‘Chalky, what’s wrong, where are you going?’ I start to go after them, one of the Christian Brothers steps in front of me preventing me from moving, with a soft firm Irish accent he says,
‘Sit down, this has nothing to do with you, do as you’re told.’
‘But Chalky is my friend.’ The brother pushes me back into a chair.
‘Sit down, do as you’re told.’
‘Leave him alone yer Fenian.’ In answer, Billy is clouted very hard around the head knocking him over; he sits there with a shocked look. I attempt to get up to help him but I am pushed back down, I look at the door, Chalky and Christine are gone.
Billy and I now find ourselves in a group of twenty boys, none of them we know. I have seen them on board but have never spoken to any of them. Billy’s ear looks quite red and swollen. I desperately looked to see Rachel before we left the ship, without success, the last I saw of her was when I kissed her. Australia is supposed to be a new beginning, a bright future, why do I feel so sad and let down, why am I not with my friends, why am I not on my way to see my new parents? Perhaps I am; I have tried, to ask but was told,
‘Shut your mouth; speak when you are spoken to, not before.’
. The bus is old; the seats are like a park bench with just wooden slats. We move off, nobody speaks, no one is smiling. Looking out of the window through the blur of my tears I watch the streets of Freemantle slip by. I feel someone touch my hand I look down to see Billy’s hand resting on mine, his ear is still red and swollen, and like me, there are tears in his eyes. Nobody is talking; Hitting Brother is at the front, the other one, who never speaks is at the back. The traffic is quite heavy; there are more cars on the road than I have ever seen at one time in England. We are stopped at a set of traffic lights, just in front of us is a bus, on the back of it there are two babies prams hanging on hooks; how strange.
Very soon we are in the suburbs of Perth; the houses are all bungalows with verandas all around them. No house is joined to the house next door, they all have big gardens, and some have palm trees. We cross a big river. A sign on the bridge says it is the Swan River. After about an hour the bitumen road becomes gravel, the bus rattles along. When another vehicle comes the other way, or a vehicle overtakes us, everything disappears in a cloud of dust.
The bus comes to a halt at a clearing called Frying Pan Creek. Hitting brother calls out, ‘If you want to go to toilet now is your chance.’ Everyone scrambles off the bus but there are no toilets, the brother takes out his willy and starts to pee at the side of the road. Very soon he is joined by twenty boys making puddles in the dust. I have never done that before, perhaps they don’t have proper toilets in Australia.
Above the sign for Frying Pan Creek is a sign pointing in both directions ‘Great Northern Highway.’ Back on the bus we have continued for another hour, turning off down a rough track, we come to a stop in front of a group of buildings.
Two men are waiting a tall red headed man gets on board, with a deep Irish accent he says, ‘Welcome to Blendoon, this will be your new home, you are expected to be well behaved at all times, anyone doing otherwise will be dealt with severely, you are expected to study and work, hard is that understood.’ One or two say yes, ‘Good, now we expect respect, therefore you will call me Father, and all other members of staff here will be referred to as Brother. Okay, get off in an orderly fashion, collect your suitcase, and follow Brother Luke to your sleeping quarters.
The two drab rooms have bare floorboards, each room has ten beds, five, aligned down each side, there are no cupboards or drawers for our clothes. On each bed there is a mattress, a pillow and one blanket, there are no sheets or pillow cases. Billy and I grab the first two beds on the right hand side.
Another brother enters the room, his arms full of clothes; he then dumps them on the floor. ‘All of you get undressed, put the clothes you are wearing in your suitcases and select one pair of shorts and one shirt from the pile on the floor, there are various sizes so you will find one that fits you. They will be all the clothes you will need while you are here; get a move on, you will gather in the dining hall in half an hour.’
The meal is terrible, I’m not sure what it is, it has no taste. Billy said it is gruel; he used to get it when he was in a home in Belfast. This place makes Barnardos look like Buckingham Palace and is far worse than Saint S’s. Our meal over, such it is, we are taken to church, well, not really a church but a hut with an altar. The man that said we must call him Father held the service but I didn’t understand any of it, the whole service was done in a foreign language, except for the sermon. All the other kids were able to join in, Billy and I just stood up and knelt down when everyone else did. At first Billy refused to do anything, but he saw Brother Luke looking at him and thought better of it.
‘Phil, how have we ended up with a bunch of left footers, it can’t be right there must be a mistake?’
‘I have no idea but it does look like we are here to stay; I thought I was going somewhere to meet my new parents, I’m going to ask in the morning will you come with me?’
‘Who are you going ask?’
‘Father; he’s the boss, I’ll ask him’
‘Yeah, reckon you’re right, I’ll come with you, when are we going to do it?’
‘First chance we get after breakfast.’
I haven’t slept very well, I am hungry my stomach hasn’t stopped growling all night, I wish now I had finished my dinner. Some kid near the window was talking in his sleep and crying until somebody came in and carried him out, his bed is empty now, I wonder where he is?
We are woken at six, it is just breaking day, having to dress quickly we are then are marched to the church. This time Brother Luke is taking the service, I hardly recognized him dressed in a white robe, and once again the service is foreign.
The breakfast is the same tasteless gruel, this time I clear my plate I would have eaten it too if I could, I am so hungry. Water is the only thing to drink. At Barnardos we had a choice of milk or tea, nothing like that here. Father announced that the under elevens would attend school; the rest of us would be put to work clearing up around the place.
I can see Father walking towards a building that is slightly away from the rest, we run after him.
‘Father, excuse me.’ He turns to see who is calling, ‘Father, could I please ask you something?’
‘What is it my son?’
‘Well; we, that’s Billy and me, would like to know why we are here.’
‘Because you have been sent here, why else; what are your names?’
‘I’m Phillip Snell and he is Billy Craig, we are not Roman Catholics, we don’t belong here.’
‘I see, maybe it is God’s Will, he wants you here to worship him in the correct way.’
‘But Father, I was supposed to be going to Melbourne, to a Mr. and Mrs Barton, they have adopted me.’
‘As I said, it is God’s Will you are here and here you will stay.’
‘Not bloody likely, I’m not staying with a load of Taigs-----’ Billy is knocked to the ground by a back hander to his head, this time he doesn’t move, he lays sprawled in the dust, I attempt to throw a punch but my wrist is grabbed in mid air, with his other hand he slaps me around the face. Silent Brother has lifted Billy to his feet, I can see blood from his nose, he also has a split lip, Billy shouts, ‘Let go of me yer feking Fenian.’ For that out burst he gets another slap around the head, the brother still doesn’t speak.
‘That’s enough; Brother Francis put them both in the woodshed to cool down, I will deal with them later.’ Silent Brother grabs a handful of hair of both Billy and me and drags us to a wooden shed where he throws us inside, bolting the door behind us. Through a knothole in the wood I watch him walk over to a group of boys that have gathered to watch, he waves his arms at them and they scurry away.
‘Are you alright Billy?’
‘Yeah, I’ll get over it; I told you they were evil, didn’t I?’
‘Yeah, you have
mentioned it once or twice.’
‘How long do you think they will keep us here?’
‘An hour maybe, then what; I wonder what he meant when he said he would deal with us later?’
‘Probably another good hiding Phil, I reckon we should escape.’
‘How are we going to do that, and, if we did where would we go, we don’t even know where we are?’
‘Well I reckon anything’s got to be better than living with these evil buggers.’
‘I’ll think about it, lets see how long they keep us here.’
‘We could chop our way out with that axe.’
‘Billy shut up, let us wait, and see what happens.’ The morning drags on; the flies are a nuisance, especially for Billy as they keep settling on the dried blood on his face.
‘Billy have you got a hankie?’
‘No, if I had I’d have nowhere to keep it; there are no pockets in these bleeding shorts?’
‘Well spit on your shirt and I’ll try and wash the blood off your face.’
‘Ouch, that’s painful, mind my lip its sore.’ It is very hot in here, we have seen the kids go and come back from lunch and still no sign of us being let out.
‘Billy, I think you’re right, we should try to break out, if we don’t get a drink we could die in here.’ We set to, moving the wood stack from the rear wall; the wood is ready cut for a fire, and is all a foot long and about three to four inches wide. We make a gap eighteen inches wide; stacking the wood we have removed onto the top of the pile either side. Billy gives the side of the shed a whack with the back of the axe, nothing moves but the noise is horrendous. ‘Billy, we can’t do that they will hear us.’
‘There is no other way, lets take it in turns, one watches and the other chops.’
After about an hour we have a hole we can walk through. Two feet from the back of the shed is a wire fence; in the field behind is a horse water trough. I slip out and have a long drink while Billy keeps watch, I then watch while he drinks. We have decided to wait until dark so we won’t be seen in the field, but, if someone comes before then, we will do a runner and hope we aren’t caught. Billy returns from another drink,
‘Look what I‘ve found,’ he holds up a beer bottle, ‘I’ve washed it and filled it so we can take water with us.’
Darkness comes and still nobody has come to see how we are, we could be dead for all they cared. ‘Come on Phil, let’s do it.’
‘Okay, come on.’ Sprinting across the field at an angle away from the home we make our way to the highway. Here we pause, deciding to make for the lights that look like they could be a town.
Our town is a transport café with four very long Lorries parked outside. One with sacks stacked on, is facing towards Perth. Both of us scramble onto the fuel tank then using the head board as a ladder we climb up on top of the load and lay face down on the sacks with our heads towards the head board. Billy whispers, ‘How long do you think we will have to wait?’
‘I don’t know, I hope it’s not long, the smell of that food is killing me.’
The café door opens; the light from inside shining on us, a man stands in the doorway, he lights a cigarette, I try to burrow down into the sacks from fear of being seen. He then calls, ‘Hooroo mate, think of me in about two hours, cuddled up in bed with my missus,’ someone inside laughs,
‘Bloody hell mate that’d be a first, it’s usually someone else’s missus.’
‘Yer right, see yer, have a good one.’ The café door bangs shut, we are surrounded by darkness again, the cab door slams then it opens again, I can hear his footsteps as he walks around the lorry, does he know we are here? He stops just below me, I can smell the smoke from his cigarette as he puffs away, I watch as he throws the butt on the ground, then grinds it with his heel. As he climbs into the cab his face is no more than three feet from mine and he still hasn’t seen me. I’m scared to even breathe, the cab door slams again, the engine starts, we move off.
It is cold in the wind, I wish I was wearing something warmer, the Khaki shirt and shorts are good for blending in with the sacks but there is not a lot of warmth in them. Billy has taken to sitting up, leaning against the headboard, I’m sure he can be seen, especially when cars come up behind us. ‘Billy I think you should lay down, the cars behind us may see you and tell the driver.’
‘I’ll be alright its more comfortable sitting.’
‘Supposing the police see us, they must know we have escaped by now?’ Billy lies down beside me.
We are crossing the river again, very soon we are passing a railway goods yard, and the lorry slows down, makes a left hand turn, and stops. I can hear a gate being opened, ‘G’day Ted are you going to unload that lot tonight?’
‘Not bloody likely Bill, I’ve been away for three days, I’m going home to shag the missus; I’ll just back it up to the dock, come in early tomorrow and do it then.’
‘Tell yer what I’ll do Ted, seeing as you’re a good sort, when things get a bit quieter I’ll unload it for you.’
‘Fair dinkum!! Geeze mate you’re a bloody star.’ We move forward, then swing around and start to reverse. Bill is standing on the dock directing Ted, how he cannot see us is a mystery, I daren’t breathe I hope Billy doesn’t panic and give us away.
Ted jumps out of his cab, ‘I’ll go and get my car, will you let me out?’
‘The gates open, I’m going to get a sack barrow while I’m up here, see you tomorrow, good night.’
‘Good night Bill, thanks.’
‘Billy, we have got to get out before he locks the gate.’ I am so stiff I can hardly walk and climbing down is a real effort.
‘I wonder where his car is.’
‘There are no cars here it must be around the back, come on, lets run for it before they come back.’ The gates are closed but not locked, we soon find ourselves in a very dark street, I hesitate looking up and down the street, deciding which way to go, and then I remember we turned left into the gates. ‘Come on Billy, the railway is this way; it’s our best chance to get away from here.’
‘Phil, I’m so hungry I feel sick.’
‘Me too, we’ve had nothing since breakfast, at seven, God knows what time it is now?’
‘Half past eleven, I saw a clock on the dock.’
‘Hell; that is sixteen hours, right, we try and find food first, and then we can catch a train.’
The railway yard is well lit and surrounded by a twelve foot high fence with barbed wire on top. Following the fence, we then follow the smell of food coming from a caravan parked beside the main gate selling hot food.
‘Have you got any money?’
‘Yeah right; without any pockets where am I going to keep money?’
‘We can’t buy food without money’
‘Leave it to me; all you have to do is hand the hat around.’
‘I haven’t got a hat.’
‘Then make do.’ Billy walks up to four men and a woman standing beside the caravan, drinking from mugs.
‘If I sing to you will you buy me a sandwich?’
‘Sod off kid, what you doing out this late anyway?’
‘Me Muvver is drunk and there is no food in the ‘ouse, me and me six bruvvers is hungry and I thought, if I sang for me supper, some kind soul would buy me somefing.’ I can’t believe what I am hearing but they seem to be listening to him.
The woman asks, ‘Can you sing?’
‘Like a bleeding nightingale,’ everyone laughs.
‘Go on then let me hear you, I’ve had a good night, if you’re any good I’ll buy you and your brother a hotdog each’
‘And a cup of tea?’
‘Cheeky bugger,’ Billy starts to sing the Irish Rover it is beautiful, when he claps his hands the others join in, soon a few more join the group. Billy keeps singing, this time the song is about a lass from Belfast City. He stops, takes a bow, everyone claps, the man in the caravan calls out, ‘Save your money Hazel I’ll give them both a burger.’ Billy gives me a nod,
I have never had a hamburger but I think it is the most wonderful food in the whole world. ‘Where do you kids live?’
‘Over there behind that warehouse, we have to go to see how my bruvvers, are thank you everybody.’ I can hear a man saying. ‘Those bloody Poms come here without any money, and then send their kids out on the street to beg, it aint right.’ Billy gives me a dig in the ribs,
‘Come on; let’s go before they start asking too many questions.’ Around the corner is a milkman delivering to some houses, Billy goes up to him and buys two pints of milk, we find a dark corner where we sit on the wall and drink our milk, life at this moment is wonderful.
How much money did we get?’ Billy jumps down from the wall and starts to lay out the coins
‘Twelve shillings, and nine pence, not bad eh.’
‘Fantastic, have you done that before?’
‘No never.’
‘Well no one would have known, you looked as though you had been doing it all your life.’
‘Yeah and it felt good, now we know we won’t go hungry.’
We sit in silence for a while then Billy looks at me. ‘Phil, where are we going to go, you said a train, where will that take us?’
‘I think that, if they are looking for us, they will assume we will try to catch a ship back to England, so I think we should go the opposite way and see where we end up.’
‘As much as I would like to go back to England I think you’re right, a train it is, but how are we going to manage that?’
Barefoot and Lost Page 33
