1 - Setting Off

Summary

The rain was only heavy when Chloe Grant began her story:

“Captain Cook, first one”, as a title, and then she commenced the narration, in Jirrbal: “Garulgu bayibaninyu warrjanda.”

Rosie Runaway assented “nga” as Chloe continued, “yanggumang-gandu buran warrjanda bayingalu, janangu ganangga, banangga …”.

We were sitting in a small, dirty hut at an abandoned mission in the dense tropical forest of north-east Queensland. The first big storm of the wet season had just started. Chloe continued her story, telling of the first contact with Europeans. Captain Cook came into Cardwell in his boat – she used the word warrjan which means a vessel, usually a raft, made of planks of wood – and was seen by all the Girramaygan tribe. At first sight, Cook appeared to them to be standing up in the middle of the water.

The storm worsened and we had to strain to catch her words. “Anyja baybu buyan. He talk in the English now. ‘Man,’ he say, ‘you want a smoke?’ Banggumanggandu buran. Minya minyaginyan yanggul ngangungga ngiyijan gandanyu. Bunu gandagandaygu wanya‥?” Cook and his group smoked a pipe. All the Aborigines watched, and wondered: “What is that burning thing this man has stuck in his mouth? What is making all the smoke?”

The rain by now had become so hard that, although I could see Chloe's lips moving, I couldn't catch any of the words.