Typescript Form for Miscue Analysis
Book Title: My Place
Author: Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins
1. My name’s Laura and this is my place.
2. I turned ten last week.
3. Our house is the one with the flag on the window.
4. Tony says it shows we’re on Aboriginal land, but I think it means
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the colour of the earth, back home.
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5. Mum and Dad live here too, and Terry and Lorraine, and Auntie
Bev, and Tony and Diane and their baby Dean.
6. He’s my nephew and he’s so cute!
7. We come from Bourke, but Dad thought there’d be more jobs in
the city.
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7. _______
8. This is me and Gully.
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9. I have to keep her on a lead because she chases cars.
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10. She comes from Bourke too.
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11. I guess she thinks they’re sheep.
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12. This is a map of my place.
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13. We’ve got a McDonalds right on the corner!
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14. In the McDonalds yard, there’s this big tree, and whenever I sit in
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it, it always makes me feel good.
15. There’s a canal down the bottom of the street, and Mum says it
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must have been a creek once.
16. It’s too dirty to swim in, but Tony made me a tin canoe and now
some of the other kids are making them too.
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17. If you tip over and go in, the water tastes yucky and your parents
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go wild.
18. For my birthday, Mum said we could have tea at McDonalds!
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19. We sat in the outside bit, under the tree, and it felt just like home.
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20. This is my place.
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21. I’m Mike.
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22. I’m nearly seven.
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23. I live with Mum and Dad and Yaya and Auntie Sofia.
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24. Yaya’s my grandmother but I call her that because she’s Greek.
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25. I don’t speak very much Greek, but I kind of always understand
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what she’s saying.
26. We have Easter lunch in the backyard under the grapevine.
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27. There’s roast lamb and salad, and of course I get chocolate eggs,
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but we have red real eggs too, and we have a competition about
cracking them.
28. I’m the best at it.
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29. This is me and Whiskers.
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30. He sneaks in and sleeps on my bed.
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31. This is a map of my place.
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32. When you’re up the top of the big tree and a jet goes over, you
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feel as if you’re going to fall out.
33. Mum wants to move because of all the noise, but I like aeroplanes
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and trucks and stuff.
34. Auntie Sofia and I often go to the canal.
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35. She says that if you went down it, and into the river, then into the
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bay, you’d be on your way Overseas!
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36. My name’s Sofia and this is my place.
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37. I’m ten.
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38. Baba’s just painted our house blue.
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39. He comes from Greece, and he says lots of houses on his island
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were this colour.
40. I think it’s really pretty.
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41. I live with Mama and Baba and Maroula and Paul McCartney.
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42. (I’ve got a big brother called Michaelis, but he’s a solder in
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Vietnam.
43. Mama lights candles to pray that he comes home soon and isn’t
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hurt.)
44. This is me and Paul McCartney.
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45. Maroula recons John Lennon’s best, but I like Paul.
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46. Before Michaelis went away, we had a goodbye party, and he
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invited a girlfriend!
47. She looked a bit left out because all of us were speaking Greek
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mostly.
48. Michaelis looked weird in his new haircut.
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49. he didn’t want to go, but he said the law said he had to.
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50. I wish that war would stop.
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51. This is a map of my place.
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52. Maroula works at the milk bar.
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53. I put messages in bottles and send them down the canal.
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54. And sometimes, when I want to think about things, I go up the big
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tree in the statue yard.
55. There are more people in the street now because of the flats, but
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they don’t seem to have any kids.
56. This is my place.
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57. My name’s Michaelis but at school I say it’s Mick.
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58. I’m eleven.
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59. I was born on Kalymnos but my parents moved here because
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there wasn’t enough work on our island.
60. Baba used to be a sponge diver but now he drives a taxi.
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61. Mama sews shirts at home, so she doesn’t learn to speak English
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much.
62. I’ve already got a sister called Maroula, and now I’ve got a new
one called Sofia.
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63. You’d think at least one of them could have been a boy.
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64. After Sofia got christened, we had a party.
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65. Baba and I had to make a fence so no one would tread on the new
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grape vine.
66. Sometimes I think there are more Greek people around here than
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there are on Kalymnos.
67. This is a map of my place.
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68. Pop and Mrs. Malcom next door have got a television, and
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sometimes they let me go in and watch it!
69. Up near the depot there’s a big tree, and I play Tarzan.
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70. That and Zorro are my favourite shows.
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71. Sometimes at the end of the day our family goes for a little walk
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beside the canal, like we used to do around the harbour back on
Kalymnos.
72. It’s pretty dirty, and there aren’t any cafes or anything, but Mama
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says if you shut your eyes you can pretend it’s the Aegean.
73. This is me and my silkworms.
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74. They don’t have names.
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75. I feed them on mulberry leaves.
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76. Their silk is soft and golden.
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77. My name’s Jen and this is my place.
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78. I’m eight and a half.
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79. I live with Mum and Grandpa and Auntie Bridie, and now there’s
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my new dad.
80. My real dad’s dead.
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81. He went to the war before I was born, so I never even saw him.
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82. But Mum says I’ve got his hair.
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83. When Mum married my new dad, we had a party.
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84. Uncle Paddy and Uncle Col came, and Miss Miller from next
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door and the Malcoms from the other side.
85. Miss Miller’s going to be ninety next year!
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86. My new dad’s got a car.
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87. It’s green.
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88. This is a map of my place.
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89. Mum says when she was a kid there used to be heaps more shops.
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90. They’re knocking the Haunted House down, but Miss Miller
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yelled at them and made them promise not to touch the big tree.
91. She told them I’ve got a swing in it.
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92. At the bottom of the street there’s a canal.
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93. The Council’s built a fence, but it always seems to get holes in it.
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94. Sometimes I fish down there, but I never catch anything.
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95. This is me and Soxie.
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96. Dad says we might move out to the western suburbs soon, and get
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a house with a big yard all around it.
97. But I think Soxie would hate it.
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98. He likes how it smells here.
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99. This is my place.
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100. I’m Col.
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101. I’m almost eleven.
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102. In my house there’s Pa and Declan and Bridie and Kath and
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Jack.
103. My ma got pneumonia when I was little, and Paddy’s up country
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somewhere, looking for work.
104. Miss Miller next door is kind of like family too.
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105. When Kath and Jack got married, she gave them her piano!
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106. The night the Thomsons got evicted, it was like a party in the
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street.
107. The bailiffs had stuck all their things out on the footpath and
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boarded up the house, so Mrs Thomson knocked down the fence and
built a big fire.
108. Everyone brought a pot of stew or some spuds or something, and
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when we’d finished eating, Pa got out his fiddle.
109. It didn’t seem awful then, but the next day they went away to the
unemployed camp, and we never ever see them any more.
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110. This is a map of my place.
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111. Pa and Declan got put on relief work to turn the creek into a
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canal, but it’s finished and they’re back on the dole again.
112. When my mate Thom mo still lived here, we nicked some wood
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from the old house and built a fort in the big tree.
113. And we used to swim in the canal, when our parents weren’t
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around.
114. But now there’s no one to muck about with.
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115. This is me and Bessie.
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116. She’s laid her eggs in my billycart, and I can’t use it for my
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paper run.
117. I hope they hurry up and hatch.
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118. My name is Bridie and this is my place.
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119. I’m seven. I was born in Dublin, but Pa and Mumma left
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because there wasn’t much work there.
120. Now Pa reckons jobs are getting hard to find here too.
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121. The rest of my family is Paddy and Declan and Kathleen and
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now Colum.
122. Mumma says he was a surprise.
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123. Pa and Paddy and Declan all work at the brickworks.
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124. Dec had to put his age up because he’s only thirteen.
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125. I don’t have a pet, but Kath and I look after Col in the afternoon
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because Mumma cleans at the flats.
126. We put him in the pram and bounce him along the creek track
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till he goes to sleep.
127. I wish the creek was clean enough to swim in.
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128. This is a map of my place.
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129. Last year they put in the poles, so now our lights are electric!
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130. It’s really exciting living here because the aerodrome’s just
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nearby, and sometimes aeroplanes fly over.
131. I climb up the big tree and wave to the pilots.
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132. Mumma says we’re lucky here because we’ve got good
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neighbours.
133. Miss Miller lets Kath and me play her piano and if we catch
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Henry’s bus he won’t let us pay.
134. the Thomsons on the other side have got a wireless!
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135. Lorna Thomson’s my best friend.
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136. We had a party last Saint Patrick’s Day.
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137. He’s the Saint of Ireland, and we all wear green for him and sing
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and dance.
138. Pa got a bit sad because he was missing home, so Mumma
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invited the Next Doors in to cheer him up.
139. This is my place.
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140. Mum calls me Bertie, but Eddie and all the blokes at the hospital
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call me Champ.
141. I’m nine.
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142. My brother Eddie’s only got one leg, but he’s still great at
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cricket.
143. He and the blokes sometimes let me play with them down by the
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creek.
144. I live with Mum and Eddie and my sister Ev, and we let the front
room to Miss Walkley, from church.
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145. Dad died at Gallipoli.
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146. Miss Walkley says that’s something to be proud of, but I recon it
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stinks.
147. He was a great spin bowler.
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148. This is me and Gert.
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149. We got her to help the War Effort.
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150. This is a map of my place.
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151. Mum works in the kitchen at the hospital, and when Ev comes
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home from the factory she puts on her VAD dress and goes over there
too.
152. I’ve got a treehouse in the big tree.
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153. Mum says we might have to move to the country because we
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can’t afford to live here now, but I don’t want to.
154. On the day the war ended, people danced in the street and blokes
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hugged each other on the lawn.
155. But Mum started crying.
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156. Then Miss Miller cried, then Mr. Miller even cried, because
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their Tom and Fred won’t be coming home either.
157. So I did some stilt-walking on Eddie’s crutches and made them
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stop.
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158. My name’s Evelyn and this is my place.
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159. I’m ten.
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160. We moved here because it’s close to the city for Father to get to
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the bank.
161. Mother teaches music at the college, but of course Eddie and I
go to the ordinary school.
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162. On the way home, we always wait near the petrol pump on
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Mullers’ corner in case a motor car stops.
163. Father says the main road will be tar soon, and there’ll be even
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more traffic.
164. Of course, Eddie pesters Father about when will we get a motor
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car, but you’d have to be as rich as anything for that.
165. This is me and Old Ned.
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166. He used to pull a horse bus but Mr Muller put him out to pasture
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when the trams went electric.
167. He says poor Ned just couldn’t keep up.
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168. Last Cracker Night all our street had a bonfire down near the
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creel.
169. We got crackers from the Chinese shop.
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170. Mr Muller said it reminded him of old times.
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171. This is a map of my place.
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172. On weekends I play caves under the big tree.
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173. Mr Muller says, when he was a boy, a dragon lived across the
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creek.
174. When I was little I used to believe him.
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175. This is my place.
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176. My name’s Rowley.
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177. I’m eight.
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178. My mum and me, we rent the upstairs front room.
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179. Auntie Adie’s got the middle room and Miss Singer’s got the
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back.
180. Mum works at the laundry with Auntie Adie.
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181. She’s not really my auntie, but I call her that.
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182. Downstairs, there’s Mr Merry.
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183. He does photographs, but on weekends he has an icecream cart,
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and he lets me and Tommy Muller help him.
184. Tom lives nest door.
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185. His auntie’s got a bicycle!
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186. This is a map of my place.
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187. The big tree belongs to the posh school, but I climb it anyway.
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188. A bit down the creek, it turns into a canal, and there are barges.
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189. Before my dad went away, he helped build it.
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190. Mum says he just couldn’t find any more work, and one day he
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might come back.
191. Once a month, Mr Merry has a party.
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192. It’s called the Labor Party, and it’s just grown-ups sitting in his
192. _____
room and talking.
193. Miss Muller goes, but Mum and Auntie Adie don’t.
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194. Mr. Merry gives Tom and me a shilling to nick up to the pub and
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bring them back some beer.
195. He lets us keep the change!
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196. This is me and Ned Kelly.
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197. He’s the front horse on Mr. Muller’s bus.
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198. Mr Muller reckons you’ve got to be an outlaw, to beat the new
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trams.
199. I’d like to be a tram driver when I grow up, but most people
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round here make bricks, so maybe I will too.
200. Mr Merry reckons every brick in every house tells a story.
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201. My name’s Victoria and this is my place.
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202. I’m nearly eleven.
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203. My father is a builder and he built our house, and Father and
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Mother and Wesley and Charles and May and I are the first people
ever ever to live here!
204. Father built the next door house too, for the Mullers, and now
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he’s started two more houses on the other side.
205. Our house is the biggest.
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206. We’ve got three bedrooms upstairs, and downstairs there’s a
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parlour and a dining-room, then the breezeway, then the kitchen.
207. We’ve even got tap water.
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208. Mother says it’s like a Dream Come True, but sometimes Father
208. _____
looks worried.
209. This is a map of my place.
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210. Mother reckons you get sick if you even look at the creek, but
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Father says it’ll get better soon when they finish making the sewerage.
211. Sometimes I play on the swing in the big tree, but the Owen
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girls don’t talk to me.
212. As if I’d care!
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213. The hotel’s just changed its name because of the Centenary.
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214. Mother won’t even let me walk on that side of the road.
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215. We’re all in the Temperance League.
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216. This year, Australia had its hundredth birthday!
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217. We went to the centennial Picnic with the Mullers, in their horse
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bus.
218. Miss Muller works in town, at the telephone exchange, and she
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catches the train to work!
219. Mother says ladies don’t have jobs, but I want to be something
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when I grow up.
220. This is me and Squarker.
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221. Sometimes he gives you a real fright.
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222. Once he made the dunny can man drop everything.
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223. This is my place.
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224. My name’s really Heinrich, but everyone except my
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grandparents calls me Henry.
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225. I’m ten.
226. When my mother died, Minna stopped being a teacher, and she
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looks after Father and Anna and me.
227. I used to have a little brother too, but he got the gastro.
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228. My grandparents and Uncle Wolf live on top of the new shop.
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229. My grandfather says that one day I will own it, but I want to be a
229. _____
balloonist.
230. I didn’t tell him that.
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231. This is me and Gretchen.
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232. She’s Minna’s cat, but she’s mine too.
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233. This is a map of my place.
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234. I get over the fence and climb the big tree and pretend I’m on a
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balloon.
235. The creek’s so dirty, Minna won’t let me play in it.
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236. She says it’s like an open sewer, and ithat’s why my brother
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Siggie died.
237. One night I woke up and there was all this banging and yelling.
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238. I crept out into the street and it was coming from Mr Wong’s
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garden.
239. So I went across the stepping stones, and there was a dragon!
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240. My name’s Minna and this is my place.
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241. I’m nine now.
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242. We used to live in Hamburg, but I like it better here.
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243. Mutti says it’s too hot and too dusty and there is no culture and
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if I don’t practice the piano I will turn into a heathen savage like
Wong Ga Leck.
244. I’d quite like to be a savage.
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245. Next door to our house, Vati’s built a workshop.
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246. He makes saddles and harnesses and stuff like that, and my big
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brothers Karl and Wolf help him.
247. Karl’s wife Eva lives with us too.
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248. She’s going to have a baby soon.
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249. I hope it’s a girl.
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250. This is a map of my place.
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251. I hide in the big tree sometimes when Mutti starts yelling about
251. _____
piano practice.
252. Vati says the creek’s a scandal, it’s so stinky and sludgy.
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253. At Christmas time, we have a proper German party, with a fir
253. _____
tree and candles.
254. Then we sing around the piano.
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255. It still seems funny, without any snow.
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256. But the food tastes just as good.
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257. This is me and my kitten Gretchen.
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258. Leck gave her to me.
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259. Some of the other kids chase after Leck and pull his pigtail, but
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he’s my friend.
260. This is my place.
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261. My name’s Benjamin Franklin and I am twelve years old.
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262. I was born in San Francisco but Mother says Dad got Gold
262. _____
Fever.
263. First we went to the Californian fields, but he didn’t find
263. _____
anything, so we moved to Australia and he tried his luck out Bathurst
way.
264. And when that was no good, we moved here.
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265. Now Dad works for Mr Moffatt, but I don’t think he likes it.
265. _____
266. Last Thanksgiving, Mother cooked a turkey like she used to do
266. _____
at home.
267. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t American, because the other kids
267. _____
laugh at how I speak, but Dad says one day everyone in the world will
be free and equal and like brothers and sisters.
268. When I think how Beth and Amy and I fight, I don’t reckon it’ll
268. _____
be much different.
269. This is Tripod.
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270. I share her with Leck.
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271. We found her one day down the back of the joss house.
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272. The other kids tease Leckie too, so we stick together.
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273. This is a map of my place.
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274. The creek’s too dirty to swim in, but Leck and I make boats and
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race them down it.
275. Sometimes we hide up the big tree and throw the figs down at
275. _____
the kids who call us things.
276. My name’s Johanna and this is my place.
276. _____
277. Soon I’ll be ten.
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278. I live here with Granny Sarah because my ma died when she had
278. _____
me.
279. She was called Alice.
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280. Granny Sarah grows vegetables, and I help her carry them
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around to people’s houses and sell them.
281. We use creek water for the garden, but you can’t drink it.
281. _____
282. There’s a woolwashery up near the swamp and they drain all
282. _____
their yuk into our creek!
283. This is a map of my place.
283. _____
284. Sometimes I creep into the Owen’s garden and climb the big
284. _____
tree.
285. If Mr Owen catches me, he gives me a weird look, but he just
285. _____
stomps away.
286. Granny Sarah says I’m never to go there.
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287. Last time Uncle Sam came home, we had a party.
287. _____
288. He’s a sailor, and you’d never guess what he brought me!
288. _____
289. Auntie Maryann got a half-holiday.
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290. She’s Mrs owen’s upstairs maid.
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291. Uncle Davey still lived here then, but he’s gone out Bathurst
291. _____
way now to be a shepherd for Mr Charles, and Granny Sarah says that
one day we might move there too.
292. She reckons too many people live here now, and she’s fed to the
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teeth with the dust of the main road and all the traffic.
293. This is me and Mischief.
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294. Isn’t he beautiful!
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295. _____
295. This is my place. I’m Davey, and I’m seven.
296. Just Ma and me live here now, because Alice and Maryann live
up at the new house and are maids.
296. _____
297. Sam’s my brother, but he’s on a ship catching whales.
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298. He’s fourteen.
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299. Before Sam went away, Mr Owen was shot by bushrangers, so
299. _____
Mr John became the master.
300. Ma says he’s even worse.
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301. Mr John’s sold most of the farm, and there are three more big
301. _____
houses now between here and the river.
302. This is a map of my place.
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303. When the wind blows the wrong way, it stinks from Mr John’s
303. _____
tannery.
304. Ma says we’re really lucky we’re up the good end of the creek,
304. _____
but she won’t eat the oysters any more.
305. There’s a swing in the big tree for Mr John’s kids and I’m not
allowed to play on it.
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306. So I climb up and drop figs on them, and they run away.
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307. Once Mr John caught me and whipped me, but it was worth it.
307. _____
308. They’re snobs.
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309. When I was little, my father fell off the roof of the new house
309. _____
and died.
310. Ma says she hates the Owens and all their works.
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311. I don’t really remember him, but one night last summer Ma took
311. _____
me to the creek and lit a big campfire.
312. We stayed up all night, and she told me how Dad discovered the
312. _____
swimming hole!
313. This is me and Duchess.
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314. She belongs to Mr John, but the groom lets me brush her.
314. _____
315. Next year I’m starting work as a stable boy.
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316. My name’s Alice and this is my place.
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317. I’m nine and a quarter.
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318. Another girl called Alice lived here once, but she died, and Ma
318. _____
gave me her name.
319. The Owens used to live here, but they’re staying in Sydney
319. _____
Town till their new house is built.
320. Mr John still often comes back to check on things.
320. _____
321. Ma and dad live here too of course, and Maryann and Little
321. _____
Sam.
322. Dad’s in charge of the farm and the convicts.
322. _____
323. They’re making a quarry to get stone for the new house.
323. _____
324. I take them their lunch.
324. _____
325. This is me and Wihemina.
325. _____
326. She loves it when I scratch her back.
326. _____
327. This is a map of my place.
327. _____
328. The new house is going to be near the big tree.
328. _____
329. I got Dad to promise they won’t cut it down.
329. _____
330. I love it.
330. _____
331. The creek’s still pretty clean here, but Dad reckons there were
331. _____
lots more fish around in the olden days.
332. The night the Owens went, we all had a party.
332. _____
333. Dad used to be a convict too, so he doesn’t treat the men like
333. _____
slaves, like Mr Owen and Mr John do.
334. Ma roasted a whole sheep, and Old Freddie danced on the table.
334. _____
335. This is my place.
335. _____
336. My name’s Charles and I’m eight and a half.
336. _____
337. I live here with my mother and my brother John and my sister
337. _____
Meg, and sometimes my father.
338. I had another sister called Alice but she died.
338. _____
339. Sam and Sarah are our servants.
339. _____
340. Sam is in charge of things because Father is mostly in Sydney.
340. _____
341. John says Father is making money.
341. _____
342. He’s got a new wollen mill across the swamp.
342. _____
343. John says he’s going to make money too when he grows up, but
343. _____
I want to be a farmer.
344. This is me and Daisy.
344. _____
345. Sarah taught me to milk her.
345. _____
346. Sarah’s nice.
346. _____
347. She lets me turn the handle on the butter-churn, and drink the
347. _____
buttermilk.
348. When Sam and Sarah got married, we had a party.
348. _____
349. Mother lent Sarah her second best shawl and Father gave them a
349. _____
guinea and three days’ holiday.
350. John got drunk on rum.
350. _____
351. This is a map of my place.
351. _____
352. The long hut up the back is for the convicts.
352. _____
353. Mother says I’m not allowed to talk to them, but I do.
353. _____
354. The big tree is great to climb.
354. _____
355. When I’m up the top I pretend I’ve crossed the Blue Mountains,
355. _____
and I’m choosing some land for my very own farm.
356. The other good thing is the creek.
356. _____
357. I build dams, but John breaks them up.
357. _____
358. My name’s Sarah and this is my place.
358. _____
359. I’m nine.
359. _____
360. I was born in Sydney but my mother came from England on a
360. _____
convict ship.
361. Last year she died so Mrs Owen took me as a servant.
361. _____
362. She doesn’t beat me much, but you should see all the work I
362. _____
have to do!
363. Mrs Owen lives here too of course, and Alice and the baby John.
363. _____
364. Mr Owen’s mainly in Sydney, doing business.
364. _____
365. Mrs Owen runs the farm, and she has five convict servants and
365. _____
Sam to help her.
366. Sam used to be a convict but now he’s a ticket of leave man.
366. _____
367. He’s more like my family than anyone else in the world.
367. _____
368. This is me and Pokey.
368. _____
369. I call her that because she pokes her head into my lean-to-at
369. _____
night.
370. I steal crusts for her, and she’s learning to eat from my hand.
370. _____
371. She’s my secret.
371. _____
372. One day, some soldiers came to see Mr Owen.
372. _____
373. They ate and drank a lot, and talked about kicking out Governor
373. _____
Bligh.
374. I hate it when adults get drunk and talk politics, so I nicked
374. _____
some jam roly and some oranges, and Alice and I went up to the big
tree and had our own party.
375. This is a map of my place.
375. _____
376. I look after the vegetables, and they taste great.
376. _____
377. The wheat and stuff all goes to Sydney.
377. _____
378. Sam swims in a deep hole in the creek but I’m not allowed to.
378. _____
379. My name’s Barangaroo.
379. _____
380. I belong to this place.
380. _____
381. We’re staying here for the summer, at the creek camp, to get the
381. _____
fish down in the bay.
382. But often we stay a while at other places.
382. _____
383. Everywhere we go is home.
383. _____
384. I live with my parents and my brother Bereewan and my grand
384. _____
parents and my aunties and uncles and cousins.
385. We take our tools and our hunting and fishing stuff with us
385. _____
when we move, but of course we leave the huts and canoes here for
next time.
386. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to stop in the same
386. _____
place always, but my grandmother says no one does that.
387. I guess it would be boring.
387. _____
388. This is a map of this place.
388. _____
389. We camp here because the creek water’s so fresh and good, and
389. _____
we’re close to the river and the bay.
390. In the creek there’s a great swimming hole where my cousins
390. _____
and I always play.
391. My father says he swam in exactly the same place when he was
391. _____
a boy, and my grandfather says he did too.
392. At the top of the hill there’s a big fig tree.
392. _____
393. This is our dog.
393. _____
394. He sleeps with me.
394. _____
395. Last week a whale got washed up on the bay, so we invited
395. _____
some other people from round about, and had a big barbecue.
396. As well as the meat, we had piles of vegetables, and oysters and
396. _____
pippies and crabs and octopus and I’ve forgotten what else.
397. I ate so much I thought I’d explode.
397. _____
398. Then I fell asleep till the night-time party started.
398. _____
399. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I climb to the top of the big
399. _____
tree and play that I’m the only person in the world.
400. If I look one way, the sea runs out till it meets the sky.
400. _____
401. But the other way, the land goes on till the sun sets.
401. _____
402. My grandmother says, ‘We’ve always belonged to this place.’
402. _____
403. ‘But how long?’ I ask.
403. _____
404. ‘And how far?’
404. _____
405. My grandmother says, ‘For ever and ever.’
405. _____