The Sea Chest

(Meditation on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island)

 
The dead buccaneer's trunk
with salt-encrusted brass hinges
and heavy oak panelling
held a shabby pouch with a few doubloons
guineas and sovereigns  
a chart wrapped in oilskin
showed a magnified dot in the Pacific.
 
The instructions read
behold a tall tree
in the shoulder of the Spyglass
compass bearings east by north east
there lies a sea chest.

Young Hawkins and the crew
searched for Captain Flint's treasure
instead they found
sand-encrusted brass hinges broken
and oak panelling splintered.

B. Montgomery 2014 

 

 

ASSI Stories screening

If you happen to be in Brisbane this weekend, get down to The Edge on Sunday the 14th of December to see the world premiere screening of Australian South Sea Islander (ASSI) Stories. This collection of short films will be presented to the public at 3pm. There will also be speeches, music, light refreshments and an art exhibition.

The Bone Tiki by David Hair

Wow! This book is amazing. It has Maori mythology, Kiwi history, suspense, humour and relentless pace. If you enjoy fantasy, thrillers or any supernatural themes, you will love this book.
   Young Matiu Douglas has a bone tiki he stole and the owner, Puarata, is out to get him. The trouble is that Puarata is no regular bad guy. He's a supernatural nasty fellow with power to call up all manner of terrifying henchmen. The Bone Tiki is like a magic lantern which can store a genie. In this story it holds a good warrior, called Wiri, whom Matiu befriends.
   The story is basically a good versus evil  plot but the setting jumps into another world where ghosts are prevalent and the history of New Zealand comes alive. Mythical creatures also inhabit this other world called Aotearoa.
   The Bone Tiki is the first in The Aotearoa Series written by David Hair. If the other books are anything like this one, I'm hooked and can't wait to read the whole series.

Robyn Harbour's book launch

Last week I was excited to attend Robyn Harbour's book launch at the Inverloch Library. Robyn has written a collection of short stories entitled Beyond the Palm Trees. Her stories were inspired by her time living in Vanuatu. Robyn and her husband were missionaries in Vanuatu for three years.
   The front cover of the book shows a delightful shot of a typical Melanesian village. I'll have to get reading all the stories so I can review her book at a later date.

Two weeks in the Solomon Islands

I was very pleased to be able to visit the Solomon Islands again for two weeks in September. Whilst there I visited friends and family and spent time in my husband's village. It was a great trip with lots of fun, laughter, red mud and hot sun. Thanks to my extended family in Tholana for making us feel very welcome.

Teaching the Wedge-tailed Eagle song to the
 Tholana kindergarten, Ysabel. Source: B. Montgomery.

On board the Uta Princess on our way to Ysabel Province.
Source: B. Montgomery.

Back at Tenaru with Modi and John,
 two of my fellow staff members in 2000.
Source: B. Montgomery

The First Voyage by Allan Baillie

The First Voyage
 (Puffin, 2014)

The First Voyage is a tale about people long ago, when the land mass known as Sahul was in existence. It is now known as New Guinea and Australia. This story is set around 30,000 years ago when the Yam tribe escape persecution from the Crocodile tribe. The main characters are teenagers Bent Beak and The Wind. There are elders and younger members of the tribe too that the reader grows to love. Unfortunately some characters die, but most of the tribe makes it off Bird Island (one day to become Timor Leste) to travel by raft across the sea to a wide red land (one day to become Australia).

I enjoyed this book, for its simplicity and endearing characters. It is a great adventure.


Illustrated Myths and Legends of the Pacific by A.W. Reed

Illustrated Myths and Legends of the Pacific
 (2007, Reed Books)

This book is gorgeous because the watercolour illustrations are so realistic and engaging. But the stories also range from humorous, such as the 'Foolish Canoe Paddlers', to dark, such as the story from Vanuatu called the 'Six Men Who Tried to Catch a Sunbeam'. Many Pacific Island nations are  represented. Although Tuvalu and Kiribati miss out for some reason.
   Jennifer Cooper is the illustrator and she has done a tremendous job. Even on pages without a major illustration, she has created borders or motifs at the edge of the text, that depict island lifestyles.
   A wonderful children's book and a great resource for teachers who need to implement a bit of Pasifika into the curriculum.

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Midwinterblood
(Indigo, 2011)

On a remote island called Blessed, newcomer Eric and local girl Merle are falling in love. But Eric can't help feeling he's been there before, and Merle seems so familiar, so beautiful, so enticing...
It turns out Eric has been to Blessed before. Midwinterblood is set in seven different times telling the story of Eric and Merle. Centuries ago they were King and Queen of the island, but famine and disease led the superstitious villagers to sacrifice the king.  As he died he swore he would live seven lives and his queen swore she would follow him. What follows is a creepy, but beautifully crafted tale of reincarnation, love and sacrifice.
   Marcus Sedgwick is a master of creepy tales and this is no exception. His depiction of the island is eerie in itself. There are no children. A mysterious purple-black flower with narcotic and healing properties grows freely and hares roam the island. Although both of these seem innocent enough, their recurring use throughout the book over each of the lives of Eric and Merle, lends a spooky tone to the novel.
   A terrific read from a gothic master, this book is well worth reading.

The Magic Seashell by Makerita Urale

Masina is woman castaway on a lonely island. She finds a beautiful shell and wears it as a necklace. She spends many years alone on the island, fending for herself and building a beautiful home and garden. One day a huge cyclone comes and destroys everything on the island. In her flight to get to safety in a cave, she loses her shell necklace. Bereft, Masina sits and cries.


The Magic Seashell
(Steele Roberts, 1999)

Unbeknown to her, the shell necklace washes up on another island and sets in place a rescue mission.
   The Magic Seashell is a picture story book, aimed at children. It is unusual because the main characters are adults, not children, yet the story has a strong mythical quality to it which makes it endearing. Although the text is quite long, Makerita Urale has crafted a gentle story full of emotion and dialogue that will delight readers.
   The illustrator, Samuel Sakaria, has produced a variety of pictures, predominately in vibrant yellows and blues to accompany each page. Some illustrations have interesting borders depicting island motifs and woven patterns.
  This is a beautiful
book with a happy ending.

My Father's Islands by Christobel Mattingley

Before I read Christobel Mattingley's book I knew zilch about the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman. In fact, I didn't even know he was Dutch. Now I have a great deal of respect for a man who spent years at sea for very little thanks from the Councillors and the Governor General who sent him on such dangerous expeditions.

My Father's Islands (NLA
 Publishing, 2012)

   My Father's Islands is written from the point of view of Tasman's young daughter, Claesgen, who spent most of her life in Batavia (now Jakarta) during the mid 1600s. This gives emotion and depth to a subject I have always found hard to get enthusiastic about - explorers. I think this is because my father raved on about Bourke and Wills and Charles Sturt and Oxley and Blaxland and numerous others for much of my childhood. It has given me a kind of allergic reaction to Australian explorer stories. With this in mind, I think I did well to finish this small book.
   However half way through the story Tasman's ships left Tasmania and journeyed to New Zealand, Tonga and later, the Solomon Islands and New Ireland. These were the parts I found fascinating, especially his encounters with the islanders.
   The text is pitched at children, though it is a good book for history buffs of all ages. It is filled with charts and illustrations taken on Tasman's journey along the S
outhern Ocean, past Tasmania, through to New Zealand and then on to the Pacific Isles.

Ponape, 1994 Source: B. Montgomery

On wet, windy, winter days, like I'm living through right now, I wish I could be back in Micronesia, enjoying the sun, the sea and the slow pace of life. Dream on...

The Island of Four Rivers by Christopher Morgan

I actually listened to this as a talking book and I must say it kept me enthralled over many hours driving in the car. It is the story of Henry Davis, a boring middle-aged man whose life is falling to pieces. His wife and daughter have left him, and his father has had a stroke and is in a coma in hospital.


The Island of four Rivers (Scribe, 2006)

   Henry moves in with his mother, much to her dislike. Then his sister Eleanor, formally a nun, turns up with a Latin lover.
   So what has any of this to do with an island? Well, there is another story going on in this novel.   
   "Crabby" Davis, a Victorian explorer, has been left on the island of Sulupandasan. He befriends a local poetry-writing chieftain, battles an evil beast, makes an enemy of a witch-doctor and falls in love with a beautiful island maiden. There are four rivers on the island and from time to time each one dries up. Crabby goes on a quest to try and find the source of the four rivers. At the great lake a giant turtle is blocking the stream, causing the river to dry up. It might sound weird, but the two stories come together beautifully at the end when Henry needs to decide about turning off his father's life support system.
   Despite the serious background to this book, there are plenty of lighter moments and even times that made me burst out laughing. I also loved the fact that my home town of Wonthaggi was mentioned in the text. Henry Davis is transformed in this story from a selfish bore to a risk-taking man in love. And the story of his fantastical ancestor Crabby, is both a tribute to and a gentle parody of, the old swashbuckling stories of colonial exploration.
   A delightful story!

Our Island by the children of Gununa, Alison Lester and Elizabeth Honey

Our Island (Viking, 2014)

Our Island is a picture story book with gorgeous illustrations by the children of Mornington Island State School. The pictures were drawn using crayons and then food dye was used as a wash over the top. The results are terrific, providing shadows and texture in all the right places. All the pages show some aspect of their island, either the wildlife or the landscape and how the many settings provide the best habitat for the range of creatures that live on the island.
   A delightful book for young children.

The Sea on our Skin by Madeleine Tobert

The Sea on Our Skin
(Two Roads, 2012)

This is the story of a violent man, Ioane, who marries a girl named Amalia on a remote island somewhere in the Pacific (but quite like Fiji). The book has the feel of a fable as the characters are in many ways unreal. This is especially the case of the old man in the canoe and the co-joined twins who are different genders. This quality doesn't detract from the story, however. If anything it enhances it.
   Ioane beats his wife and leaves the island only to return years later. He repeats this strange behaviour over and over, and throughout this time Amalia bears him five children. Each has a clearly defined personality and each is affected by their father's treatment of their mother.
   Eventually Amalia fights back and Ioane's life is changed forever. But his need to escape the island has been imprinted on one of his sons. And so the need for travel conflicts once again with the love for home in the next generation.
   I loved this book because of it's fairy-tale qualities, it's haunting commentary on relationships and death and the way the characters are bound to the sea. Tobert comments on the ocean in some way on every page, but the result isn't repetitious, it's beautiful.

My Island Homicide by Catherine Titasey

My Island Homicide (UQP, 2013)

My Island Homicide is a crime novel, complete with a corpse, a range of suspects and details of police procedure. It is a crime story with a difference though, because it's set on Thursday Island, in the Torres Strait. I enjoyed reading this novel because of the snippets of creole throughout and the descriptions of island life. It made me want to jump on a plane and go and explore this remote part of Australia.
   The story goes something like this: Melissa, a missing person, is found dead in a well by the central character, the newly appointed Senior Sergeant, Thea Dari-Jones. Over a period of many months Thea falls in love with a local fisherman, adopts various stray animals, interviews suspects and eventually ends up arresting a man and sending him to court. By this stage the sergeant's love life has blossomed into something serious and she is heavily pregnant when the case goes to court. Throughout the whole story the threat of black magic lurks. I liked this touch as it is a theme I am interested in developing in my stories as well.
   Titasey has crafted a sound crime plot with interesting details and plenty of red herrings. My only criticisms would be that  the constant roll call of characters onto the page was confusing and some characters had little depth. I found I wanted to get to know them
better. Despite this, it was an enjoyable mystery.

Shark Island by David Miller

Shark Island (Oxford University
Press, 2009)

David Miller spent many years in South East Asia and his experience shows. Shark Island is filled with little details of island life: the smell of indigenous foods, the lush vegetation and the spray of the sea. I found this book fascinating for the way it described a little known way of life, that of the Sea Gypsies of Malaysia. One of the main characters in the book is young Jik, a Sea Gypsy boy. Jik's sea faring skills are considerable and his personality is endearing.
   Jik befriends Hannah and Ned, English children whose parents have been kidnapped. The three friends escape armed men in speed boats, elude helicopters and battle their way across the open sea in an attempt to find the missing adults.
   This book is non-stop action and the plot has great twists and turns. I think many kids would enjoy it for the pace and the depth of the story. A terrific read.

An Ocean of Cricket by Adam and Barrie Cassidy

Years ago when I lived in Nauru, a small cricket competition was set up by an expatriate Australian teacher.There were four teams: the Aussie teachers, the kiwi builders, the Indian public servants and the Island labourers. I remember that the teams were so short of players that most of us chipped in to play. Resources were in short supply. The two batsmen divided up the gloves and pads as there was only enough for one player. So I wore one glove and one leg pad onto the crumbling concrete pitch.
   I actually opened the batting for Australia against India. What an achievement! I think I made a total of five runs. There were no thigh pads, no helmets, no box (not that the women needed one of those) and I remember receiving a bruise the size of a dinner plate on my thigh after one match.

An Ocean of Cricket (Victory Books, 2013)

   The field was crushed coral; there wasn't a blade of grass anywhere. There was only one mat for the pitch so at the end of each over, the batsmen changed ends. It was lots of fun but far too hot under the tropical sun.
   I remember one of the islanders came from Samoa and he was a natural at cricket. But I think he'd had lots of practice back home as the book An Ocean of Cricket depicts. This pictorial feast is a celebration of cricket in a few Pacific island countries.
   Adam Cassidy works for the International Cricket Council (ICC) in their East Asia-Pacific office and his father Barrie, is a well-known Australian journalist who hosts the sporting program Offsiders.  They collaborated to produce this wonderful book which all cricket lovers would find interesting. The pictures are great - showing men, women and children all participating in cricket at the 'grass-roots' level and the more serious ICC sponsored levels in Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and PNG. The pictures of the kids playing in the villages are delightful. Some are so young they can barely hold a bat. For many villages, the ocean is the outfield. Women players feature just as often as the men and many uniforms are vibrantly coloured. It's no doubt that these people are passionate about their sport.
   If you love cricket and you love the islands then this book is a treasure. It certainly brought back lots of fond memories for me.