December 1966 School Magazine

December, 1966

December, 1966

Brisbane Gir ls' Grammar School Magazine

Brisbane Girls' Grammar .School Magazine

was parched. Brown tufts of grass lay here and there in the paddocks, begging for water. The miserable sheep stood bowing their heads, lying in the dust, dying. And still the drought dragged on. Then Johan had come home, fired with new ideas on how to get water. They had failed. Now Alec listened to his latest discovery. Jacky was, an old witchdoctor. Jacky could make rain. How? He would dance, of course. "Of course", Alec smiled grimly. It was heathen mysticism. When the Lord decided they really needed the rain, he would send it. Alec had prayed. The months had dragged by. Then gradually green-black clouds had started to form, low on the horizon. They had edged their way up the sky. A hopeful light had come into Johan's eyes. Alec's wife, Kate, had turned a half-hopeful, half-apprehensive gaze towards her husband. But Alec said nothing. This had happened before. Those torturous clouds would climb a little each day until they had you almost believing rain was on its way. Then they would vanish. He knew. "Now", Johan urged, "Jacky says now". "Oh, for heaven's sake, Jo , if you want your desert savage to dance, let him dance. Just let me be" . So Jacky donned his tribal feathers , his ochre paint , and the shining white teeth found in the desert sand, and he danced. That night it rained. - JUDITH ELLIOT, VIE, GIBSON HOUSE

THE QUESTION The old man ran his tongue over his baked lips, and sat on a log to watch this performance from another angle . "Would you turn to barbaric practices, you fool! It's a lot of mumbo-jumbo." "Brother I'm afraid I cannot agree with you in that . Why I've seen .. ." "I can't help what you've seen. I promised father you would be brought up with a true Christian faith and, by George, you will be! " "Alec, please! You're paying far too much heed to this. It's not really irreligious and it isn't mumbo-jumbo. Now listen. I've done quite a bit of travelling and this much I know. If' you go out there ( he indicated the west) you would believe in him too." Alec Meyers sat down heavily on the side of the dray and stared at his younger brother with an expression of frustration in his eyes . Johan was five years his junior, but had already travelled further than Alec would want to for the rest of his· life. All he wanted was to get this farm in working ( and paying) order, repay his debts and spread the rest of his life bringing up his own family in this rich young land. He glanced at Jacky sitting digging his toes into the dust. "Jacky blighter! Not a care in the world unless it's as to where he'd get his next chew of tobacco." Jacky looked up, as if he sensed he had been addressed. He respected 'Big Boss' as did most of the men in this part ~£ the country, but he also had a 'soft spot' for the younger brother. Both men had come to Port Phillip as children and had grown up on this small farm nestled under the mountains. Their father had been a minister and, on his deathbed, had made both boys promise to stand always by their faith. This was under- standable, of course. However, at an early age, Johan had become extremely restless and took to wandering. It was therefore l~ft to Alec to try to straighten the affairs of the farm; for though Father Meyers had been a fine clergyman, he was just not born with a head for business. The struggle was taking its toll on Alec. His brown cheeks were beginning to sag and deep furrows found their way across his brow. But he was a 'battler' and, if there was one tMng respected in the colony, it was perseverance. Alec's troubles had begun to die away when, about eighteen months ago , a drought had begun. There had been minor droughts before but never quite like this one. Young seed perished where it lay in the soil; the ground 54

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We come We stay, and We go. Some sleep through life Some seek and find great joy. Some strive -- anl fail

Like me: for I came, and I will stay, and then I will go.

- "BURGESS", VIE

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