[Conversation between Peter Lalor (1827-1889, leader of the Eureka Stockade uprising in Ballarat in 1854 and, later, Speaker in the Victorian Legislative Assembly) and Faith Bandler (1919- , Indigenous activist)]
“Top o’ the mornin’ to you, Mrs Bandler,” says the elderly gentleman as he pulls back the dining chair with his one good arm.
His companion eases herself painfully into the chair and looks him in the eye.
“You can drop the Mrs Bandler bit, Peter. ‘Faith’ to you. And anyway, if you want to be correct it’s Dr Bandler. Mind you, not the sort of doctor that can do me much good these days, with my arthritis. My mind’s still good though.”
Lalor smiles graciously. “Very pleased to see you arrive yesterday. Never did get to speak to many aboriginal people. Sorry to say they mostly were considered a nuisance on the goldfields. Disgraceful when I think about it now. Hunted them off their own land. Not much on our minds but gold," he admits ruefully. "There were other injustices though that really got my goat. You know how people say; ‘I’d give my right arm for whatever’? Well, I did. Lost my right arm for digger’s rights. Ironic, isn’t it?”
Peter Lalor strokes his beard, musing on the sacrifices he has made.
Faith is touched by his bravery. “I’ve read some stuff about that Eureka Stockade. I think I know how you felt. About injustice, I mean. Sorry you lost your arm, but. I managed to fight my war without involving actual guns. Peaceful protests work if you’ve got the time. Maybe you didn’t. Or was it the hot Irish temper?” she adds cheekily.
Faith chuckles to herself.
Lalor is taken aback by her directness. This feisty woman intrigues him.
“They were raw times on the goldfields," he continues. "Didn’t strike it lucky and you starved. Having to pay a tax to dig whether you hit the lode or not really copped us hard. And those bastard policemen, ex-convicts most of ‘em, arrogant bunch, showed no mercy. Brutal, they were. Chained us to logs and left us there until we could get someone to produce our licence. We protested peacefully at first but no-one was listening." He pauses. "We were angry. Perhaps you’re right about the temper, but something had to be done quickly. There was corruption in the administration. Couldn’t trust anyone to listen or do anything to fix things up. Then they murdered my mate Scobie and we reckoned we should band together. Had to fight the officials as a united front,” he concludes vigorously.
Faith Bandler is struck again by the power of showing a united front. She remembers how her friend Pearl Gibbs got her along to her first protest.
“Just what Pearl used to say,” she responds to Lalor. “She wanted to bust up some Liberal conference. Said we should go and protest. I said ‘Who?’ and quick as a flash she said ‘You and me’. It’d never occurred to me before that that I’d have to get involved. In person, you know. Once you’ve done it though it gets in your blood. I wouldn’t have stuck my neck out without Pearl but after that day you couldn’t stop me.”
She reaches over and lifts their clasped hands in triumph.
Kerry MacAulay
27th Feb 2009
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2 comments:
Heather says:
I loved this dialogue between unlikely fellow travellers. This might be your calling, Kerry! - I learned a great deal whilst enjoying the feisty camaraderie of your wonderful characters. You brought history to life, as they say.
A technical thing: I had to stop about 3 times and make sure which character was speaking. You could fix this by, for example, combining the paragraphs "Lalor smiles graciously" with the one after it, as it is Lalor's dialogue. Or just popping in a simple "she said" or "he replied".
And thanks for holding down the fort this week, Kerry!
Kerry says:
Thanks Heather. I see the confusion. I have altered the dialogue somewhat. This is the new version.
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