Golah Sing - E-book - ePub

Australian history is replete with drama, yet for many, Australia's history from 1788 only consists of indigenous dispossession, convicts, gold-rushes, bushrangers and ANZACs. This book proves this view wrong - sure, we do include the old favourites - but there are many other tales to intrigue you. There's the custom official with the ingenious way of detecting illegal immigrants, the escapee who enjoys the taste of homo-sapiens, a colonial governor with a penchant for practical jokes, an evil military secret and an insider's view of a female mental asylum.
Showcased here are thirty-three award-winning stories from Australian history, all based on real events, that shine a light on some of the lesser known corners of our past."Drop your breeches. There's a good lad." The ship's medical officer barely looks at me. He has his back to me while he waits for me to oblige. A small mallet twirls in his fingers. I dunno what he thinks he's going to do with that.
"Strip, lad. That's an order. What's your name?""It's."I can't answer. Of all the ridiculous things I've failed at, forgetting to have a name is by far the most stupid.- From "The Stowaway" by Catherine McGraffinMy eardrums shudder. The door erupts. A bag of flour flies across the room filling it with white fog. Noise reverberates around my skull, shatters the window. After the blast there is silence.
For a few seconds I think I'm deaf. Then a thin wail pierces the paralysis; screams, thudding footsteps, shocked voices and the high-pitched terror of horses overwhelm the settlement.- From "Never Again" by Rosemary Stride"But, dear Elizabeth, you simply can't accept it.""Of course I can, John.""Whatever will people think, a married woman accepting a gift like that?""They'd think lucky woman."- From "Worgan's Piano" by Peter Long.