Papua
Authors: Peter Watt
Peter Watt has spent time as a soldier, articled clerk, prawn trawler deckhand, builder’s labourer, pipe layer, real estate salesman, private investigator, police sergeant and adviser to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. He has lived and worked with Aborigines, Islanders, Vietnamese and Papua New Guineans and he speaks, reads and writes Vietnamese and Pidgin.
Good friends, fine food, fishing and the vast open spaces of outback Queensland are his main interests in life.
Peter lives in Finch Hatton in Queensland and is currently writing the sequel to
Papua
, due for release in 2004.
Peter Watt can be contacted at
www.peterwatt.com
Excerpts from e-mails sent to Peter Watt since his first novel was published:
‘Just finished reading Papua . . . Absolutely brilliant. Couldn’t put it down.’
BOB
‘I have a copy of every Wilbur Smith book out and hang off every word in those books. He has taught me to love the “outback” of South Africa. How exciting then for me to discover an Australian author who writes in the same style about our own wonderful outback and fascinating history.’
JULIE, AUSTRALIA
‘On reading your fourth novel
Papua
I felt compelled to write to you congratulating you on your work, though I know I shall not be the first nor be the last to do so . . . I have to confess I am an avid reader of Wilbur Smith’s work, as well as Jeffrey Archer’s, and Bryce Courtenay, and, if I may say without sounding too obligatory, your work sits highly amongst these gendemen.’
KEN, AUSTRALIA
‘I own
Cry of the Curlew, Shadow of the Osprey
and
Flight of the Eagle
; I discovered them last year. I read the first book and could not put it down; I had to have the other two to see how the story ended. Imagine my delight when the person who introduced me to your writing in the first place, sent me Papua on Saturday!!!! Yee-har.’
FRANCES, AUSTRALIA
‘I have previously read your three books of the Duffy and Macintosh families and thoroughly enjoyed them! I have only recently finished
Papua
and am wondering if there will be a continuation of the characters on novels down the track. (I dearly hope so.) Keep up the fantastic work.’
JODIE, AUSTRALIA
PETER
WATT
Also by Peter Watt
Cry of the Curlew
Shadow of the Osprey
Right of the Eagle
Papua
To Chase the Storm
Eden
First published 2002 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
This Pan edition published 2003 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
1 Market Street, SydneyReprinted 2003, 2005, 2006
Copyright © Peter Watt 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing
from the publisher.National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:Watt, Peter, 1949- .
Papua.ISBN 0 330 36422 7.
1. Frontier and pioneer life - Papua New Guinea - Fiction. 2. World War, 1914-1918
– Campaigns – France – Fiction. 3. Male friendship – Fiction. I. Title.A823.3
Set in 11.5/13 pt Bembo by Post Pre-press Group
Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group
These electronic editions published in 2007 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced
or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any
person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any
form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying,
recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the
publisher.
Papua
Peter Watt
Adobe eReader format 978-1-74197-165-1
Microsoft Reader format 978-1-74197-366-2
Mobipocket format 978-1-74197-567-3
Online format 978-1-74197-768-4
Epub format 978-1-74262-603-1
Macmillan Digital Australia
www.macmillandigital.com.au
Visit
www.panmacmillan.com.au
to read more about all our books and to buy
both print and ebooks online. You will also find features, author interviews and
news of any author events.
For Tony Williams
Agent and true friend
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writing of a novel has a lot in common with the production of a film. Many people have an influence on the final result. In my case I would like to thank a number of people.
Ms Angelika Gassner from Austria who gave good advice on the Germanic aspects of the novel. Phil Murphy from Recognition Australasia in Cairns for his continuing technical advice. Joy and all the wonderful ladies at the Coolangatta Library for providing the resources for research. Robert Bozek and Nadine Vincenc from Sydney whose friendship and wonderful support have meant a lot. Ashley and Amanda Grosser, proprietors of the Sleepy Hill Motor Inn at Raymond Terrace, for their generosity over time to a weary writer on the road. My great brother-in-law Tyrone McKee for giving up his time and sharing the long drive for a regional book tour in 2001. And my sister Kerry who has been there when it counted. To Tony and Chris Pearce at Baulkham Hills for the time I spent in their company while writing this book. To Wilbur Smith, my special thanks for your generous words at a dinner held in Brisbane.
At Pan Macmillan Australia my special thanks to my editor Cate Paterson whose inspiration is, as always, a great part of what the reader sees in the story and characters. To Simone Ford whose attention to editing detail is truly appreciated. My continuing thanks to my publicist Jane Novak whose contact usually means something nice to do other than write books. A big thanks also to Ross Gibb and James Fraser.
My special thanks to some people at Anthony A. Williams Management: Geoffrey Radford, Ingrid Butters, Sonja Patterson and Tony Blair – part of my professional family in the world of writing
As always, to my family for their support when times got bad.
And Naomi.
PAPUA
A
young woman – born in the first year of the twentieth century – stood and gazed as the powerful steam engine hissed and jolted away from her. She knew that it trailed its cargo of grey uniformed men in shabby, overcrowded carriages destined for the carnage of the Western Front. She hardly felt the biting cold flurries of windswept snow around her as the tears streamed down her rosy cheeks. All she could feel was an inconsolable grief as she watched the wan face of the most beloved man in her life fade with distance between them. She could not bear to think that she would never see him again.