Grandma Murchison settled herself in her chair and took a sip of fruit juice before answering. “It was very sad,” she said, staring off over the balcony towards the ocean. For a minute she was silent then she went on. “It was a long time ago- nearly fifty years. Joshua had just retired from the navy when Basil here was born. Joshua teamed up with Bert Collins. They had met during the war. Between them they managed to put up the money to buy a pearl lugger, a little sailing schooner thing, called the ‘Pearl Reef’. It wasn’t much but they had great hopes.”
Grandma Murchison paused and gave a wry smile. “They were going to make their fortune with pearl shell. It was much in demand then, but that was before the days of plastic buttons and cultured pearls of course. But I wasn’t very happy as it took a lot of our money and we had four young sons to look after.”
“Buttons?” Blake interjected.
“Yes buttons. They used pearl shell to make them for fashionable attire. Divers went down and picked the pearl shells off the seabed and sent it up in baskets. The shells were then cut open and the meat scooped out. The shells were then cleaned and stacked for sale. Of course they always hoped they would find a pearl and make a lot of money.”
“Did they?” Carmen asked.
Grandma Murchison gave a dry laugh and shook her head. “No. I think they only found a few tiny pearls. Anyway it all ended when a cyclone sank the lugger. That was in nineteen fifty six. They were wrecked on the beach at Bathurst Bay and were lucky to survive.”
“But you said grandad died at sea,” Andrew said.
“No, not then,” Grandma Murchison replied. “They went and used the insurance money and raised a loan to form a diving and salvage company. They bought two boats. One was a worn out old harbour tug named the Wallaman Falls. The other was some sort of little workboat named the Deeral. They fitted them for diving and salvage. There should be a picture of the tug somewhere there.” She indicated the photo album.
Andrew nodded “Yes, the Wallaman Falls. We have several photos of it at home. What happened Mrs Murchison?”
“Blasted boat!” Grandma Murchison said, shaking her head in annoyance. “Here I was with four children, young Basil only three years old, and your father has to throw all our money away in a wild scheme to try to salvage some gold.”
“Gold?” Mr Murchison echoed.
“Yes, gold. A coastal steamer named the Merinda had struck a rock or a reef or something during a storm and she was supposed to be carrying a load of gold from Cooktown. Josh and Bert worked out where they thought she might be and went sailing off to try to find her.”
“When did this ship, the Merinda, sink Mrs Murchison?” Andrew asked.
“Only a few days before,” Grandma Murchison replied.
Andrew frowned. “So how come they did not know where she was?” he questioned.
“She went down in a storm at night and there were only a couple of survivors, and they had only a rough idea of where the ship sank,” Grandma Murchison replied. “I think there were six or seven men in her crew, plus five or six passengers. It was very sad as some of them were young girls on their way to boarding school.”
“Did they find the gold Mrs Murchison?” Carmen asked.
Grandma Murchison shook her head. “No. All they got was more bad luck. Their boat struck a reef at night in bad weather and sank. All the others on board were drowned. Grandad only survived by sheer good fortune. He drifted in a lifebuoy for four days before he was washed ashore. He landed on Hayman Island, that’s down in the Whitsundays I think, and crawled to the tourist resort.”
Sone nodded. “I’ve been there,” she added.
Grandma Murchison went on, “Anyway it was such a cruel blow that Joshua never went back to sea again. I don’t think he ever went diving again either.”
Muriel looked puzzled. “What did he do instead Gran?” she asked.
“It was terrible hard for a few years,” Grandma Murchison replied. “Joshua worked as a storeman, then as a surveyor’s offsider. Finally he took a job with a tin mining company for a few years. During that time Joshua became interested in prospecting. He went tin scratching in his spare time, and wandered around looking for garnets and opals and such like. Found some nice ones too. There are some in that brooch of mine you like so much dearie.” She looked at Muriel, who nodded happily.
Grandma Murchison went on, “Then Josh went off up Cape York Peninsula with an old crony from the war days, crocodile shooting and fossicking. They found a bit of gold and Josh got the gold bug bad. From then on he would go away for weeks at a time up into the Cape and usually came back with enough gold to pay our bills.”
“That must have been hard on you Gran,” Muriel said.
“It was dearie, but people thought it normal for husbands to go away for long periods in those days.”
“Not my husband,” Muriel said firmly.
“Then don’t get married,” Grandma Murchison replied. “Till death us do part is what you swear to; and ‘for better or for worse’; so you choose well and stick by your promises.”
“Yes Gran,” Muriel replied, looking slightly annoyed at the lecture. Andrew felt sorry for her but agreed with Grandma Murchison- a promise is for ever.
“So when did you come to live here Mrs Murchison?” Carmen asked.
“Oh about twenty years ago- nineteen eighty four it was,” Grandma Murchison replied.
“It’s a lovely house, and a wonderful view,” Carmen added.
“Yes it is,” Grandma Murchison replied.
Blake gestured with his hand. “Must have cost a bit,” he added, looking around at the spacious patio and quality furniture.
“We were lucky,” Grandma Murchison agreed. “Joshua made some investments that returned a good profit so we were comfortably well off. So when the boys had all left home we moved here.”
“It’s a long way from town,” Shona commented, “don’t you get bored?”
Grandma Murchison shrilled with laughter. “Heavens no dearie. At our age you don’t need the shops and theatres to keep you entertained. Anyway, we have TV and radio.”
Muriel nodded. “It’s only about half an hours drive to Edmonton,” she added.
“It’s a nice spot,” Andrew agreed.
Mrs Murchison now cut in. “We had better have lunch if you young people want to do any more swimming this afternoon. It is nearly one O’clock.”
Sub Lt Sheldon glanced at his watch. “Oh heavens yes!” he agreed.
The party moved to where a long table was loaded with covered plates and bowls. These were uncovered to reveal cold meat, salad, fruit, bread and biscuits. Andrew suddenly felt very hungry and was only too glad to ‘tuck in’ as he was bid. For the next half hour he sat and ate, happy just to be beside Muriel.
After eating lunch Sub Lt Sheldon said that they were all to lie down for a rest. Muriel objected strongly. “Oh sir! We are fourteen, not four! We aren’t kindergarten kids.”
“Too bad,” Sub Lt Sheldon replied. “You should never swim just after eating, and diving is harder work than you realize. Half an hour’s rest will do you good. Besides, PO Walker here certainly needs his beauty sleep.”
At that PO Walker snorted indignantly then burst out laughing. He said, “I certainly need my ‘kindy’, so let’s all have a little nap, and no arguing.”
Muriel and Blake both grumbled but had to give in. Andrew was glad as it postponed the moment of having to go back under water again. He took the