Chapter 19
Wrath of Sterge
On the outskirts of Naretha
there were scores of Aborigines housed in their ‘humpy’s’. These consisted of
shelters made from a framework of light sticks bent and shaped into a dome,
sometimes a standing tree would be utilized as the main support. The covering
material was paperbark, or leafy branches, or thick sheets of bark cut from
trees. For hotter summer months they
would erect a ‘lean-to’, open on three or all sides to allow the air to
circulate freely. The basic ‘lean-to’ was four posts set in the ground with the
roof material being similar to that of the ‘humpy’. As waste became more
accessible the materials of use for building turned to tin, plastic, cloth and
any other items they could muster for free. Most Aborigines of the day in this
area were caught between ‘white’ society and their own philosophy, causing
their way of life to become confounded and complex; tribal history was being
consumed by capitalistic greed. Indoctrination to ‘white’ progress persisted
tenaciously and at times with implacable aversion. This together with the abuse
of alcohol and rampant unemployment significantly promoted the development of
severe problems tainting and burdening their social fabric. Sterge had plenty
of problems with the ‘blackfella’ and their way of life. He thought of them as
drunken scourge, not good enough to live in houses and should be confined to
the outer limits of town. ‘They are their
own enemies’, he would say; and the fact was, they rarely went out of their
way to offer doubt to this reputation.
Weepy become of age to obtain a car license. It was well established
when living in the bush, the need for instruction and practice to drive was
unnecessary because most had been in charge of a vehicle since they could walk.
He had been saving hard for this occasion and bought his first car for cash; a
‘Mini Minor 850’ in good working order. It was small and different to most cars
he drove because it had the starter button on the floor, which one would
activate with a press of the foot, sliding windows, and a motor positioned
sideways instead of lengthways. It was his pride and joy and he drove like a
maniac; whoever took up the invite to ride with him did so at their peril.
Sterge was the same, reckless and irresponsible in regard to others safety and
had no clear perception towards the catastrophic dangers resulting from car
accidents. Although Weepy’s fascination for his car distorted his mind in such
a way he never considered a crash would wreck it, people would not be allowed
in it unless they cleaned the dirt of the underneath of their feet or footwear,
and smoking was banned as it could stain or mark the upholstery. Nevertheless,
it was a form of transport he relished and it opened new horizons. Sam moreso
than Don was invited to ride with him, rarely he took Fran and never Sally.
Doris was his main passenger. The car was used socially for the beach or short
trips to town, usually in pursuit of girls and to partake incessantly in pub
activities which recurrently flavoured their appetite for trouble.
All were under the age limit for legal entry into pubs, Sam and Don even
younger than Weepy. Sam must have looked the greenest because he was constantly
asked his age, but he, as did Don, had the acceptable but bogus age and birth
date committed to memory; never were they forced to leave by the authorities.
On one such occasion when the three were going to attend a pub in Naretha, Sterge decided he wanted to tag
along. Their disgruntlement to his uninvited presence was ineffective because
his persistence and harrowing disposition ensured the suppression of their true
and solicitous objections; no one wanted to fight him. He was mostly silent but
inhospitable and would emasculate those around him through intimidation. Not
only did he have a macabre appearance and solid frame, his vociferous bullying
and hatred of rejection was a good enough incentive not to upset him; it stood
to reason they succumbed to his intent.
It was a humid day and the ‘Mini’ was jammed tight. Three of the four
occupants were tolerating as unimpressive the miasma of stewed sudor leaching
from the pores of Sterge’s skin. On account of the circulating rankness, Don
complained bitterly about the rule of no smoking in the car, he privately
figured a nocent waft of smoke would mask the insufferable stench they endured.
Much pleasure was derived from reaching the end of the journey and getting out
into the fresh air. They parked close to the front entrance of the pub and
noticed four black as black Aboriginals inward bound. Women were not allowed in
the main bar so they left their ‘Gin’ sitting outside leaning against the wall
with a bottle in a brown paper bag; probably sherry. The other three went in.
Sterge, Sam and Don entered the pub and sat around a corner table while
Weepy went to the bar and ordered four schooners of beer. He took them back to
the table. They ‘chewed the cud’ for a while and throughout their banter Weepy
would constantly wipe his eyes dry while Sterge’s gingivitis caused him to suck
his gums back in his mouth and wash the bloody seepage down with beer. In
finishing the beers and coalescing their funds for another round and a game of
pool, Sterge took ten cents, stepped up to the pool table currently being used
by two of the ‘blackfella’s’ and placed the money on the table ‘rail’; this was
customary practice to signify whose turn was next. Sterge then sat down with
his back to the game to indulge in his guzzling of alcohol. It was his turn
next, but he heard them ‘rack up’ again and stood and pointed to his money
which should have been on the ‘rail’, but it was gone. The ‘blackfella’s stole
his money and put it in the slot for another game. Don, Sam and weepy knew that
devilled look on his face, it was one of profound indignation mixed with a
presage of insanity, it bore the signature of horripilation on their skin
because they knew trouble was about to unfold and moved away from their seats
for the impending mutilation of limbs. To their astonishment Sterge walked
calmly towards the door. They never witnessed him in a regressive state, he
would never back away from trouble; usually he was the instigator.
Don and his friends were shocked with mouth agape, they sat again and
watched through the large front windows as Sterge walked over to the black
women sitting outside on the pavement, he snatched the bottle from her, smashed
it on the concrete, and kicked her until blood ran freely from open wounds. He
purposely provoked her loud violent diatribes to alert her relations. All three
‘blacks’ ran outside to her aid and one immediately launched provocation comments
and loud threats involving conflict;
“You’ll pay for that you
fuckin’ white simpleton. Ya look like a caveman.”
“Hey Moodge, fuckin’ whack
‘im,” instructed his mate while the third one stood in ready. By this time Don,
Sam, and Weepy joined Sterge, they knew Weepy was more than willing to step in
and help his brother but Don and Sam were hesitant; bravado was not in their
genes so they took a step back. Before anyone could sum up the situation Sterge
‘king hit’ one of the opponents with a right hook smack dead centre on the jaw
and laid him flat on his back. The other two rushed him but weepy prevented the
approach of one and they wrestled to the ground. The last of the three walked
into another left and right punch from Sterge breaking his bloodied nose, then
he grabbed the one wrestling with his brother and thrust his head into the
concrete pavement; blood was of a significant quantity. Then Weepy, in offence
to being held on the ground, turned to the weeping women still sitting
clutching her wounds and kicked her in the head; Sterge laughed. It was all
over in about thirty seconds. Sam made comment in a voice tremulous with panic;
“Quick, we’d better get out
of ‘ere before the cops come.”
They left the injured bleeding and beaten on the sidewalk and ran to the
car; Sterge walked slowly. On the way home there was a lot of pomposity but
again Don was the object of ridicule. Sterge took the opportunity to help bring
into disrepute Don’s place in the group, yet said nothing of Sam’s aloofness.
He persecuted what he thought to be Don’s spineless spirit in contribution to
the fight by humiliating him;
“Why didn’t ya help?” Don
had no answer. “You’re a wimp,” he said as he continued with disparaging
remarks.“Next time I’ll shove your head in the concrete too.” Weepy added
criticism with his own taunt;
“I told him just the other
day, he’s bloody hopeless.” Don still found it difficult to except the fact he
was not received with the same high repute as they gave each other. Their
turbulent nature took another negative effect on his self-confidence. It had
taken years to come to terms with the rejection they imposed on him, but at
last, he was now well aware he would never be accepted as part of their gang.
When they arrived back at Weepy’s house, Don had no choice but to submit
to their torment. They knew he had nowhere to run because he had to wait until
his parents collected him at four. He thought: ‘I could hitch-hike home but I don’t want to give them the satisfaction
of knowing I’m leaving due to their dislike of me.’ Then, for reasons known
only to them, out of the blue, they began to include him in their conversation
as if nothing happened and an interminable friendship seemed pending. Their war
of attrition finished, for now anyway, and their ‘Jeckal’ and ‘Hyde’
personalities turned to talk of a potential party; the deliberations were for
the usual crowd and he was sure he was included. It was to take place near
Sterge’s shack of plants in which beer and cigarettes were always available.
Sterge and Weepy would source the marijuana, and a campfire would act as a BBQ
for food and warmth. Music was always from the car radio. Those informed of the
get together were Sam’s two older sisters and Fran. Sally was not told because
her brothers thought her a nuisance, but gossip soon alerted her of the event.
Sterge was especially glad Fran was coming because he was still intimate with
her at every emerging opportunity and she always consented; maybe because of
his domineering temperament, or because she liked the attention, or she was
just a ‘glutton for punishment’; for whatever reason she never showed fear in
his company, but her actions could have been a façade to cover the fear.
Don’s assumptions regarding participation was a pipe dream, a figment of
his imagination, he was never formally invited. Besides he would not have been
allowed to enjoy the celebrations because, as planned, his father was coming to
take him home; this was to be for the best. Deep down he did not need to be
reminded on the day of his social status amongst them, he knew he was the
pariah of the group and if he shared in the night he would surely have been the
centre of objurgatory remarks.
He later learnt of the party’s drunken behaviour and quarrelling for
female attention. Apparently the drink mixed with the ‘weed’ induced sexual
liberalism and wild dance in the girls, and rants and rages in Sterge. All the
boy’s hormonal levels were naturally high without the need of foreign matter to
influence their behaviour; with drugs, beer, girls and aggression being a
deadly combination Don was glad he went home.
