the Church, disillusioned, though for different reasons. I was teaching at a remote learning centre in Derby where he’d enrolled to finish his schooling. We forged a bond. I am his friend.’
‘I understand how such experiences would bring you together.’ Susan studied the strongboned, lanky-framed woman and figured that beneath the tough exterior she was soft-hearted.
‘Barwon turned his back on everyone for awhile. He was understandably bitter. He wanted to get far away and start afresh. So he came to Sydney. On the train crossing the Nullarbor Plain he got to know a Koori woman who worked in welfare in Redfern and Kings Cross. She helped him find a place to live, introduced him to the Koori community and he started working at the Wayside Chapel as a volunteer.’
‘What did he do?’
‘Went round the streets picking up drunks, addicts, kids in trouble and he would find them a bed and a feed. As I’m sure you know, theWayside Chapel was started by the Reverend Ted Noffs and Barwon saw Ted’s work as the kind of role that churches should play. Practical, generous and simple. Different to the ritual, the pressure and the elitism of the Catholic Church.’
‘I’m trying to imagine this man on a charge of break and enter,’ interjected Susan.
‘Well, he changed course. A television producer filmed a segment for some current affairs show on the work of the Wayside Chapel and interviewed him. The rest, as they say in showbiz, is history.’
‘He went into television?’
Beth nodded. ‘He got a traineeship at the ABC. He started to become a damned good reporter and as a result was picked up by one of the commercial networks. He had the looks, the education and the charisma, plus the fact he was Aboriginal made him a highly promotable package.’
‘Did it change him?’
‘It certainly did. Initially for the better. The commercial station had offered him a lot of money. He was constantly in the women’s magazines, everybody’s darling, women falling all over him. And . . . that’s when he met Shirley.’
‘Shirley Bisson? The plaintiff?’
‘His publicist arranged for him to host a charity fashion show Shirley was organising. And she invited him to her home for lunch the next weekend to say thank you . . .’
Susan looked up from her notes. ‘And so it began . . .?’
Beth nodded. ‘After eighteen months with Barwon, the relationship had kind of run its course. And Barwon had this bee in his bonnet about going back to the west and trying to find his mother’s family. Being taken from his mother has left an enormous gap in his life, it’s something that he’s never been able to understand. He needs to know where his family is, where he comes from. His Dreaming as they call it. Anyway he was going back to the west when he was offered an acting part in a TV series in Melbourne. He decided he’d better make the career move and do that. So now that’s over, he’s come to Sydney to get his things and this happens. I’ve told him once he has this out of the way, it would be a prudent move to come with me up to the Kimberley for a time. That’s if he doesn’t go to jail. So . . . what do you think?’
‘I’ll be discussing it with one of the senior partners. But consider me on board.’ Susan held out her hand. ‘Where do I find my new client?’
‘He’s sharing a house with friends at Redfern. He was charged the night of the alleged break-in and has been listed to appear in Waverley Court before the magistrate next Wednesday.’
‘You’re not leaving town are you?’
‘I’m not going back to the west, at least until this is over. However, as he doesn’t have thehearing until next week, I’m going to Melbourne on business. I’ve also been asked to see if I can help identify the Aboriginal design on the cloth that was wrapped around that baby found in the Victorian Art Gallery.’
Susan shook her head wondering at the extraordinary life this woman must lead.
Beth Van Horton
‘I understand how such experiences would bring you together.’ Susan studied the strongboned, lanky-framed woman and figured that beneath the tough exterior she was soft-hearted.
‘Barwon turned his back on everyone for awhile. He was understandably bitter. He wanted to get far away and start afresh. So he came to Sydney. On the train crossing the Nullarbor Plain he got to know a Koori woman who worked in welfare in Redfern and Kings Cross. She helped him find a place to live, introduced him to the Koori community and he started working at the Wayside Chapel as a volunteer.’
‘What did he do?’
‘Went round the streets picking up drunks, addicts, kids in trouble and he would find them a bed and a feed. As I’m sure you know, theWayside Chapel was started by the Reverend Ted Noffs and Barwon saw Ted’s work as the kind of role that churches should play. Practical, generous and simple. Different to the ritual, the pressure and the elitism of the Catholic Church.’
‘I’m trying to imagine this man on a charge of break and enter,’ interjected Susan.
‘Well, he changed course. A television producer filmed a segment for some current affairs show on the work of the Wayside Chapel and interviewed him. The rest, as they say in showbiz, is history.’
‘He went into television?’
Beth nodded. ‘He got a traineeship at the ABC. He started to become a damned good reporter and as a result was picked up by one of the commercial networks. He had the looks, the education and the charisma, plus the fact he was Aboriginal made him a highly promotable package.’
‘Did it change him?’
‘It certainly did. Initially for the better. The commercial station had offered him a lot of money. He was constantly in the women’s magazines, everybody’s darling, women falling all over him. And . . . that’s when he met Shirley.’
‘Shirley Bisson? The plaintiff?’
‘His publicist arranged for him to host a charity fashion show Shirley was organising. And she invited him to her home for lunch the next weekend to say thank you . . .’
Susan looked up from her notes. ‘And so it began . . .?’
Beth nodded. ‘After eighteen months with Barwon, the relationship had kind of run its course. And Barwon had this bee in his bonnet about going back to the west and trying to find his mother’s family. Being taken from his mother has left an enormous gap in his life, it’s something that he’s never been able to understand. He needs to know where his family is, where he comes from. His Dreaming as they call it. Anyway he was going back to the west when he was offered an acting part in a TV series in Melbourne. He decided he’d better make the career move and do that. So now that’s over, he’s come to Sydney to get his things and this happens. I’ve told him once he has this out of the way, it would be a prudent move to come with me up to the Kimberley for a time. That’s if he doesn’t go to jail. So . . . what do you think?’
‘I’ll be discussing it with one of the senior partners. But consider me on board.’ Susan held out her hand. ‘Where do I find my new client?’
‘He’s sharing a house with friends at Redfern. He was charged the night of the alleged break-in and has been listed to appear in Waverley Court before the magistrate next Wednesday.’
‘You’re not leaving town are you?’
‘I’m not going back to the west, at least until this is over. However, as he doesn’t have thehearing until next week, I’m going to Melbourne on business. I’ve also been asked to see if I can help identify the Aboriginal design on the cloth that was wrapped around that baby found in the Victorian Art Gallery.’
Susan shook her head wondering at the extraordinary life this woman must lead.
Beth Van Horton
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