1. BEGINNING MY WRITING JOURNEY

A Hint of Darkness

With my 460 page novel undergoing its final edit, I’ve had a chance to reflect on my writing journey.

 While doing research on Christie Palmerston, a noted 19^th century explorer & very colourful character for whom the Palmerston highway was named, I became fascinated with the Gold rush phenomenon in north Queensland.  Thousands of men, afflicted by gold fever, came from all corners of the globe cutting a swathe across the largely unexplored wilderness. The transmogrification of Cooktown from virgin bush to thriving port was accomplished within the space of a few months.

Cooktown was the gateway to the Palmer River Goldfields.

I was intrigued by these men who risked so much to search for that precious but elusive metal; men who endured hardship & isolation. Were they driven by greed, lust, or the simple desire to improve their lot in life?

Some struck it rich.  Others eked out a living or lured by the promise of success they moved on, ever hopeful.  All too often these mere mortals failed in their effort to steal Mother Earth’s treasures. Along the Palmer River Track lay many unmarked graves. There is nothing to indicate from whence they came or who might mourn their loss.

They were by no means the only victims. Such radical change cannot be wrought without far reaching consequences for the land & its original inhabitants.  Two opposing perspectives brought about by a single defining action.

I was strongly drawn to this concept. I wanted to tell a story that to some extent would encompass the two disparate standpoints. It was never my intention to push my own opinions on right or wrong.  I used records from that time in the form of newspaper articles, letters, journals & historians such as physician, anthropologist & protector of aborigines, Dr Walter Roth.

My journey began with the idea of how a young woman from a privileged background would cope with being thrust into this potpourri of humanity. So figuratively speaking Emmaline Gidley-King was born.  Would there be also be far reaching consequences for her?  What if like ripples on a pond those consequences stretched across the generations.  Can a set of journals change Ellie Jamieson's path in life? 

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