Murder At Windward Passage Chapter one
Without Prejudice
Danny Kegoe had never seen a dead body before, until now. He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to poke at the white clouded eyes with his stick but thought of his Mothers ire at interfering with a dead body and thought better of it. He had no wicked intention, just a simple morbid curiosity. A longing to see if the eyes oozed milky fluid like they looked they would or even ooze out of their sockets in a sick vision he shuddered at.
Danny Kegoe, aged 11, then proceeded to throw up. The vomit hit his thonged feet with a hot liquidity and the smell and the heat made him puke again and sent him running back to the safety of home. Strings of snot and vomit trailing behind him in mucous ribbons. His heart beat in his chest as a thudding tattoo accompanying the music in his ears and he pulled his earplugs out with a wrench, causing him to stumble, onto his knees, skinning them, a pain he didn't feel, as he regained his footing and ran on.
The watcher in the mangroves gazed at the boy with a solemnity he didn't really feel. The watcher felt like giggling like a naughty child, but bit back the urge. Slowly the watcher tracked the frightened boy, the watcher was in no hurry, killing one witness could come later, or not at all. The watcher liked the feeling of being in charge of life and death. He had done it before and felt sure he could do it again. A simple backwards snap of the neck, unexpected and quick. Then silence, just pure silence. The watcher liked that bit best.
Danny burst through the back fly wire door with a clatter, the old door rocking on its hinges and banging against the frame. His heel was barked under the door but once again he felt no pain. His Mother, Jen, looked up from her scone making, startled and watched her sons working mouth that gave out no sound, saw his heaving chest and vomit stained tee and Cried out, alarmed,
" Danny, what's wrong ?"
Danny stuttered as he tried to get the words out.
" A body, there's a body in the creek, dead "
His Mother looked at him unbelievingly at first. But when she realised his distress she ran for the phone. Ran in bare feet and found with her tender underfoot the drawing pun she had dropped last night. Jen hopped in the air but before pulling out the pin dialled 000 and asked for the Police.
She covered the phone mouthpiece and whispered to her son,
" Was it a man or woman, old, young ? "
" A lady " he stammered, " A big fat one "
.
The watcher returned to his seaside cottage, it was really more of a seaside hovel, not even that close to the sea which the watcher abbhored The seaside part brought families, kids, and curious dogs that
rooted around the mangroves, sniffing and snuffling. The watcher hated the dogs most with their excited yips and loud barking. The watcher wanted silence and in the Winter received nothing but. Occasionally a fisherman or two could be seen on the shore, casting a line out to sea, but the beach
for the most part remained empty and desolate. Just as the watcher liked.
Jen's fingers trembled as she dialled the number for emergency services, she had sent Danny for an immediate shower, alarmed at his pallor which was frighteningly pale. She kept one ear open as she waited for emergency to answer, for any slight thud if he fell or fainted.
" Emergency " stated the nasal twang of the operator,
" Police, Ambulance, Fire. "
" Police " answered Jen with a surprisingly calm voice that belied her shaky hands.
Jen relayed to the Silver Bay Police receptionist that her son had discovered a body floating in the Bledisloe Creek, gave her address and hung up. Not daring to speak, less she conveyed some of the terror she felt.
" A body " she thought.
A human body. A big fat one. Danny had said.
" A female one, probably bloated from extended time in the water, " he said that it Jen thought.
" At least the cavalry were on their way, " was her thought as hysteria almost tripped her up and she sat down firmly on the kitchen chair she had painted only two nights ago. A gentle shade of apple green, that by all accounts, should be calming but made her feel anything but.
She heard the old plumbing pipes squeak in protest as Danny turned off the taps in the shower and she rose up to greet him as he exited the bathroom clad only in a towel, his hair still dripping, wetting the floor, and he disappeared with a grunt to the sanctuary of his room.
Jen's greeting died on her lips and she sat back down. Waiting for the " cavalry" and her son. Neither of which came in a hurry.
" Typical " Jen thought.
Danny Kegoe had never seen a dead body before, until now. He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to poke at the white clouded eyes with his stick but thought of his Mothers ire at interfering with a dead body and thought better of it. He had no wicked intention, just a simple morbid curiosity. A longing to see if the eyes oozed milky fluid like they looked they would or even ooze out of their sockets in a sick vision he shuddered at.
Danny Kegoe, aged 11, then proceeded to throw up. The vomit hit his thonged feet with a hot liquidity and the smell and the heat made him puke again and sent him running back to the safety of home. Strings of snot and vomit trailing behind him in mucous ribbons. His heart beat in his chest as a thudding tattoo accompanying the music in his ears and he pulled his earplugs out with a wrench, causing him to stumble, onto his knees, skinning them, a pain he didn't feel, as he regained his footing and ran on.
The watcher in the mangroves gazed at the boy with a solemnity he didn't really feel. The watcher felt like giggling like a naughty child, but bit back the urge. Slowly the watcher tracked the frightened boy, the watcher was in no hurry, killing one witness could come later, or not at all. The watcher liked the feeling of being in charge of life and death. He had done it before and felt sure he could do it again. A simple backwards snap of the neck, unexpected and quick. Then silence, just pure silence. The watcher liked that bit best.
Danny burst through the back fly wire door with a clatter, the old door rocking on its hinges and banging against the frame. His heel was barked under the door but once again he felt no pain. His Mother, Jen, looked up from her scone making, startled and watched her sons working mouth that gave out no sound, saw his heaving chest and vomit stained tee and Cried out, alarmed,
" Danny, what's wrong ?"
Danny stuttered as he tried to get the words out.
" A body, there's a body in the creek, dead "
His Mother looked at him unbelievingly at first. But when she realised his distress she ran for the phone. Ran in bare feet and found with her tender underfoot the drawing pun she had dropped last night. Jen hopped in the air but before pulling out the pin dialled 000 and asked for the Police.
She covered the phone mouthpiece and whispered to her son,
" Was it a man or woman, old, young ? "
" A lady " he stammered, " A big fat one "
.
The watcher returned to his seaside cottage, it was really more of a seaside hovel, not even that close to the sea which the watcher abbhored The seaside part brought families, kids, and curious dogs that
rooted around the mangroves, sniffing and snuffling. The watcher hated the dogs most with their excited yips and loud barking. The watcher wanted silence and in the Winter received nothing but. Occasionally a fisherman or two could be seen on the shore, casting a line out to sea, but the beach
for the most part remained empty and desolate. Just as the watcher liked.
Jen's fingers trembled as she dialled the number for emergency services, she had sent Danny for an immediate shower, alarmed at his pallor which was frighteningly pale. She kept one ear open as she waited for emergency to answer, for any slight thud if he fell or fainted.
" Emergency " stated the nasal twang of the operator,
" Police, Ambulance, Fire. "
" Police " answered Jen with a surprisingly calm voice that belied her shaky hands.
Jen relayed to the Silver Bay Police receptionist that her son had discovered a body floating in the Bledisloe Creek, gave her address and hung up. Not daring to speak, less she conveyed some of the terror she felt.
" A body " she thought.
A human body. A big fat one. Danny had said.
" A female one, probably bloated from extended time in the water, " he said that it Jen thought.
" At least the cavalry were on their way, " was her thought as hysteria almost tripped her up and she sat down firmly on the kitchen chair she had painted only two nights ago. A gentle shade of apple green, that by all accounts, should be calming but made her feel anything but.
She heard the old plumbing pipes squeak in protest as Danny turned off the taps in the shower and she rose up to greet him as he exited the bathroom clad only in a towel, his hair still dripping, wetting the floor, and he disappeared with a grunt to the sanctuary of his room.
Jen's greeting died on her lips and she sat back down. Waiting for the " cavalry" and her son. Neither of which came in a hurry.
" Typical " Jen thought.
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Creation of a state
Settlement
Queensland was first seen by Europeans in the 1600s. Dutch explorer Willem Jansz landed on the Cape York Peninsula in 1606, and in 1623 Jan Carstens explored the Gulf of Carpentaria. An Englishman, Lieutenant James Cook, is acknowledged as the first European to encounter Queensland's east coast in 1770 in HMS Endeavour.
Europeans settled in Queensland in 1825 when Brisbane was selected as a penal settlement for the more difficult convicts. The penal settlement was officially closed in 1839 and the land was prepared for sale for permanent settlement.
Queensland was originally part of the British-administered colony of New South Wales. This occupied a large part of the Australian continent.
A desire to separate from New South Wales began to emerge as Queensland's economic significance increased and its productivity and population expanded. The people of Queensland began to realise the importance of Brisbane as a port and urban centre.
The physical remoteness of Queensland from the centre of government in New South Wales and concern about the maintenance of public infrastructure, contributed to a desire for independence.
Independence
In 1851, a public meeting was held to consider Queensland's separation from New South Wales.
Queen Victoria granted approval and signed Letters Patent on 6 June 1859 to establish the new colony of Queensland. On the same day, an Order-in-Council gave Queensland its own constitution.
Queensland became a self-governing colony with its own Governor, a nominated Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly.
Queensland Day is celebrated on 6 June, recognising the birth of the state.
Early development
After the separation from New South Wales, towns outside Brisbane began to develop. In 1860 Ipswich and Rockhampton were officially declared towns. Maryborough and Warwick followed in the next year.
Queensland's first elections were held in 1860. Robert George Wyndham Herbert led the first elected government as Premier. On 22 May 1860, Queensland Parliament opened for the first time. Immigration, communications and development issues broadly occupied Queensland's early politics. The railway network extended as towns demanded their own link.
One of the earliest decisions of the new parliament was to increase the population of the new colony as rapidly as possible. A land-order system was devised to attract new settlers. Over the next 3 years, nearly 25,000 people landed in Queensland attracted by the idea of owning land.
The discovery of payable gold near Rockhampton was one of many discoveries that encouraged development in Queensland and helped to protect the state from the effects of the 1866 Depression.
Queensland pioneered the state secondary education system in the early 1860s when the government subsidised municipalities to set up grammar schools—the first free education in Australia. In 1866, Queensland Treasury banknotes were issued for the first time.
The Constitution Act 1867 defined the formal institutions of government including parliament and the executive government.
In 1876, the current design of the Queensland flag was officially adopted. Local government was established in 1879 with the passage of the Divisional Boards Act 1879.
By 1891, wool had become an enormous industry in Australia. Thousands of shearers, already dissatisfied with their pay rates and conditions, refused to work when a Darling Downs Station employed non-union men. When Aborigines, Kanaka Islanders and Chinese immigrants began working for even cheaper wages, the potential for revolution dissolved. The strike is remembered as an event that created camaraderie among Australian workers from all backgrounds and launched Labor politics. The first branch meeting of the Australian Labor Party is said to have been held by striking shearers under the gum tree now known as the Tree of Knowledge in Barcaldine, Queensland, in 1891.
As fears were expressed that Aboriginal people in Queensland faced extinction, the Government decided to establish new governmental reserves to accommodate the remaining tribes throughout the state. In 1897, the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act was passed, authorising the removal of Aboriginal people to reserves. These powers of removal continued until 1971 when the Act was amended.
Federation
On 1 January 1901, the union of the Commonwealth of Australia was created. The majority of Queenslanders voted yes to a referendum asking whether Queensland should join the Federation. The referendum was passed resulting in Queensland losing its colonial status and becoming a state.
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