Old, and the Young men of the sea

Sweat falls freely from his forehead, t-shirt sprouting perspiration patches under armpits, back and chest. Breathing warm humid air adding to his enduring discomfort. All said and done, reminded Jack Lamont just how he much he loved his new adopted Country.

An Irish born man, continuing his adventures into the Australia’s unknown. Have found him in the back of a red pan

el van in the company of five strangers. All black fellas, sharing the warm extremes of a North West Queensland spring early morning.

He chuckles to himself as he remembers his childhood in Bagnor, south of Dublin in County Down, Northern Ireland. A time and place where Spring had a different meaning, look, smell, and feel. So removed from his senses now. Appreciating his present moment even more. His family’s mantra echoing with the warm breeze flowing through the two front car door windows of the panel van, the only source of fresh air.

‘A new country, new start, new attitude”. Jack recited these words many times over the years to remind himself of how fortunate and grateful to be living here, regardless of his uncomfortable situation now.

This moment was exciting and at the same time frightening, adrenaline does that to you.

He had met Keithy, at the public bar of an Airlie Beach resort. A popular tourist resort located on northern Queensland’s coastal beaches. He had hitched hiked, jumped cargo trains, cycled, and walked his way up from Sydney to Airlie Beach, 1200miles, 22 hours driving time.

Right now, reclining on a double bed thin mattress in the back of a panel van with Keithy and two of his brothers, or as they called themselves Bala’s. He had quickly learnt from them, they were Torres Strait Islanders, Bala in their language, meant brothers. He admired their constant jovial, friendly nature and banter, seemingly endless between them all. Three of his newly acquired friends sharing the same mattress to make comfort from the raw steel floor of the van. Completing the mobile yarning circle, two Bala’s, George driving and Tat in the front seats. Most times he did not clearly understand their broken English, Torres Strait creole let alone their humour. Some hours now into their journey, their contagious high energy and comradery started to fray from when he first met them. Their clear fondness for each other’s company still evident in their now fast-fading energy. Jack felt privileged admiring the ambience of compassionate brotherhood.

These Torres Strait Islander young men considered themselves First Nations, indigenous peoples of Australia, Melanesians. Jack albeit a newer Australian, was only aware of the Australian Aborigines as the indigenous peoples of the Country. To accidently come across Australia’s second population group of Indigenous people, and learn more about them inspired the young man to seek more knowledge from his new found friendship circle. Jack’s previous acknowledgment of enjoying his Australian living experience just received a massive extension. His curious eyes and ears responding gleefully to his new growing comprehension of this ancient sunburnt continent.

The young Irishman had a mind and brain stimulated and addicted to knowledge. Combining an empathy bearing connection with Indigenous peoples in Australia. This empathy evolving at a quite early time, since his family’s resettling in Leichardt, Sydney in 1954. Jack was 5 years old when his family arrived in the country. Since as long as he could remember in his new country, any form of indigenous Australians history, stories, or associated information was noticeably absent. Though his young mind then and his awareness now detected an underlying current of raw unbiased racism portraying an image of the blacks as dirty, smelly, drunken savages. His Northern Ireland in his first five years of life, was completely void of black people and associated language to belittle and maim.

Added to this growing empathy. A strong Irish Catholic upbringing linking discrimination and oppression consciousness against authorities who set out to purposely demonise human character and spirit. Based purely on ingrained bigotry and hate.

He absolutely bathed in his new insights of further learning, likened as if he was standing under a rushing cascading mountain waterfall, completing immersing himself under and into the ancient storylines of the Australian Aborigines. The being oldest living culture on the planet. Right now, this learning of significance was being value-added by this new face to face learning curve discovering new voice of learnings from Australia’s second recognised indigenous group. Young Jack absolutely having positive brain explosions growing an already inquisitive spirit.

The three lads in the back of the van started to share their culture with Jack. Learning new information in between laughter and the frequency of Sam’s flatulence, that drove everybody to ad nausea. The more potency and discomfort thrilled Sam no end.

The lads all shared stories of their island homelands and their lives now permanently on Australian Mainland. The straits are located at the very tip of Australia. Little Islands scattered in the straits, the oceans between the northern most tip of Queensland, Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea. Spanish navigator Luis Vaz De Torres had discovered the island and ocean regions during his pacific navigation on October 3, 1606, a Century plus years before HMS Endeavour ploughed through the pristine untouched blue white tipped oceans of a bay untouched by foreign hands. Land and seas in full custodianship of the Eora Nation’s first peoples, now known as Sydney. Traditional custodians for 65 000 years before European first contact.

Queensland’s early imperial settlement Government brokered a deal with the Spanish Monarchy to gift the straits waters and islands, to British Imperialism. In exchange the British would name the region after their Spanish navigator who claimed the region for the European world. The people of her islands are Melanesian with strong bloodline influences from the South Pacific islands, the mainland Aborigines, Papua New Guinea, Japan and China. Their culture sourced primarily on the south pacific, New Guinea, Melanesian and Polynesian cultures.

George at the front driving joined in the conversation,

“Bala Jack, most of us islanders were cannibals in the old days, they loved eating all the white people who they kidnapped, so Wille did you bring the marinating sauce for Jack? his looks touch and scrawny”

The entire panel van erupted in laughter.

Wille called out over the laughter,

“Nah I love my chicken and Pork too much and Jack you got no meat on you bud”

The laughing continued, Jack was so fascinated by his new friends’ and stories of their culture. Both island and urban mainland cultures. This fascination extended too their great sense of fun and humour.

“We had the missionary’s come in the late 1800’s to change the way of life for us too”, Tat filled in the space when the laughter subsided.

“Who were the missionaries who came to your islands?” Jack asked the boys.

George at the from of the van responded again to Jack’s question,

“The London Missionary Society”

“The bloody English again!, they are absolutely ruthless, first they invade this country and then they send their Brothers to save you all” Jack responded annoyingly,

Idealistically his Catholic Irish upbringing and values, creating his own interpretation for religion. To a point in his life accepting to be an atheist. In his mind, all his collated impressions provided a comprehension on his views of an invasion by the British, as opposed to colonial settling. Ranked highly in his view of his new country he walked. Emphasised by his own country’s walk from freedom to captive by an Imperial invader.

Notably, Jack’s early schooling at Leichardt Public School 1955-1961, then at Fort Street High School. The absence of Indigenous Australian history, knowledge and information in their curriculum was deafening. Subjects that were taught and consumed his sibling’s and his own education in Australia had glorified Colonial virtues from English imperialism since 1788. Recognising similarities with his own country’s history and proposed political propaganda since the year 1169. The Lamont children were familiar with their country’s fight for voice and freedom. Impacts from Crown rule partitioning the entire country into North and South Ireland in 1921. Ultimately and unceremoniously in 1949 carving his country into the Republic and British Imperially ruled Northern Ireland completely interrupting the trajectory of his country’s intended DNA.

The concept of oppressive forced regimes had been genetically transmitted into the Lamont children by their own intergenerational trauma from their own kinfolks’ intense resistance to imperial logic of another country’s intrusion. Imbedded into the communal Northern Irish psyche of every man woman and child of Catholic Irish bloodlines. Birthing the fighting Irish spirit for the underdog. He was only young when he left Northern Ireland, from his younger life experiences and family's stories. He knew all too well the biased justices for oppressive powers to legally authenticate imperial law to suppress and undermine freedom and self-determination amongst their perceived lower-class masses.

Jack’s father Jock and Mother Emir both strong proud Catholic Irish folks. Greatly influenced his and his siblings’ sense of justice and freedom. Stories his parents shared regularly at their countless family dinner table conversations. Strongly shaped his strong opinions against the British Monarchy and all they stood for. His birthplace was in ruins in terms of peace, people and space. Conversations about British invasions and subsequent ugly civil wars from each sides of a Country steeped in Catholic and Protestant history. Were retold and retold to the children at the dinner table and any chance they gathered as a family. His parents had purposely encouraged their children to recognise and fight for justice, such as the oppressors that confronted their homeland. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia struggles under imperial lock and key, galvanised Jacks consciousness for justice like a moth to an intense light beam.

Jock and Emir’s three children, Jacks siblings, Liam his twin brother and Kayleigh their older sister. All formed dislike for all things unjust. Opinions and values aligned to British rule of the Northern Irish and to an extent, other similar colonised populations globally, caught in similar historical plight.

A stark contrast to the goodwill shown by this group of Indigenous young men, who all extended their hand in welcome brotherhood to this stranger who ‘sounded funny”

At this point Jack reached into his top shirt pocket to feel the soft moleskin of his little black book. To remind himself to give gratitude for his windfall that had given him the finances to take on his around Australia journey. His own little black book was his journal of adventures on his serendipitous journeys so far. This red panel van ride would make interesting writings.

Ironically, this little black book was a replica of the one he had found wedged into the seat of a tram seat in Sydney. When he had looked to return to the rightful owner, whose name was written on the inside cover in his own handwriting. Stating an address of Ketchum, Idaho USA. Young Jack thought he would have to post the little black book to him.

It was only when he read inthe Sunday papers that following week end. The book was stolen from a wealthy arts collector who lived in Bondi. Upon returning the book it’s rightful owner. Jack was given a $20 000 reward. That reward that allowed him to do this life-changing journey in his new country.

At that point, Jack recalled the original name on the inside cover of the little black book and it’s working title. Mr Ernest Hemingway, “Old man and the sea’.