Chapter 7
Primary School
Dusk drew near bringing with it the customary cold nightly air, forever
demanding indoor heating for warmth and comfort. The open fireplace was large
and situated in the middle of the lounge room, it was constructed of a red
brick and a thick mantelpiece spread across its face. The top of the mantle
showcased an old fashioned brass timepiece encased in a glass dome which was
constructed adequately to protect the circular pendulum spinning under the
influence of a fine wire. Proudly displayed on each side of the clock were
framed photographs of family and small inexpensive knick knacks.
Deadwood was abundant and in easy access within close proximity to the
house. Once chopped it would be neatly stacked against the sides of the
fireplace presenting the ends as a gallimaufry of shapes and sizes. Once ablaze
the fire radiated lots of heat distributing it evenly throughout and bringing
about a cosy and homely habitat. A by-product of the comfort in temperature was
the creation of an atmosphere conducive to the encouragement of leisurely
activities like playing cards or board games, or just relaxing, chatting,
reading or listening to the radio; few locals in this era were fortunate enough
to have a television set but it was definitely on the Scotsdon’s wish list. The
TV they had on the ‘Hostel’ belonged to the establishment and had to stay when
they pulled up stakes, besides, because of its smallness in size it was a real
strain on the eyes in viewing.
One night the temperature was below its monthly worst, but the family
was content as they huddled around the fire reading and engaging in games,
until the tranquillity underwent a sudden interruption, a weird screeching
noise echoed through the silence:
“Aaaaaahhhhhh – Aaaaaahhhhh –
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.” It was like a woman in pain, a
screaming; everyone froze. Startled by the series of shrieks, Rene, wearing a
gaped jaw and somewhat stupefied, was the first to comment. In a reverberating
voice she asked;
“What was that? Ted, turn
the radio off, quick. You must ‘ave heard it?” No-one answered straight away
but each gave a tacit nod. All remained mute in opinion with their auditory
faculties tuned for the faintest sound. Nellie was not alarmed in any way
whatsoever, she did not stir but lazed peacefully on the carpet near the fire.
Ted thought: ‘What a great guard dog she
turned out to be, her hearing should be exceptional, maybe she’s part deaf.’
“It must have been a noise
on the radio,” Ted said in an attempt to quell concerns, but his act of an
abiding composure was only feigning the truth; he was just as alarmed as
everyone else. Although reserved in their beliefs they accepted Ted’s
explanation and went about their business while endeavouring to give the
impression of concentrating on doing what they were doing before the
interruption. The truth was no-one could relax, each kept their ears tuned
carefully for mysterious peculiarities.
The screeching cry sounded again; “Aaaaaahhhhhh
– Aaaaaahhhhh – Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh,” then a pause, then again; “Aaaaaahhhhhh – Aaaaaahhhhh –
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.” Ted jumped to attention. Don was undergoing a farrago
of fears while clinging to his mother’s dress. The others, also too frightened
to speak, froze in their seats. Ted grabbed his loaded .22 and crept outside
into the cloud covered night. The dog followed, unperturbed by all the
commotion it stayed loyal and kept by his side. Ted scoured the bush as far and
wide as the dim light permitted, but without success; there was no trouble to
be found and no unusual noises to be heard. He returned inside and warmed his
bum by the fire. Rene asked;
“Shall we call the operator
and tell her to get the police?” Without answer Ted held his palm up to signal
quiet and listened with diligence and attention for the smallest of sounds.
After a short while with no more abnormalities, he replied;
“No, let’s wait ‘till
morning. We’ll see what happens.” Nobody wanted to go to bed, when they did it
was a long time before anyone dozed off.
The next day; Thursday morning, Don rubbed the sleep from his eyes and
peeked cautiously through the curtains. Memories of the scary noises from the
night before were still troubling him. It was a picturesque day, the sun was
shining, the birds tweeting and gentle breezes were blowing on his face through
the partially opened sash. On the tree line stood the usual troop of kangaroos,
some with a Joey in pouch, and others easily distinguishable by their height
and identifiable by colours and markings as regulars. They were chewing
steadily and taking advantage of the moist succulent grasses; the ‘big reds’
stood above the others, always alert in readiness for response to territorial
encroachment from predators. These strong graceful creatures visited most
mornings and Don accepted their attendance as a great privilege.
On making the effort to get out of bed he pulled the curtains fully open
to let the sun provide warm somatic sensations, it gave off a lovely tingling
through the body which the sun’s energy so welcomely volunteers. He thought to
himself: ‘This is a going to be a great
day for having fun and discovering more wonders the area has to offer’. And now
it would be even more fun because I have my new friend Nellie to play with.’
But the strategy he planned for the day was not going to happen, unbeknown to
him his mother had other ideas. She entered his room and handed him a folded
pair of light black denim trousers, a short sleeved white shirt, black shoes
and white socks and ordered;
“Here ya are, put these on.”
He did not like this line of attention one bit. He was accustomed to wearing
shorts, usually without a shirt and no shoes; they were a luxury for special
occasions only. Her motives were questioned with much inquisitiveness.
“Why mum? What for? Where
are we going?” Being fully aware of the reception she was about to receive she
replied in a stern voice with parental authority;
“You are going to school
today, get dressed.” His face contorted and cringed in repulsion of the
thought.
“I don’t want to mum, I hate
school. Why do I ‘ave to go?” He cried and cried and cried; tears flowed
profusely. A screaming insolence together with ramped snivelling saw him throw
his clothes on the ground in defiance of her command. She grabbed him and
smacked him around the legs with the palm of her hands until his skin was red
and sore and said;
“You have to go sooner or
later; it may as well be sooner.” All in one motion she smacked him again with
one hand and picked up the clothes in the other, threw them on the bed and gave
further instructions;
“Now hurry up and get ready,
your father will be taking you on the school bus. Hurry up. You haven’t got
long, hurry or I’ll smack you again. I won’t tell you again, if I come back and
you are not dressed then look out.” Don knew he was trounced in all ways, so in
protest he got dressed very slowly and refused to eat breakfast, all the time
crying and creating an unnecessary commotion far beyond his normal tantrums.
The reason they surprised Don with the news of school attendance was twofold;
the first was so Ted could start his job knowing Don was not going to be a
burden at home with Rene and Zoe, and the second; they did not want to tell him
earlier of the plan because they knew they would get a prolonged display of
dissent. Don thought school to be a great imposition to his freedom, so this
late charge meant they only had to put up with his irritable uncontrolled anger
for an hour or two rather than days or weeks. Ted hoped to have the car fixed
by now to ease the pain by taking him to school, but the engine was still
incapable of functioning to any standard of reliability so Ted, Tim, and a very
unhappy Don boarded the bus for the journey to ‘Wirrageen Primary’.
Don’s closest neighbours lived about one mile from the school which was perched on a hill
approximately three miles from home. The main road bordered closely to its
front entrance and the grounds consisted of three main buildings and two shared
outside toilets on two acres of flat cleared land. It was without boundary
fences, except one, at the front between the road and the assembly area. All
other areas beyond those limits were open bush. Two buildings were used as
classrooms for around thirty children, and the other, about fifteen foot long
by twelve foot wide was used as a weather-shed, it had an open front and was
adapted into a boxing ring by tying ropes across the front; boxing was a daily
sport for those who wanted to participate or resolve childish antagonisms.
When Don arrived at school he and his father walked straight into the
classroom. He had no idea of the conversation taking place between his father
and the headmaster, Mr Tems, and was scared stiff because he certainly did not
want to be there. He was still bawling his eyes out for no beneficial gain,
nobody, including the other kids were taking any notice of him. The teacher
bent to his level and tried to ease his tears before introducing him to one of
the older girl students who was eleven years of age. She was given the chore of
helping him to settle in; a type of ‘role model’ system. Ted stayed for about
half an hour but could not wait to leave, and who could blame him, Don did not
stop performing for the whole time. He loved his son like father’s do but
enough was enough, he walked out without feelings of sorrow, just a gladness to
get Don out of his hair for a while.
After a few hours of turbulent developments Don calmed to a state of
composed and intermediate stages of sobbing. One of the few words spoken was
when he crossed his legs and asked to go to the toilet. The teacher was worried
he was going to run away so he told Don’s invaluable helper to escort him to
the amenities. She did so and waited outside the ‘thunderbox’ for ages until
eventually calling on him to come out, again with tears, he refused. Unbeknown
to her his pants had a zipper in them and it was broken in the down position
which set in motion the whole crying routine. She coached him out and took him
back to the classroom where she explained to the teacher what took them so long
and why he was upset yet again. Tems gave her a safety pin to put in his ‘fly’,
while she undertook the chore of fastening it Tems patience was ‘wearing thin’
with Don’s constant disruptions, he held outstretched the slender cane of
bamboo towards his nose before lowering it and whacking him around the back of
the legs. While waving the cane as a pointer he said;
“Stop crying Don, Go sit
down up the back of the room.” The sting of the ‘cane’ made him cry even more,
and the hurt together with the humiliation caused great upset. But once the
pain faded he settled and was forced to pay attention; he did not want any more
of the teacher’s treatment and soon came to understand who was in charge.
At the end of the day he was put on the bus and travelled home alone
where he could take solace in play with Nellie until it was dark enough to be
called inside. Following dinner, sitting around the warmth of the fire, Ted
gained everyone’s attention with a clap before delivering his gained knowledge;
“Today I was told what that
bloody awful screaming noise was last night.” A moment of silence filled the
room in anticipation of his rationalization. “It was only those big black birds
- ‘crows’, they won’t hurt you and you don’t usually hear them at night.
Apparently they’re called a ‘murder’ of crows when in a group; a name well
suited I thought.” Zoe replied with disbelief regarding his explanation;
“It didn’t sound like any
bird I’ve ever heard before. I hope we don’t hear them at all, especially at
night. I would ‘ave sworn it was a person screaming. Are you sure dad?”
“Well, that’s what I was
told.” Although the story was accepted as true it was not without scepticism as
they had all seen crows before and knew what they looked like but never had
they heard them voice their opinion with such annoyance and ferocity.
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