her new life and try to pull the family together. They still felt like two separate families and that was no way to go on.
And Andrew never seemed to want to spend time with her. If he’d suggested putting the children to bed and going for a walk round the grounds, she’d have done it, been glad to talk. But he hadn’t.
And she’d been hesitant to suggest it to him, fearing a rebuff.
What sort of life would they have together if they didn’t talk? How would she go on a farm? There were all sorts of questions bubbling up in her brain, but very few answers.
Well, she’d made her choice now and there was no use grumbling. She just had to get on with it.
Gil and another man were sent down to Northcliffe to help set up a new group. Pete was Australian, another ex-serviceman. He was to take up one of the blocks and act as a sort of deputy foreman to a new group.
So many settlers had been sent out from England that the authorities had decided to release more land. Gil was assigned to be foreman of Special Group 1, which was a farce, really. He’d seen the general area, but didn’t know where the land they were to be allotted was, or the exact facilities that were waiting there for the settlers. He too would be allotted a piece of land. He’d almost told them not to bother, then had decided to accept it. If he didn’t want to stay, he could maybe sell it.
He met Pete at the railway station and since his head was thumping with a hangover, sat quietly in a corner of the compartment, making no attempt to start a conversation.
‘Easy job this,’ Pete said as the train set off, ‘telling others what to do.’
Gil stared at him in surprise. ‘ Easy! Teaching ignorant Poms everything about dairy farming here in Western Australia. You can’t mean that.’
‘Well, I read in that pamphlet that the farms are already laid out, so it won’t be too difficult, surely?’
‘I think you’ll find yourself with more to do than you expect. I went down to have a look round a few weeks ago and they’ve hardly got anything set up down there, let alone cleared and laid out the farms. The town has a store and a couple of huts, and that’s all. They can call it a town. I wouldn’t. So unless they’ve had an army of workers down there in the past few weeks, I can’t see much being ready.’
‘But it said they’d surveyed the town site, marked out thirty-two quarter-acre blocks. There must be some people and amenities there,’ Pete protested.
‘There aren’t, you know. They’ve only recently done the town site survey. They’ve not got any houses built or any businesses going apart from the one store.’
He’d brought some gear of his own with him, including a tent, to make sure he had somewhere under cover to sleep. He didn’t even trust the Board to provide a roof. It was getting towards the end of summer now, and he’d been told it rained more in Northcliffe than in Perth, and was cooler, too, so he thought it best to be prepared. He wanted to buy a horse and cart too, if he could find them at a reasonable price, but would buy those locally.
Pete scowled at him. ‘If the authorities haven’t got things set up, why are they rushing this new group through and sending us down?’
‘Beats me.’ Gil thrust his hands into his pockets and stretched his legs out. He often found it hard to understand what those in charge were thinking of, they did such damned stupid things. Someone made a decision without thinking if it was possible, then left the poor underlings to try to carry it out.
He’d learned in the Army to keep his mouth shut and make the best of things in your own way. No use complaining, just get on with it.
Three days after their arrival at Fremantle, the settlers were notified that they’d be leaving the following morning. Their group was to travel by train to a town called Pemberton. A map was displayed and throughout the day there seemed always to be people near it, pointing, discussing,
And Andrew never seemed to want to spend time with her. If he’d suggested putting the children to bed and going for a walk round the grounds, she’d have done it, been glad to talk. But he hadn’t.
And she’d been hesitant to suggest it to him, fearing a rebuff.
What sort of life would they have together if they didn’t talk? How would she go on a farm? There were all sorts of questions bubbling up in her brain, but very few answers.
Well, she’d made her choice now and there was no use grumbling. She just had to get on with it.
Gil and another man were sent down to Northcliffe to help set up a new group. Pete was Australian, another ex-serviceman. He was to take up one of the blocks and act as a sort of deputy foreman to a new group.
So many settlers had been sent out from England that the authorities had decided to release more land. Gil was assigned to be foreman of Special Group 1, which was a farce, really. He’d seen the general area, but didn’t know where the land they were to be allotted was, or the exact facilities that were waiting there for the settlers. He too would be allotted a piece of land. He’d almost told them not to bother, then had decided to accept it. If he didn’t want to stay, he could maybe sell it.
He met Pete at the railway station and since his head was thumping with a hangover, sat quietly in a corner of the compartment, making no attempt to start a conversation.
‘Easy job this,’ Pete said as the train set off, ‘telling others what to do.’
Gil stared at him in surprise. ‘ Easy! Teaching ignorant Poms everything about dairy farming here in Western Australia. You can’t mean that.’
‘Well, I read in that pamphlet that the farms are already laid out, so it won’t be too difficult, surely?’
‘I think you’ll find yourself with more to do than you expect. I went down to have a look round a few weeks ago and they’ve hardly got anything set up down there, let alone cleared and laid out the farms. The town has a store and a couple of huts, and that’s all. They can call it a town. I wouldn’t. So unless they’ve had an army of workers down there in the past few weeks, I can’t see much being ready.’
‘But it said they’d surveyed the town site, marked out thirty-two quarter-acre blocks. There must be some people and amenities there,’ Pete protested.
‘There aren’t, you know. They’ve only recently done the town site survey. They’ve not got any houses built or any businesses going apart from the one store.’
He’d brought some gear of his own with him, including a tent, to make sure he had somewhere under cover to sleep. He didn’t even trust the Board to provide a roof. It was getting towards the end of summer now, and he’d been told it rained more in Northcliffe than in Perth, and was cooler, too, so he thought it best to be prepared. He wanted to buy a horse and cart too, if he could find them at a reasonable price, but would buy those locally.
Pete scowled at him. ‘If the authorities haven’t got things set up, why are they rushing this new group through and sending us down?’
‘Beats me.’ Gil thrust his hands into his pockets and stretched his legs out. He often found it hard to understand what those in charge were thinking of, they did such damned stupid things. Someone made a decision without thinking if it was possible, then left the poor underlings to try to carry it out.
He’d learned in the Army to keep his mouth shut and make the best of things in your own way. No use complaining, just get on with it.
Three days after their arrival at Fremantle, the settlers were notified that they’d be leaving the following morning. Their group was to travel by train to a town called Pemberton. A map was displayed and throughout the day there seemed always to be people near it, pointing, discussing,
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