The Waterboys

By Peter Docker

Fremantle Press

Copyright © 2011 Peter Docker
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-921696-94-7

Contents

Title Page,
Copyright,
One: Night Delivery,
Two: Rainbows in the Tank,
Dreaming 44: The Cornfield,
Three: Holy Water,
Four: Can’t Remember,
Dreaming 44: Back of the Ute,
Five: Metal Bees,
Dreaming 44: Rotten Inside,
Six: Back of the Divvy Van,
Dreaming 44: The Pub in the Middle of Nowhere,
Seven: The Tank,
Dreaming 44: Campfire Execution,
Eight: Swimming in the Tank,
Nine: Boxed In,
Waking Dream Memory: The Eyes of Spiders,
Ten: Watchin the Footy with Me Mates,
Eleven: Keepings Off,
Ghost of History: Welcome to Country,
Twelve: Dispersing the Natives,
Dreaming 44: The Disappearing Track,
Thirteen: Talking With Rednecks,
Ghost of History: Planting Tears,
Fourteen: Swim the Sick Mother,
Ghost of History: The Empire Has Not Forgotten Us,
Fifteen: What You Bring,
Sixteen: Nayia-Nayia,
Shared Waking Dream Memory: Secret Water,
Seventeen: Reward or Punishment,
Eighteen: The Smoky Man,
Waking Dream Memory: Wrong Place,
Nineteen: Right Questions,
Twenty: Riding the Skin,
Ghost of History: Waters off Wadjemup,
Twenty-one: Smash and Grab,
Ghost of History: Finest Navy the World Has Ever Seen,
Twenty-two: Going Over,
Ghost of History: Cavorting with Savages,
Twenty-three: Red Balloons in the Guts,
Shared Searching Dream: Grog Bunker,
Twenty-four: Scars, Weapons and Free Water,
Twenty-five: Blood and Dust in the Water,
Blood Dust Dream: River of Blood,
Twenty-six: Here and There,
Twenty-seven: Secret Healing Water Song,
Ghost of History: Arriving Again,
Twenty-eight: Whale Song Blessing,
Ghost of History: The Soul of Our People is Burning,
Twenty-nine: Same Water Me,
Thirty: Water on Scars,
Dreaming 44: Love on the Web,
Thirty-one: Memory of Spiders,
Thirty-two: Neanderthal,
Ghost of History: Djenga Gods,
Thirty-three: Taken In,
Shared Dream Memory: The Sarge (May His Soul Find Peace),
Thirty-four: Keeping Enemies Close,
Thirty-five: Brothers Going South,
Ghost of History: Me and Wobbegong Down by the Darbal Yaragan,
Thirty-six: Landing Down South,
Thirty-seven: Trick of History,
Dreaming 44: Value of Concrete,
Thirty-eight: Just in Time,
Dreaming 44: Finish Up,
Thirty-nine: The Waterboys,
Ghost of History: Smoke and Water Dreams,
Ghost of History: State of Grace,
Ghost of History: Wobbegong and Holy Water,
Ghost of History: Mutiny,
Ghost of History: Running on the Wind,
Ghost of History: Wobbegong Hunting,
Forty: Two Brothers,
Flying Dream: Spirit Dreams of Love,
Forty-one: Make More Spear,
Nyoongar Boodjar Regional Map,
Aboriginal Words and Their Meaning,
Fictional Characters’ Names and Their Meaning,
Acknowledgements,
Also available from Fremantle Press,

CHAPTER 1

Night Delivery

The truck engine howls beneath us, cool desert air rushes past our windows. I’m holding on tight to the console, my white knuckles paler than the stars. Mularabone is driving. He stares ahead into the darkness, a picture of relaxation. Mularabone only knows one way to drive – fucken flat out.

‘You still with me, coorda?’ he asks, smiling through each word as though delivering the punchline of a joke.

I glance down at my white knuckles