Ironbark (80 page)

• • • 

At the next curve in the road Jake looked into Keziah's eyes, his voice soft.

‘I'll say this for you, mate. When we run into bushrangers those breasts of yours still come in bloody handy.'

Horatio continued languidly on his way. His naked cargo locked in each other's arms as he carried them safely home to Ironbark and their children. Guided all the way by Jake's stars – the Milky Way.

That
Ironbark
is now in your hands is a tribute to the legendary qualities of my agent, Selwa Anthony, who advised and nurtured me along the journey from the day she read an early draft of the manuscript to its publication four years later. And I want to pay special thanks to Bastian Schlück of the Thomas Schlück Agency, Germany, who secured for me the publishing deal with William Goldman Publishers for the German rights to
Ironbark
.

My warmest thanks to Franscois McHardy, Managing Director of Simon and Schuster Australia, and his wonderfully creative team for their passionate commitment to
Ironbark
.

A dedicated band of family and friends read different stages of the manuscript. Their incisive comments were invaluable (even when they made me flinch). Their honest, grassroots reactions were like having
Ironbark's
emotional pulse taken. For this I am greatly indebted to Kristine Forrester, Joan Nicholls and Toni Donald. Anne Robinson was a tower of strength over several drafts for her highly discerning notes and historical research winged from WA. Ian Jones, author, Ned Kelly historian and my first mentor, brought to his reading his profound knowledge of Australian bushrangers. Noel O'Shea, passionate historian and researcher, gave me great insight into this era and introduced me to
Cliefden
, Mandurama.

There is no adequate category for author Brian Nicholls. He deserves to be entered in the
Guinness World Records
for his tireless, tough and insightful assessment of some twelve drafts of
Ironbark
. His encouragement and the professionalism drawn from his wide experience as an ABC-TV documentary producer and writer make me forever in his debt.

I was sustained throughout by Melbourne comedy-writer and Graham Kennedy biographer Mike McColl Jones, the friend I inherited from Dad. His wise advice and hilarious emails kept me laughing and believing during my writer's ‘dark nights of the soul'.

My heartfelt thanks to many friends and family including Nicholas Cassim, Niki Owen, Donna Ristitsch, Marilyn Harvey, Ailsa McPherson, Rhonda Nadas, Michael Cassim, Ron Way, Marion McCabe and Enid Morrison. Their straight talking, tea and sympathy urged me on to the finishing line. I really valued Philip Bray's publishing advice and the generous help of journalist Jan Goldie and authors Cheryl Hingley and Craig Collie.

Ironbark
is a meld of fiction against an historical background. My creation of the villages of Ironbark, Tagalong, Bolthole Valley, Gideon Park and Ogden Park was inspired by bush hamlets now ghost towns. My travels linked me to many helpful historical sources including Berrima, Gunning, Goulburn, Bathurst, Carcoar, Gulgong, Lithgow and Parramatta.

In hindsight I can trace one link between
Ironbark
and childhood stories told by my father, Fred Parsons, about bushranger Captain Moonlite who bailed up gold coaches around Blackwood, Victoria. My mother's tales about her mysterious ancestor led to my discovery of his identity, a young Romani violinist who inspired the character of Gabriel Stanley.

All
Ironbark's
characters are fictional but I want to acknowledge my character Will Martens was inspired by the tragic young life of bushranger William Westwood. I am grateful to Denise Quintal, the Norfolk Island Historical Society and residents who made my research trip to their magical island memorable when I placed his memorial plaque in their convict cemetery. In creating Will Martens I tried to give William Westwood the true mates he did not have in life but deserved – Jake, Keziah and Daniel. Their passionate radical views don't always align with mine. They speak for their times, their world. I simply gave them a voice.

The choices I made from conflicting historical sources and any errors are my responsibility, not those of historians living or dead. But many historians, authors and experts who freely gave of their time and knowledge deserve my special thanks, including:

Professor John Pearn, Dept. of Pediatrics and Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, for his encouragement and for steering me to important medical sources.

Alison Dalby and Maryann O'Harae, Librarians of the Australian Medical Association, for the use of their library and the discussion of the diverse effects of laudanum.

Independent Scholars Association of Australia members who gave me invaluable feedback during a writer's work-in-progress.

Historian Walter Stackpool for his wide knowledge of bushrangers and firearms.

Colin Gelling, CEO of Berrima Courthouse Museum, for historical background of Berrima's courthouse, prison and the transcript of Lucretia Dunkley's trial for murder.

Suzanne Rutland, Associate Professor, Dept. of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies, University of Sydney, for her fascinating Melton series on the history of Jews in Australia.

For the background of my German character Joseph Bloom my sincere thanks to historian and author Rabbi John Levi for his insight and suggestions; Peta Jones Pellach, Sophie Caplan, Helen Bersten, the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Shmuel and Greta Abrahams; Russell Stern for important suggestions concerning the trial scenes; Dr Michael Abrahams-Spod for his clarification of nineteenth-century European history.

My sincere thanks to Warwick Harvey, Fellow of the National Herbalists Association of Australia; Dr Nick Lomb, Curator of Astronomy and Time, Sydney Observatory, for details of the Great Comet of 1843; Jim Kohen, Associate Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, for his help in research areas; artist Charles Gosford for his insight into English artists' response to Australian landscape; Rev. Marcia Quinten for help during my psychic research; the Spiritualist Church of Enmore. Archival help from Fabian LoSchiavo, State Records NSW; Wendy Borchers, Archives Researcher, Australian Broadcasting Corporation; State Library of NSW; Art Gallery of NSW; Power House Museum; Justice and Police Museum; Elizabeth Bay House; Old Government House, Parramatta; Sydney Maritime Museum. Special thanks to Balmain Library for tracking rare books and material on Gypsies in Australia; Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office for fascinating penal colony documents; Lancashire and Cheshire Records Office and the British High Commission, Canberra – for their speedy response to my research queries.

 

© Niki Owen

Johanna Nicholls is a former magazine feature writer and fashion editor. She has worked in television production for the Seven Network as a researcher/writer and for many years was Head Script Editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Television Drama department. She has worked on many memorable miniseries including
Love is a Four Letter Word
and
Changi
.

Johanna lives in an 1830s convict-built sandstone cottage in Balmain, Sydney, and is currently writing her second Australian novel.

IRONBARK

First published in Australia in 2009 by

Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited

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14-16 Suakin Street

Pymble NSW 2073

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© Johanna Nicholls 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Nicholls, Johanna.

Title: Ironbark / Johanna Nicholls.

ISBN: 9780731814121 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-1-9220-5245-2 (eBook)

Subjects: Penal colonies – Australia – Fiction.

Dewey Number: A823.4

Cover photographs by Eve Conroy and Photolibrary.com

Cover design by Ellie Exarchos

Internal design by Xou Creative

Printed in Australia by Griffin Press