Excerpts From The Book

“At other times, incidents occurred, which reminded us again of the great disconnect between our two cultures. This occasion involved two doctors, the flying doctor and the witch doctor. The latter stood about four feet, eleven inches tall and his name was Tatika. Thinking back now I remember him being dressed in a discarded stockman’s hat with only a hair belt about his waist.....”

“….as the missionary women approached the wasted form on the ground, a thin bony arm disentangled itself from a filthy blanket and an equally bony hand closed on the handle of a hatchet. There was not enough strength to lift it however, or to aim a blow at the legs of the missionary nurse. They prayed over her, that she would not die and gathering up the wasted form, carried her into the home of the mission superintendent and his wife, where with loving hands motivated by loving hearts, they nursed her back to health.”

“Looking out from the verandah of the superintendent’s house (on Sunday Island), we had a view of West Roe Island........ whales could be seen traveling north and we would often see them blow. We also regularly watched the coastal boats, the Koolinda and the Kabbarli on their way to Derby, Wyndham and Darwin. The Indonesian cattle boats had distinct black hulls and always moved more quickly than the others. We traveled on them all at one time or another.”