Lord of the Manor in Australia

Prologue

Greenfield House, the grandiose, double-storied home, built entirely of sandstone, and looking more like an English castle than an Australian homestead, commands a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside from its regal position on the crest of Saddle Ridge. On a clear day, which in this beautiful area is nearly every day, one can see the ocean on the far horizon. In the wintertime, when fog fills the valleys early on a cold winter's morning, the house seems to be floating above the clouds; the tops of the hills appearing through the mist as islands in an ocean of white. One could fantasise it as being a castle, visualised in the mind's eye in a childhood fairytale.

The interior is no less impressive. A wide, curved staircase, on the far side of an enormous room, greets the eye upon entry through the imposing solid cedar door - the stairs covered with expensive carpet, now somewhat worn by the untold number of feet treading its length over the years; the balustrade is of highly polished cedar, ending in a specially carved newel post. Door and window frames are also of cedar harvested from the timber which once abounded in the immediate area, but, sadly, now entirely cut out.

In pride of place on the curved wall at the very top of the staircase, there is a large oil portrait of George Greenfield's father, an Earl, and in descending order there are portraits of George, the builder of this magnificent home, then his son, Henry, and his grandson Charles, followed by Charles's son John, and his son, the present day William. Twenty-one year old Christopher will have to wait until he inherits the House before his portrait is hung in the staircase gallery.

For six generations it has been the home of the Greenfield family.

.............................

Chapter 1

After many months of feeling the movement of the deck lurching beneath his feet, George Greenfield leaned on the solid wooden rail of the sailing ship which had brought him all the way from the Mother Country, England, to this untamed country of Australia, and he enjoyed the feeling of stability; of being moored to a dock in the river port of Maryborough. The year was 1879.

........

The passage did not resemble a luxury cruise by any means. The one concession being that he was given a cabin all to himself. He was one of the few un-assisted passengers on board, and it had cost him a considerable sum of money. His generous father, the Earl, provided him with the where-with-all to be able to afford it.

The Suez Canal had been open for nine or ten years, but they would not be taking that route. Goods and despatches had to be delivered to the British Government officials in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From there they would call in at Cape Town, before sailing north-east across the Indian Ocean to Batavia in the Spice Islands, the East Indies, to take on a cargo of herbs and spices which were so valuable in the days of no refrigeration of meats, etc.

Conditions during the voyage varied from a rolling calm to the violence of a tempest, with waves towering above the ship, and threatening to engulf her. Seasickness overcame him during the first part of the passage, but once he recovered from the initial biliousness he seemed to be immune to any further malaise - even during the ferocious, turbulent seas of a wild tropical storm.

Apart from two violent storms they endured, the voyage was one of daily boredom. The passengers did their best to alleviate the monotony of the seemingly endless days on the high seas by intermingling, and organising games. It was not long before George became acquainted with most of the other seventy-five passengers; in particular, Myrna Finnegan, who was travelling on an assisted passage with her parents and two sisters, Mary and Maureen.

He met her very early in the voyage, and was impressed with her beauty; in fact all three girls were attractive. They all possessed beautiful auburn hair, each one with a slight variation in shade; but he thought Myrna's the richest. When he looked at her he was reminded of his lost love, Catherine. His former girlfriend, the love of his life, or so he thought, had left him for his best friend. It was one of the reasons he left England in the first place.

The other, the main, reason he left was because he was the second son of an English Earl. Being the second son, he would not inherit the title; the fate of the second son was usually to join the priesthood. George rebelled against this, and, following on his rejection by his girlfriend, decided to migrate to Australia ─ the land of promise on the far side of the world.

George was a born and bred English gentleman, an aristocrat, never having been burdened with the necessity of doing any form of physical labour. This is not to say that lack of exercise was having a detrimental effect on his physique; for instance, he was not running to fat. In fact, he was quite fit; he was active in many sports ─ cricket, running, polo and rowing, to name just a few. His life on his father's estates was carefree and trouble free. He was even on friendly terms with some people of the Royal Court.

When the time came for him to accept his responsibility, and take steps towards his vocation as a Minister of the Church of England, George made a determined stand against such an age-old tradition, and informed his father of his radical decision to defy convention. His father was surprised, not so much by his son's aversion to the ministry (for some time he harboured such a suspicion), but to the revolutionary idea of migrating to the other side of the world; following in the steps of so many unfortunate felons banned to exile in the Colony of New South Wales ─ or Australia, as it is now known.

There was nothing in Myrna's appearance which would cause him to be reminded of Catherine, for Catherine's hair was blonde and coifed in a completely different style. Perhaps it was an attempt to fill the vacancy left in his heart by the loss of her affection ─ if, indeed, there ever was such a fondness for him. She had a finely shaped beauty of face, and a perfect figure. But so did both of her sisters. Why then, did Myrna, and not one of the other sisters, appeal to him. She appeared to be the oldest of the three; therefore closer than the others to his age of twenty-three. She appeared to be no more than twenty-two or -three. It could be the maturity she showed, when compared to her siblings.

On an almost daily basis he spent time in conversation with the Finnegan family, but was never fortunate enough to find Myrna without at least one member of her family present.

It was on a calm day, with just enough wind to keep the vessel under way, when he found her alone, leaning on the starboard rail, and gazing towards where they thought land would appear eventually; but at the present moment the watery horizon was unbroken in any way.

But she was not actually seeing it. She was lost in thought; in her mind was the image of the tall, handsome Englishman. He was much taller and much better looking than the young man who was so heart-broken when they made their farewells before they left on the present adventure. At the time, she had also shed a few tears, but, from the time she first saw George, all thought of her former beau was driven from her mind. It seemed, in her opinion, at least, that the attraction was mutual. She would do everything in her power to bond with him in the long months ahead of them on this voyage to their new home in Queensland, Australia.

They had been informed they should arrive in Rio de Janeiro within the next few days, and a prize was on offer for the first person among the passengers to sight the coast of Brazil.

As he approached and leant on the rail beside her, he said, Good afternoon, Miss Finnegan, are you hoping to win the prize?

Oh, good afternoon, Mr Greenfield, you quite startled me.

I'm terribly sorry. It was not my intention. Is the rest of your family going to join you?

No, they are all resting on their bunks down below. I found it too hot and stuffy, and decided to come up and get some fresh air - what there is of it.

We're well and truly in the Tropics now. I'll be pleased too, when we get a decent breeze to move our little ship along, as long as there isn't another rough Atlantic storm like the one we had a couple of days ago.

He leaned over, and looked down at the green swirl of the water which was being disturbed only slightly by the bow wash. This was the first opportunity to present itself to enable him to speak to her alone.

Miss Finnegan, would you mind if I were to call you Myrna?

"No, Mr Greenfield, I wouldn't mind at all. May I call you by your first name...?

George, please call me George.

Very well, George it will be from now on.

Myrna appeared to be about the same age as George. It would be unthinkable to ask her how old she was, but George estimated she would be twenty-two or twenty-three, the same age as he. He knew she was older than her siblings.

Now they were on first name terms, she was emboldened to ask,

Why are you going to Australia, George? If you don't mind my saying so, you don't appear to be like the rest of us ─ that is, escaping from drudgery and poverty.

Oh, I'm escaping too. Not from poverty, I won't deny that; but possibly from the drudgery of a vocation I have not the slightest inclination to follow.

What was your occupation back in England?

Nothing! I have to admit I was one of the idle rich, living off my parents. I had no resources of my own. I didn't have two pennies of my own to rub together. My father is an Earl, you see, and my days were passed enjoying myself by spending the time playing sport and socialising. In other words, I could be called an idle lay-about.

Oh, I couldn't even imagine how it would be to live like that. Why on earth would you leave it?

If I had stayed in England, at this very moment I would be ensconced in a Seminary training to be a priest in the Church of England. That was a vocation I was definitely not cut out for. So here I stand before you as a miserable waster.

I'm sure you're not that. What are you going to do when we arrive in Maryborough?

Well, there have been plenty of gold strikes, and it seems to me that it would be a good way to make a quick fortune. Then I could invest in something to support my indolent lifestyle.

Haven't you ever had to work at anything? My sisters and I have had to work all of our lives, from as soon as we were strong enough to carry something, and be useful around our little plot of land.

Well, it doesn't seem to have done you any harm. If I may be so bold, I would say that I have never seen such healthy, beautiful young people as you and your sisters.

That's very kind of you, George...

She was interrupted by the appearance of Mary and Maureen.

It was getting too stuffy down there, said Mary. We decided...Land! Land! I can see land. I win! I win!

She was waving her arms, and dancing with excitement.

Mary, behave! Remember you're eighteen now, chided Myrna. Act like a lady, not a young hooligan.

Other passengers were attracted by the excited cries, and were gathering at the starboard side of the ship for their first sighting of the continent of South America.

Who was first to see it? someone asked.

Mary Finnegan ─ it was Mary Finnegan. She wins the prize! said another.

Damn, I've been watching for the last couple of days. As soon as I blinked, there it is. I wanted to win the prize.

What is the prize?

Who cares? I just wanted to be the first.

.......................

Chapter 2

When George appeared on deck the next morning, the Finnegan girls were there already, taking part in a game of deck quoits. A couple of young men were also participating in the fun.

Come and join the fun, George, said Myrna. You can be in my team, and we'll play three against three.

I'll be in your team, too, said Mary. We'll play Maureen, Arthur and Stephen.

Arthur looked disappointed on hearing this remark. He was rather keen on Mary, and would rather have had her on his team. On the other hand, thoughts of George kept Mary awake at night. She was infatuated with him, but he had eyes only for Myrna, so she had to pine in secret.

The riotous game carried on for over an hour, before the young ladies decided they had enough, and the contest ended. Mr and Mrs Finnegan had appeared in the meantime, and sat watching the young people at play. After the game, Myrna, Mary and George went to join them. Maureen wanted to promenade the deck, and asked Mary to go with her.

Yes, go on, Mary, said her father, when he observed that the two young men were anxious to accompany her on the stroll.

Yes, please come, Mary, said Arthur.

Oh, alright, then, she replied. She would rather have stayed near George, but realised that he had eyes only for Myrna.

From remarks made previously on the voyage, George knew that the Finnegans had been farmers in Ireland, before embarking. Never having had much contact with manual workers like farmers, he was curious to know a little about Myrna's life prior to the present time. Mr Finnegan had never elaborated about his previous occupation, and George thought he knew the family well enough now to say to the father,

You know my reason for making this voyage, Mr Finnegan; I hope you won't feel I'm being impertinent for enquiring about yours.

Not at all, George. I don't know whether the girls have told you, but we rented five acres of farming land ─ growing potatoes. It was hard work for all of us, with little return for our labour after paying the high rent, and with only an eleven month lease. Well, the landlord decided to increase our rent to the point where I couldn't see us surviving. We were sailing very close to the poverty line, if not already over it. When the opportunity presented itself to gain an assisted passage to Australia, we jumped at the chance. I have a brother in Maryborough, who has a grocery business, and he has asked me to join him.

It must have been hard work for the three girls.

It was, and for their mother also, wasn't it, Mavoureen? It was hard for all of us! When my brother invited us, it was a Godsend.

Didn't you have a potato famine over there?

Yes, but that was a long time ago. It was in the '50's, but the blight had cleared up well before we moved in. It was hard enough as it was, without having a scourge like that hit us.

Well, the life certainly did not do any harm as far as your daughters were concerned. They are all healthy and beautiful.

Yes, the Lord has been good to us in that regard.

You are Catholic, I take it? Forgive me for asking such a personal question.

There's no offence taken, George. Myrna told us you're Church of England.

Yes, I was destined to be a clergyman, if I'd stayed in England, and it was not a calling I felt I was cut out for. It was one of the reasons I left.

You're not a believer, then?

Oh, yes, I believe. George thought it wouldn't do any harm to tell a small lie. He didn't know whether he believed or not, and didn't want to deny Christ, just in case!

That's good! I've heard that the Irish are not very popular in Australia.

I think that is because they are regarded as troublemakers.

Well, I'm not going there to make trouble!

On a clear morning, a couple of days later, they hove to in the port of Rio de Janeiro. For the rest of that day, and for most of the next, the ship was surrounded by a hive of activity as it was being re-provisioned; the locals in small boats and canoes were bringing anything they thought they could sell to the people on board - tropical fruit, bows and arrows, sarongs, even a couple of monkeys, which were rejected.

George was spending all of his time with the Finnegan family now, mainly with the girls, and the four of them were getting along famously, by now all being comfortable in using first names.

They were only three days out of Rio de Janeiro, on their way to round the Cape of Good Hope, when they encountered the worst storm of the whole voyage. The seas were mountainous. Most of the passengers were confined to their bunks or hammocks. The whole Finnegan family suffered from sea-sickness, but strangely, George did not. He was being flung around in his tiny cabin, as was everything not fastened down, but apart from feeling slightly nauseous, he did not reach the vomiting stage. The rolling and bucking and bumping lasted for a full day ─ twenty-four hours of misery for most of the passengers.

When the seas calmed enough for people to move around again, Myrna was the first of her family to appear on deck, where George was already enjoying the fresh air once again.

You don't look any the worse for wear, George, she said. I'm afraid I must look a sight.

Of course you don't, he replied, gallantly. He could have said that her face was rather pallid, but instead he continued, You look as lovely as ever.

Why, thank you kind Sir. Flattery will get you everywhere!

She realised suddenly that she might be seen to be too bold.

I mean...I mean...I didn't mean to say that. You will think I'm very forward.

No, I could never do that. But I'd like to think we could be very special friends, even after we've landed in Maryborough.

Yes, I'd like that, too.

Did you know one of the crew members got washed overboard during the storm? The Captain couldn't do anything to rescue him without endangering the whole ship. They threw over a crate for him to float on, if he could swim to it.

What a terrible fate; even if he managed to reach it he'd be alone in the ocean. If he didn't drown, or the sharks didn't get him, he'd die of exposure.

It's not a fate I'd like. But let's not talk about it. What a beautiful day it is after the storm. The waves are getting much smaller, and the ocean is calming down.

There were no more storms, and, after another stop to re-provision at Capetown, their north-easterly progress across the Indian Ocean was plain sailing all the way. They passed across the north of Australia, and rounded Cape York to sail down the eastern coast. The Captain did not want to risk his ship or the lives of his passengers by sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef, and therefore kept well out to the east of the dangerous reef which had seen Lieutenant James Cook come to grief. Upon reaching the Mary River late one afternoon, the Captain stood his craft out to sea to wait overnight until the tides were right the next morning.

..............

George was standing at the rail watching the activity on the dock as the gangplank was being placed into position to enable the passengers to disembark, and was already feeling the uncustomary stillness of the deck beneath his feet. Although he was pleased that the long, tedious voyage had ended, there was a sorrow in his heart that he would no longer be spending time with the young woman and her sisters who had made the passage pleasantly endurable.

He was joined by the Finnegan family.

Finnegan told him during their many discussions at sea, that he was going to remain in Maryborough, where his brother had a thriving grocery business, and he was going to join him in that enterprise. His brother had also arrived in Australia on an assisted passage, and such was the opportunity in this new land he was able to become established in business, and prosper to the extent that he was able to invite his brother to join him.

Myrna tells me you're going in search of gold, George. Always remember you're welcome to call on us if you find you need a place to stay while in Maryborough, if you ever come back.

Thanks, Mr Finnegan. I appreciate your kindness. If I do come back someday, I would like your permission to call on your daughter.

At the moment I can't see any reason why not. What does Myrna say?

I think she is agreeable, Sir.

I agree, Da', said Myrna, who heard every