Rain Music by Di Morrissey Read Free Book Online Page A

government. Trade unions thought these other races would be willing to work for less and so would undercut white men’s wages.’
    â€˜So what happened to your ancestor?’ Bella could feel the heat from the sun beating through the windows, so she turned up the air conditioning. She was intrigued by Roberta’s story and goosebumps rose on her skin.
    â€˜There was a protest movement amongst the Pacific Islanders and the Queensland government, objecting to this repatriation,’ said Roberta. ‘In the end most Islanders were sent back, although not always to their original islands. But a few hundred were allowed to stay. Others went into hiding. It was very sad. Families were torn apart and those who stayed were too fearful to visit their homeland in case they wouldn’t be allowed back into Australia. My great-great-grandfather had been in Australia for twenty years by then and had married a Scottish woman who he’d met at the local church, and so he was able to stay. But he never went back to what’s now Vanuatu to reunite with his Island family.’
    Bella and Roberta were both quiet a moment. A flock of birds wheeled overhead and flew off above the cane fields.
    â€˜It was tough on my family for a long time because there was a lot of discrimination against the South Sea Islanders,’ Roberta continued. ‘When other migrants like the Italians came to north Queensland, they could get bank loans to purchase land, but it was much harder for my family to get financial help, and while the newcomers were quickly accepted, the Islanders were always viewed with prejudice.’
    â€˜That is so unjust,’ exclaimed Bella indignantly.
    Roberta shrugged. ‘My family learned to survive and over time managed pretty well, but it took more than a hundred years for the Queensland government to formally recognise the South Sea Islanders as a distinct ethnic and cultural group, and acknowledge their contribution to the state’s development.’
    â€˜Better late than never, I suppose,’ said Bella sarcastically. ‘Have you ever thought of going back to the Islands and finding your family’s descendants?’
    Roberta cocked her head. ‘I once thought about it, but I have my roots here. I love this country. And that’s why I like to share it with other people.’
    â€˜I’m looking forward to that,’ said Bella quietly.
    About twenty minutes after they left Mossman, Roberta turned the Jeep down a grassy track, following it until it petered out and then parked beside several other vehicles. The two women shouldered their bags and picked their way down a steep hillside.
    It was a descent from heat and light into cool green gloom.
    Bella craned her neck upwards to the sixty-metre canopy above her head, where the trees fought for sunlight. These trees hosted a myriad of plants, their trunks glowing emerald with lichen, mosses, ferns and orchids, while far above looped the tails of fat liana vines, strangler figs and epiphytes, all of which helped bind the tree canopy into a thick blanket. Occasionally, the canopy had been rent by a falling tree, so that scrubs and small saplings had sprouted, taking advantage of the spotlight of sun on this patch of earth.
    The two walked softly over the carpet of leaf litter. This world was still, humid and seemingly silent. Suddenly, Roberta put her hand to her ear and tilted her head. Bella listened. Then she heard the whispering, rustling, scratching noises of the hidden wildlife of the rainforest.
    â€˜When we head down to the river you’ll see lots of birds,’ said Roberta. ‘We’re hiking to a section of traditional Aboriginal land which is now mainly used for research purposes and occasionally for ceremonies. There’s no camping in the park proper, so we’re going to camp just on its edge.’
    After a fifteen-minute walk they came to some open country where the trees and foliage were