Willburke Graylands
William and Charles hid behind their washroom they’d managed to erect, and watched warily as the flagship pulled closer. A British seaman, and four ladies who looked like they’d been through the wringer, disembarked the ship and staggered up the beach. They looked just as confused as William, Charles and Robert. They started to rummage through the men’s belongings, which were still scattered all over the place. William jumped out from behind the washroom and shouted “Hey! You can’t touch that stuff! Who are you? What be your purpose?”.
The British seaman approached him and said “Greetings. Traverse Spileye’s the name. These are my passengers. We mean no harm. We have lost our way and have not eaten for days. Please help us”.
“I apologize Sir, we cannot help you, for we too are lost. Our party leader left in search of help days ago, we’ve not seen his return. I am William John Wills, second in charge of this expedition, these are our belongings. We can help with what food we have left, but I’m afraid we have already near depleted it.”
As they spoke, weak from hunger, Sarah Chipperham collapsed.
Upon hearing William permit them to have some food, Mary Manlove got straight to cooking the disgusting hotdogs he had in his tuckerbox. It was all she knew how to cook.
Sarah scoffed down the God-awful grub and soon perked up. Elizabeth Teesdale tried breaking the ice with William and Charles by engaging them in a game of kicky bag. Sarah was feeling well enough to join them.
Traverse huddled with Ann Atkins. “We shall stay with this camp. They have enough to share with us for at least until we’ve somewhat recuperated. The world has turned without us it seems, but we must still be on our guard”.
Robert returned, with an expression of satisfaction and knowing on his face, yet a hesitation at the sight of the newcomers. Charles was immensely relieved to see his well-being. He told him of how the visitors had arrived, and William’s offer of hospitality. Robert relayed his encounter with the clerk at the information office and explained they were now the proud owners of this beach and this neighbourhood’s namesake.
He said “Ok, but who is that?” Charles didn’t know. Ann said “She’s just a gypsy woman peddling love potions. Please leave, we don’t want your wares” she shooed the gypsy.
Robert walked over to the ladies to introduce himself.
While he chatted to Elizabeth, Charles went to cooking another serving of hotdogs. Over by the beds, out of earshot, Mary got into heated debate with Traverse over how long they would stay and how much of their story they should and should not be willing to reveal to their hosts. She was certain that they had already revealed too much by the mere admittance of their real names. Traverse assured her “After speaking to Mr. Wills, I’m convinced he’s led a sheltered life and knows nothing about the convict ships, neither do Charles or Robert, and from what I overheard Robert saying, no-one in this land has even heard of Australia, or England for that matter, except for the people who stand on this beach. As far as they’re concerned we’re lost sea travelers. No-one here is going to find us out.”
Robert was tickled pink to receive the delivery of the newspaper. He was even more pleased to read the notice of his land purchase and naming of the neighbourhood. Ann, waffling a hotdog, asked “What about your expedition? Don’t you want to find your way home and complete it?” Robert paused and said with wist in his eyes “Ever since a boy, I’ve always wanted my own land, to have a whole town named after me, that was my real point in the expedition in the first place. Finally, I have realised my dream. By some bizarre act of The Universe, we’ve landed here, a new world, where no-one knows who I am or my past, and now this land is mine. I have no desire to leave.”
Robert went over to Traverse to try to convince him that he too should stay and join them in the crusade to colonize the new neighbourhood. “I don’t have any simoleans” the seaman replied. “Neither did I. I traded our shoes. I bet you could trade your ship for a fine piece of land. Think of the prestige we would have as first land owners.” Mr. Spileye looked agitated, “Our wretched ship is worth nothing to no-one, which is precisely how we ended up here. She is badly in need of repairs, and my lady passengers do not know this but I do not possess the tools nor the know how to fix them. I am dreadfully afraid we are stuck here to beg on your land with nothing but the clothes on our backs, otherwise I and certainly my ladies would be only too willing.” Burke told him “I read in the newspaper delivered just today there are many openings in the nearby city for employment, if you would be interested, I would gladly assist you and support you. Why, in no time, you will have enough to buy land.”
Robert went over to Elizabeth to talk to her and get her onside with the idea. He told her of the many spectacles he’d seen on his walk to the information office, horseless carts, machines that fly, and acres and acres of new land waiting to be bought.
Night fell. Charles managed to light a large campfire that would warm them all. He stared into the flames and thought deeply of what he’d gotten himself into. He brushed aside the thought that Robert may just be losing his mind and the tales he was telling perhaps being untrue.
Burke, Spileye and the ladies all gathered round the fire, telling stories of their travels for hours. While on the topic of food, Burke told of how they’d come across some Aborigines in the bush who made them a cake out of the seeds of a wild plant “It was huge. It satisfied our hunger but it made us weak, I do believe a man needs his sugar and fat.”
Over by the road, William was talking quietly with Sarah, and thought her to be a most attractive and interesting lady. Sarah was starting to have thoughts of the same of William, and looked down at her feet, almost ready to weep. William sensed this, and begged her to trust and confide in him what was wrong. She couldn’t help herself, she had to spill her guts. “We are the daughters, and Traverse is the son, of the convict women of The Juliana. While they were on their way to Australia, an abandoned ship, The Friendship was spotted. Our mothers sent us, along with an African slave man on a life boat to escape, in mid-ocean to The Friendship, that is the ship we sailed here in today. We heard they’d proclaimed us dead. We’ve been wandering around the seas, in fear of our lives, all these years. We’ve briefly pulled into many a shore, only to move on the second we suspect any suspicion. I like you William, but I am afraid we may have to leave too shortly for us to explore this any further.”
His heart bled for her, he had heard of the wretched conditions aboard the convict ships, and saw a respect in himself for her having survived them. “Sarah, I don’t know if you know this, but we are in the middle of nowhere, this is a new world, where we can all start afresh. Robert has promised this to us. It has to be, for we landed here in the most bizarre of manners I have ever even heard of.” He thought a moment. “Don’t worry Sarah, I will convince Traverse somehow to scrap the ship and dispose of the evidence. No-one will ever know.” At that moment, Traverse had come to pass them by on his way to the washroom. “SARAH!” He despaired.
“After all our mothers did, risking their lives to spare ours, you cannot take such risks, no matter how attractive he may be.” Sarah begged him, “Please Traverse! I am too tired of all of this, this is not a way to live, wandering the sea, no home, begging for food, and no love. If you will not agree to scrap the ship and let us stay put here, I will throw myself onto the mercy of DEATH!”
Traverse was taken aback by her passionate protest, and stood churning over in his mind everything he’d heard and seen today. He stood a minute longer, and said with an informative tone “They do have free education here, and horseless carts that take you to a place of dignified employment.”
In the washroom Sarah and Ann conferred on the decision to stay. “Ann, I can’t take the way we’ve been living any longer. If Traverse hadn’t’ve agreed to, I would have stayed anyway. There’s something about this place, these men. I so have this unstoppable feeling that this is where we’re meant to be, I just know that this is our future, our destiny.” Ann smiled. “We should tell Elizabeth, and Mary. I know they’ll be pleased.”
Sarah told them. While Mary was still uneasy and suspicious, Elizabeth couldn’t contain her excitement.
“We’re finally free!” She exclaimed. “And aren’t these men dashing, and so very charming?!” She asked Sarah which one she liked, and added she had her eye on Mr. Burke. Sarah shrugged and answered shyly, “Well, I am getting to know Mr. Wills quite well.” Eventually, Mary joined in with the girly excitement and revealed that she had been admiring Mr. Gray from afar. They all knew Ann had always had eyes for Traverse, and agreed they all wished they’d just get on with it. The squealing chatter continued like this until the small hours of the morning.
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