Midsummer's Eve

He said: "The greatest curse of this land is drought. Give us rain ... just a little of what you get in the Old Country and I can tell you this would then be God's Own Country.”

He was quite informative as we rode along, telling us how he had come out as a boy and fallen in love with the place right away.

"It grows on you, takes a grip of you. It may be that some of you will be affected in this same way," he warned.

Just as the sun was beginning to fall before the horizon we arrived at our destination.

It was bigger than I had imagined-a rather long low house of one storey. There were several buildings round it which looked like outhouses. We had ridden a long way without seeing any sign of habitation, so I imagined we were fairly isolated.

Jacco came running out of the house.

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it before sundown," he said.

He looked different. He wore no coat and his shirt was open at the neck; his face was bronzed; the country was already changing him.

"It's lovely to see you, Jacco," cried my mother. "How are you?”

"Fine, fine. I've had a great time. Come on in. Hello, Greg. Good to see you.”

Gregory leaped down. "Where's everyone? They ought to be here. The ladies are exhausted.

Maud got anything good brewing?”

"She has," said Jacco.

Several people were coming towards us ... men in buckskin trousers and open-necked shirts.

Jacco said authoritatively; "Wally, see to the horses.”

A woman came to the door of the house. She stood under the porch watching us. She was tall and rather plump, Junoesque in fact. She had abundant dark hair which, piled up on her head, made her look even taller than she actually was.

A young girl whom I judged to be about fifteen came out and stood beside her.

"This is Maud," said Jacco to me. "She's a wonderful cook. And Rosa ... that's her little girl.”

Gregory said: "Let's get in. Introductions can be made in the morning. What we want now is food and a bed.”

There was a big room which was a kind of living room and another of the same size which was a kitchen. The rest were bedrooms-five of them, apart from one room which was an office. Several oil lamps were burning in the living room and places were laid at a long wooden table. There were steaks and hot bread called dampers, with tankards of ale; and Maud and the young girl waited on us.

I was too tired that night to take in my new surroundings. All I wanted was to sleep.

My dreams were jumbled. I was at the Midsummer bonfire and Rolf was there. He stepped out of his robe and he had horns on his head and cloven feet. Then he changed into Gregory and Joe was there saying, "I had to do it, I had to do it." Then I was alone right out in the scrub and Rolf was coming towards me. Then it was not Rolf but Gregory.

It was a nightmare and I was glad to wake from it.

I was soon asleep again and when I awoke it was to find the sun streaming into my bedroom and what had awakened me was a jeering laugh which was immediately followed by another.

I sat up in bed. Then I remembered. This was the kookaburra, the laughing jackass, of which Gregory had told us. It was the first of many times I was to hear it. But it seemed appropriate that it should awaken me on my first morning here.

The days were full of new experiences. I seemed to learn such a lot in a short time.

Jacco was a mine of information. He had the advantage of having been in the outback much longer and he had eagerly absorbed everything with a fervent admiration.

He accompanied us round the property-Gregory was with us of course. We met the men who were working there. The place was apparently so large that it took several days to ride round it so of course we could only see a fraction of it. We were, as they said, "in sheep and cattle" and some of these grazed some miles away. There was one man, a jackeroo, who spent his time riding round the property, just to make sure animals were getting the attention they needed and that fences were kept in good repair.

The men lived in the rather roughly constructed shacks dotted about the place. Some had wives and children, all of whom worked in some capacity on the property. Their attitude amused me. They were in some awe of my father as the owner of the land but at the same time they regarded him with a certain contempt because of his manners and his cultured form of speech. He was an English gentleman-a breed which was not greatly admired in this part of the world. I heard one of them tell Jacco that in time he would grow into a fair dinkum Aussie, which I supposed was just about the highest compliment they could pay an Englishman. It was clear to me that Matthew was utterly despised. He was not practical; he was a dreamer, an idealist-something which there was no call for in this part of the world. As for my mother, Helena and myself, we were women, and by nature of our sex, second-class beings, suitable for one purpose only-to serve their needs in all directions.