by Nick Hawkes
“You and I both know that the stone you gave Mr. Johnson wasn’t the Atlantis stone. It was a good copy, I grant you—probably made by Gabrielle—but it wasn’t the Atlantis stone.”
Felicity twisted her head away evasively.
“Felicity?”
She turned back. “Well, Mr. Bidjara, it so happens that my friend Gabs is making you and me a wedding present for our new house. It’s a sculpture of a fish.” She prodded his arm. “Because your people have deep links with fishing around Port Fairy.”
Benjamin furrowed his brow, failing to see the relevance of what Felicity was saying.
She continued. “It’s looking fabulous. It’s held together with wire…and has shingles of wood and pieces of flat stone for scales.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yes,” she smiled. “One of the pieces of stone looks a lot like the Atlantis stone.”
What is true…and what is fiction?
Historical records of sightings of the ‘mahogany ship’ near Warrnambool… TRUE
The existence of a fragment of stone in South Africa with etchings of a flotilla of ships and Mendonça’s name, together with the date 1524… TRUE1
The existence of a stone with Ilhas do ouro—land of gold—carved into it, together with a depiction of a two-masted, lateen-rigged sailing ship… FICTION
The alleged claim that a document was found in Canberra recording how soldiers were ordered to destroy the mahogany ship in case it compromised British sovereignty claims over Australia… TRUE
Historical details surrounding the search for lands where gold might be found… TRUE
The theory that the mahogany ship was a caravel belonging to Mendonça’s flotilla… TRUE
The Portuguese artifacts found in New Zealand… TRUE
The Treaty of Tordesillas… TRUE
Historical details concerning the kings and queens of Portugal and Spain in the sixteenth century (except the treaty between Henry VII of England and John II of Portugal)… TRUE
The treaty between Henry VII of England and John II of Portugal… FICTION
The existence of Britain’s National Archives at Kew… TRUE
The history of Sardinia (excepting reference to a copy of a treaty between Henry VII of England and John II of Portugal)… TRUE
The existence of Cagliari’s Elephant Tower and the statue of the elephant… TRUE
The woods used for woodturning and their characteristics… TRUE
The details surrounding scuba diving off Warrnambool… TRUE
The threatened radicalization of the Aboriginal communities in northern Australia in the 1970s… TRUE
The details surrounding Australia’s SAS activities in Afghanistan… TRUE
The quotes concerning mathematics, God, and Paul Dirac… TRUE2
The history and culture of the Gunditjmara people from around Warrnambool… TRUE
The details of a five-hundred-year-old Portuguese liturgical prayer book, one page of which has a kangaroo-like creature sketched into a decorated letter starting a paragraph… TRUE
The details of the ‘Giddy Tuna’ and other shops and buildings mentioned in Port Fairy… FICTION
The charm of the town of Port Fairy…and the Moyne River… TRUE
A smart phone case which has a thermal imaging (infra red) camera, powered by the case’s own battery… TRUE
The micro ScoutCam 1.2mm diameter camera, developed by the Israel-based biotechnology firm, Medigus, for endoscopic diagnoses… TRUE
The existence of a diamond-coated spiral wire saw… TRUE
Notes
Chapter 13
1 The CFMEU is the ‘Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union’ in Australia.
What is true…and what is fiction?
1 This is true according to Peter Trickett’s book, Beyond Capricorn (2007), p. 180, plate 11.
2 Paul Dirac was a theoretical physicist at Cambridge who worked in quantum physics. His calculations resulted in the discovery of anti-matter.
About the Author
Nick Hawkes has lived in several countries of the world, and collected many an adventure. Along the way, he has earned degrees in both science and theology—and has written books on both. Since then, he has turned his hand to novels, writing romantic thrillers that feed the heart, mind, and soul.
His seven full length novels are known as, ‘The Stone Collection.’
His first novel, The Celtic Stone, won the Australian Caleb Award in 2014.
Also by Nick Hawkes
The Peacock Stone
A young girl comes to live in the slums of New Delhi. It is a place of danger where street gangs rule. Through the initiative of a blind beggar, she is taken to work in the home of a rich businessman. There, she observes a world of education and privilege—a world that is out of her reach.
But danger still stalks.
A kidnap attempt forces her to flee to her childhood home in the tropical backwaters of Kerala—a land of wooden boats, fishing and elephants.
Violence, intrigue and love flourish.
Whether she survives will depend on her being able to understand the significance of the pendant given to her by the blind beggar—the peacock stone.
More details at www.author-nick.com
(See next page for more)
Also by Nick Hawkes
The Fire Stone
Sebastian, a young farm hand living in the Australian mallee, is being watched by Val, a fugitive hiding in the forests on the banks of the River Murray. Val has an official document that confirms his death fourteen years ago. There is no official document that confirms his particular skill: assassin.
Pip divides her life between her musical studies at the Adelaide Conservatorium and her work as a barista. Her ordered life is shattered when bullets fired through the window of her home reduce her cello to matchwood. The violence appears all the more bewildering given that she lives with her father David an Anglican cleric and retired missionary.
A web of violence draws all four of them together.
Everything in Sebastian’s life begins to change when he is given the gift of a Koroit opal—The Fire Stone. It begins a journey in which he is challenged by David’s wisdom and confronted by Pip’s love.
The four of them seek to escape the violence that pursues them by sailing across the Pacific to the islands of Vanuatu. There, in the village community of Lamap, the final drama is played out…
…before The Fire Stone makes an unexpected return.
More details at www.author-nick.com
