather angelic, even though I’m sure every mother thinks such things.’
‘That she is, my love, and a little star too, our Aurora. I hope we have a dozen more just the same, all girls and all just like you.’
‘I keep saying I think she’s more like you, but love is blind, I suppose,’ Eve said, kissing his cheek then yawning. ‘Anyway, I’m off to bed, are you coming in?’
‘Aye, I’ll be there in a moment. See if I can’t get you in a spot of bother.’
Eve smiled and moved closer to be wrapped in his arms.
‘Don’t take too long,’ she said, her fingers tracing his chin, but then they found the scar on his neck and her expression turned pensive.
‘It’s all in the past, my love,’ Kieran said, watching her closely.
She nodded but the shift was still there. ‘Sometimes I…I still fear this is just a beautiful dream, some kind of trick God is playing on me before I wake up alone or in chains. That you and Aurora aren’t real because this life is too good to be true. Like I still don’t…I don’t deserve it.’
‘You’ve always deserved a free and happy life, my beautiful girl, and a life filled with those who show you that every day. This is your fate now, Eve, our fate, in fact. You can believe it, I promise.’
Her smile returned at those words. ‘Are you rescuing me again by a river?’
‘I’m pretty sure you’ve always been the one saving me.’
She laughed then and he kissed her once more before she went inside and Kieran turned back to look at the sky and finish his pipe, thinking how incredibly fortunate his life had turned out to be too. This great southern land was wild and unpredictable, sometimes savage, sometimes beautiful, but like anywhere there was opportunity, if you sought to find it. Looking far above him he knew he’d been blessed here, under that cross, for in the end he truly had struck gold.
It was simply freedom, by any other name.
With Respect
I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, with respect for your culture and history.
In particular, I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal and the Dharug from the Eora nation, the Wiradjuri and the Wathaurong. I deeply regret that the period that this novel is based on is underscored by the horrific injustices you suffered at the time.
Acknowledgements
I’m a very lucky author because I have so many wonderful and colourful people in my life who inspire a myriad of traits in my characters. To my husband Anthony, the kindest man on earth (well, according to me anyway), my determined, passionate son Jimmy and my gentle, reflective son Jack, much of the Clancy brothers’ spirit was derived from your amazing souls. Thank you for your everyday inspiration.
Thank you too to my support team: my incredibly wise and beautiful Mum, my sisters Linda and Gen, my brothers James and Tom, my brothers and sisters-in-law, and my precious girlfriends Theresa and Zoe, Carmie, Chantal, Bobbie, Lara-Fi, Thuy and Gemma. And to Guy Whitington, Chris Naismith, Richard Welch and Lincoln Ellis, thank you for suggesting so many hilarious ideas and for all the ‘blokey’ chats.
There’s more but I’m starting to sound like I’m giving an Academy Award speech so I’ll finish with my intrepid agent Helen Breitwieser and my wonderful team at HarperCollins: Jo Mackay, James Kellow, Sue Brockhoff and the ever-amazing Annabel Blay, editor extraordinaire. I will forever thank the southern stars that led me to you.
I am also a lucky author because I am blessed with much fodder for the imagination for the stories themselves. In particular, my close and extensive family have provided many wonderful anecdotes over endless cups of tea throughout the years. With so much story at my disposal it is little wonder, then, that family history has ended up being woven into my fictional works and In a Great Southern Land is no exception. How fortunate I am to have such inspiration and input and I particularly thank Chris and Daphne Ashley, my cousins, for their research into this time period. It led to many hours of daydreaming, culminating in this novel.
I had often pondered why anyone would decide to leave their homeland to travel to the other side of the world, particularly when the clippers of the time were often no match for the treacherous seas. Yet, not only did my maternal ancestors take such a daring chance, they brought the entire family with them.
This novel was inspired by their tale, one of adventure and hardship, and I’ve given our fictional family their real-life name: Clancy.
Six generations ago in 1841, five Clancy siblings lived on the banks of the Shannon River in Killaloe, County Clare, Ireland, and, when their parents passed away (we have long assumed from one of the many diseases that plagued Ireland during this time) they decided to pack up and move to Australia.
It was very moving to research what life was like in this part of Ireland back then and their reasons for leaving soon became apparent. As described in the novel’s early chapters, it was a harsh existence, with little opportunity, and oppression was rife. I can well imagine why the lure of the great southern land would have proven too much to resist.
It was a difficult and dangerous undertaking to cross a vast ocean as a family, some married with young children. Sadly, one little girl, Sarah Clancy, perished at sea and I named Eileen’s stillborn child after her in the novel. It feels like a small token but I wanted to bring her to Australia at last, if only on paper. (I also have a cousin named after her in Western Australia). My direct ancestor was the original Sarah’s cousin, Dennis Clancy. He was nine years old when he arrived in New South Wales.
The Clancys were sponsored emigrants and many were uncommonly literate, in fact family folklore has it that neighbours would come from far and wide to hear my ancestors read from the papers.
Dennis Clancy’s son John and his wife Anne Mackey
There was much opportunity as the wild west of New South Wales opened up to settlers and my forefathers’ timing was certainly fortuitous. Skilled farmers from Britain were highly prized by the government at the time as the colony began to wind down the transportation of convicts, seeking a more ambitious, financially prosperous future at the expense of its traditional indigenous past.
Dennis’s family eventually settled in Orange, New South Wales, where my grandmother’s family, the Richards, had also emigrated to from Ireland. The house they built still stands today. It is where my grandmother, Gladys Mary Veronica, was born (see below, with my twin cousins, Anne and Tricia Colgan in the 1970s).
I’ve long loved the town of Orange and the rich history it holds. I spent many happy days there in my youth and some of our family still reside in this beautiful place and on the rolling farmland nearby. There’ve been halcyon days and harsh seasons of drought, but the Clancy line still lives on there af
ter a hundred and seventy-five years, which is why, perhaps, I always feel part of me belongs there too. It was a labour of love to paint the landscape with words. Thank you to the Colgans, in particular, for your enduring hospitality, with especial gratitude to my inspirational and wonderful Aunty Beryl who sadly passed away while I was writing this novel.
For whatever reasons our early settlers came, be it opportunity, desperation, adventure or hope, they laid down the foundations for Australia’s future. The decisions they made formed what would eventually become our collective voice, first raised with fledgling independence in 1855 when a jury stood and proclaimed a rebel Irish miner ‘not guilty’ for taking arms against tyranny.
We have a colourful past, some of it inspirational, some of it tragic, some of it incredibly moving. I am very grateful to be Australian and hope we can continue to try to build it into a land of empathy and equity, never forgetting that powerful energy that whipped through the air on that fateful day in Melbourne, long ago. That we can strive to truly be a place where justice is every person’s unquestionable right.
And where freedom can reside within us all.
ISBN: 9781489261601
TITLE: IN A GREAT SOUTHERN LAND
First Australian Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Mary-Anne O’Connor
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