I WONDER ?
On Tuesday morning Stephen felt much better. He decided to go to school as usual. “I’ll ride my bike Mum,” he added. ‘That will give me a bit of mobility if I want to go anywhere else,’ he thought.
“What about you Tom?” Stephen’s mother asked. “What will you do?”
“I think I’ll go to town and spend the day at the library,” Tom replied.
So Stephen made sure he had the DVD in his bag and set off for school, glad that he didn’t have to drag Tom around with him all day. His muscles were still stiff and the effort of riding his bike made this very apparent to him but the exercise soon wore the stiffness off. It was a wet day but he made it to school relatively dry.
The first person he met was Judy. Seeing her coming towards him caused him to feel a surge of annoyance but he managed to hide this and speak to her in a friendly tone.
She smiled. “So what did happen if you weren’t lost?” she asked.
“Who told you we were?” Stephen countered.
“I heard it from Sharon,” Judy replied.
“How did she know?”
“Peter’s little brother told her,” Judy answered.
Stephen nodded with understanding. Peter’s little brother Paul was in Sharon’s class. ‘Pete needs to watch what he says in front of his little brother,’ he thought.
“So what’s the story?” Judy asked.
“Nothing much. We went to climb Black Mountain and it took us a bit longer than we expected to get out of the jungle,” Stephen replied.
“You look a bit the worse for wear,” Judy commented, indicating his Betadine coated scratches. Stephen could only agree and then give her an embellished version of the climb up and down the mountain. ‘No point in denying we went there,’ he thought.
Later he got Peter on his own and grumbled about Paul. Peter nodded. “Sorry. The little toad has got a big mouth. I’ll be more careful in future.”
“Have you seen Graham? There’s something I want to show you,” Stephen replied.
They went looking for him and found him talking to Roger. At Stephen’s urging they all went to the library. Stephen knew there were DVD Players and TVs in two of the annexes. He also knew that students weren’t supposed to use them. After checking that no teachers were around and then sliding the folding partition shut he pushed the DVD into the player and turned it on. “Just watch,” he replied to requests to explain.
As the airport scene came on Stephen leaned forward and pointed. “Jorgenson,” he said, “And that bloke there is one of the two Feds who questioned us yesterday morning at Smithfield.”
Graham leaned closer and nodded. “I think you are right. And that other joker looks like one of the two plain clothes coppers who questioned me a few weeks ago.”
“Walters,” Stephen replied. “He came to my place too.”
“So what does this mean?” Peter asked, plainly mystified.
“I’m not sure,” Stephen replied. He then outlined his theory of Jorgenson being a German spy trying to get close to the Minister of Defence to gain access to defence secrets.
“Oh what defence secrets!” Graham sneered. “Australia doesn’t have any defence, let alone secrets!”
Stephen knew that Graham was always advocating that the government should spend more on defence so he ignored the sarcasm and gave his idea of this being a way of getting American secrets second hand.
Peter thought that more likely. He then asked, “What about your idea that he is trying to cover up his family skeletons to protect his career in the secret service?”
“I’m not sure,” Stephen replied, uncomfortably aware that he was making a lot of assumptions without much proof.
They watched the DVD twice more and discussed possible motives for Jorgenson. By then Stephen had begun to view the man as a personal enemy. Peter said, “Even if he is, how could we prove it?”
“I don’t know,” Stephen had to admit.
They were interrupted then by the librarian demanding to know what they were doing. Because they were senior students she knew well she made no real fuss about it and they left quickly. Outside they continued their discussion till other students joined them and they had to drop the topic.
It stayed like that all day, a situation Stephen found most dissatisfying. His mind kept turning over all the clues and wondering what they meant but he came no closer to finding any answers. Classes dragged on without any dramas and the only event of any note was their practice session for the swimming carnival after lunch.
After school Stephen talked to Graham and Peter for a few minutes, then went home. Rain showers hurried him along and he arrived there in a lather of sweat. As he had expected there were no cars in the carport. His parents usually arrived home an hour later than him. He placed his bike in its usual place against the back wall of the car port and opened the back door. First he had a cold drink of cordial from the refrigerator. Then he went to his room.
As he walked into the room Stephen experienced and odd sensation which made him pause. For a moment he stood and looked around, wondering what it was that made him feel uneasy. His eyes flicked around his room. Then a sensation he could only name as fear swept up his body to prickle his scalp. ‘Someone’s been here,’ he thought. A book he had placed on his bedside table was not in the same position as he had left it. ‘Or is it?’ he wondered.
Feeling mounting alarm he moved to open the cupboard, half expecting to find someone hiding there. The cupboard only contained his clothes and they appeared to be in the same places he had left them in. Knowing that his mother sometimes moved his things Stephen did a careful check, opening drawers and even looking under the bed. He could find nothing else but was still left with the odd feeling that someone had looked through his room. He thought he was alone in the house. “Tom, are you home? Tom?” he called. There was no answer and the ensuing silence brought it home to Stephen how isolated he was. Years before he had been attacked at home by a man (that damn camera again!) and now the fear gripped him. ‘They could get me here alone and....’ He didn’t want to finish it.
In a minute he was back outside the house. He closed the back door and went to his bike. Then another thought came to him and he went to the storeroom behind the carport. Once again he looked carefully, trying to remember exactly how he had left things. It was his webbing that gave him the clue. ‘I’m sure I left it with the straps lying on top ready to pick up,’ he thought. It was a habit he had learned from four years in cadets. If the webbing shoulder straps weren’t kept neat then they tended to tangle when he went to put it on. He also thought his pack had been moved.
‘Someone has been here,’ he thought. His heart beat with anxiety and he quickly left the gloomy storeroom. ‘Those men, looking for it,’ he reasoned. Quickly he wheeled his bike out to the front and jumped on. There was a rain shower starting but he didn’t hesitate. Pedalling as fast as he could he rode off down the street.
He stopped at the shop around the corner and waited till the rain shower passed, then hurried on. His objective was clear- Graham’s. ‘I must check if he has been burgled too,’ he thought. More rain delayed him but even so he was at Graham’s within twenty five minutes.
To Stephen’s annoyance Graham was not alone. He was working on a model ship but his little sister Kylie and her friend Margaret were there as well. Margaret was lying on Graham’s bed and the sight brought a sardonic smile to Stephen’s lips. Margaret had been in love with Graham for years; made no secret of it. ‘That’s where she wants to be,’ Stephen thought, ‘In Graham’s bed.’
Graham looked up from his model and smiled. “G’day Steve. You look a bit hot,” he greeted.
Stephen was perspiring heavily from the effort of pedalling fast in the tropical humidity and he nodded. “Can I have a cold drink?”
“Sure,” Graham replied. He got up and led the way through the house to the kitchen.
As soon as they were out of earshot of the girls Stephen told Graham of his suspicions. “Did you notice anything unusual here?” he asked.
Graham’s mood instantly changed. “No, but I’ll look now,” he replied.
“Check your pack and webbing,” Stephen suggested. Graham nodded and led the way downstairs, the cold drink forgotten. Unlike Stephen’s house Graham’s was a high set ‘Old Queenslander’. Underneath was a laundry, carport, storeroom and a large enclosed area which the boys called the ‘Ship Room’, because that was where Graham kept his collection of home-made ship models.
The pack gave them suspicions but like Stephen Graham wasn’t sure exactly how he had placed it. “I just chucked my gear in the cupboard,” he explained. The boys stood at the door of the storeroom and looked at each other. “You think it was those men looking for that thing you had in your pack?” Graham asked.
Stephen nodded. “Yes I do,” he agreed.
That was an uncomfortable thought. Graham looked around, then said, “Do you think they are still watching us?”
That was an even more unsettling idea. Stephen nodded but wondered if he wasn’t being silly. ‘I will become paranoid next,’ he thought.
“But that would cost a fortune,” Graham said. “Paying men overtime to just watch two kids. Who could afford that? And why?”
Stephen could only shrug. He had no real proof, just an uneasy suspicion. To their mutual annoyance their conversation was ended by the arrival of Kylie and Margaret. They now made their way up to the kitchen and had the cold drinks.
Half an hour later Stephen made his farewells. “I’d better get home or Mum and Dad will start worrying,” he said.
“I’ll ring you if I find anything,” Graham replied.
“No! Don’t use the phone!” Stephen replied in alarm. Both Kylie and Margaret looked sharply at him, their eyes alive with curiosity. Stephen met Graham’s eyes and he nodded, understanding.
“Why not?” Kylie asked suspiciously. “What’s going on? What are you boys up to this time?”
But they wouldn’t say. Stephen just said goodbye and went down to his bike. Graham followed. “We need a code,” he suggested.
“Good idea,” Stephen agreed. They quickly settled on a couple of easy codes and then Stephen left.
It was after five by then and he ignored the next rain shower in his anxiety to get home. ‘The rain won’t make me any wetter,’ he thought. His shirt was soaked with sweat anyway. Twenty minutes later he turned into his street, pedalling at full pelt as an even heavier rain storm came sweeping up behind him.
He made it just in time, the exhilaration of the ride and the situation making him whoop with delight as he skidded to a stop in the carport. Both his parent’s cars were there so he happily went inside. His mother was in the kitchen preparing tea. “There you are dear. I was just starting to worry about you. Where have you been?”
“Graham’s,” Stephen replied. He said hello to his father, who was working on marking assignments in his room, then met Tom. “Hi Tom. Have a good day?”
Tom nodded. “Yes,” he said. Then he glanced to check that Stephen’s parents could not hear him. In a soft voice he said, “I think I’ve found something that might help us.”
The tone in Tom’s voice, and the look in his eyes, both sent a surge of excitement through Stephen. “I’ll just have a shower and change,” he replied.
It only took him a couple of minutes to have a cold shower and put on clean clothes. With the sweat washed off and his body cooled down he felt very refreshed. He went to his room and found Tom waiting there, seated at his desk. “What is it?”
“History,” Tom replied. “I went to the Commonwealth Offices and asked for information on Mr Potts.”
“Who?”
“Mr Potts, the Minister of Defence,” Tom replied.
That puzzled Stephen. “Why?”
“Just a hunch,” Tom replied. “Those men are his bodyguards and it occurred to me that he might be involved.”
“Oh that’s hardly likely,” Stephen replied.
“No? Did you know that his family name used to be Potke? They changed it back at the start of World War One,” Tom replied.
“His family was German? Is that what you are saying?” Stephen asked, his interest now fully engaged.
Tom nodded. “Yes. It took me a bit of finding out though. The handout from the government PR people doesn’t say that, but it gave me a couple of clues.”
He placed a printed sheet on the table in front of Stephen. It was the biography of The Right Honourable Edward James Potts, Member of the House of Representatives and Minister for Defence. Stephen read it through and could not find anything particularly notable in it. It seemed to be just what a person would expect: born in Mareeba in 1950, parents from old pioneering families, grew up on the family property ‘Hayden Park’ Station, sent to boarding school in Brisbane, went to Queensland University to study law, worked on the land, became a leader of the United Graziers Association, then entered politics in the Country Party. Later, when the Country Party became the National Party he broke away and formed the Rural Revival Party and was now its leader. He had been in federal parliament for twenty years and had served as Minister for Transport, then for Trade and was now Defence Minister. He still had an interest in the family property and had other business interests in North Queensland.
“That all seems pretty ordinary,” Stephen commented. “What are these clues?”
“To start with he is a Lutheran,” Tom replied.
“So?”
“Most Lutherans have some German connection in their family background,” Tom replied. “Martin Luther was German and that religion is strongest there.”
Stephen dimly remembered reading that in history but he was doubtful. “That’s a pretty tenuous connection,” he replied.
“I agree,” Tom said. “But the bit about being from old pioneering stock sent me to the library. I’ve been reading up on local history.” He placed several photocopied pages on the table. “Read them and see what you think.”
Stephen sat on his bed and took up the sheets. The first was a page from ‘A Thousand Miles Away’ by Bolton. It explained that in the 1870s new pastoral properties were established inland from Cairns. He read, ‘Meanwhile Hann’s discoveries and the Palmer Gold rush were attracting squatters to the country beyond. On the western side of the Peninsula the formation of Wrotham Park in 1873 was followed by the occupation of the lower Mitchell. The Palmer rush attracted from 1874 several graziers hopeful of supplying the Maytown and Cooktown markets. Prospecting journeys by James Venture Mulligan in 1874 and 1875 drew attention to the lands of the upper Mitchell, which were first occupied by James Fraser in 1876. The next year saw John Atherton overlanding his family to Emerald End, near the present town of Mareeba.’
“That’s just an introduction,” Tom said, reaching out to hand Stephen another sheet.
Stephen nodded. He knew the early history of the region well from research for some of the Hiking Team’s expeditions. He took the next sheet, noted it was from a journal called ‘The Northern Grazier’, then read, ‘When the Hodgekinson gold rush broke out in 1876 several graziers at once saw possibilities in supplying this new market. Mulligan had reported good country in the upper Mitchell and its tributaries. Among those who took up the challenge was a young German migrant, Otokar Potke. With his wife and baby son he set out from Cardwell with a small herd of cattle and two stockmen, Jorgenson and Strauss. After great hardships they reached the valley of Leichhardt Creek. This large creek, a tributary of the Mitchell River, is to the east of the Hodgekinson goldfield and allowed access to both the roads leading to the goldfields.’
Stephen felt his heart quicken at the name Jorgenson and he read on with growing interest. ‘The family took up a run which they named ‘Hayden Park’. To begin with it was hard going, the country on either side being very rough granite ranges and the Aborigines very hostile. But they persevered and the property prospered. The development of the tin and copper mines to the south and west, then of the coal mine at Mt Mulligan, all helped as the demand for beef continually grew.’
‘By the turn of the century ‘Hayden Park’ had become one of the best managed properties in the north and Mr Potke was winning renown as a breeder of fine horses. The horses were mostly sold to the British Indian Army. But despite this success Mr Potke’s personal circumstances were dogged by misfortune. Two sons died from fevers and his beloved wife Elise died in childbirth.’
‘Mr Potke went on a world trip soon after. He returned to Germany in 1906 and there married his second wife, Elizabeth Remcke, daughter of a Wurtemburg Lutheran Pastor. After visits to England and America to study horse breeding and to acquire new stock Mr Potke returned to Australia.’
‘But personal misfortune still dogged him. Two daughters, born in 1908 and 1910, both died in 1913 in the same month, one from snake bite and the other from an inflammation of the stomach. Two more daughters, Marie (born in 1912) and Liesel (born 1916) both lived but it was not until 1920 that a son (Albert) was born.’
‘By 1914 Otokar Potke had established himself as one of the leading citizens of the district. This however did not prevent him and his family and friends being the objects of much vilification on the outbreak of World War 1 because of their German origin. To limit this abuse and the harm to his business interests he anglicised the family name to Potts.’
‘Since that time the family has continued to own and run ‘Hayden Park’ although it has experienced the same ups and downs as many other cattle properties. The Great Depression hit the industry particularly hard but ‘Hayden Park’ managed to survive better than most. The family were able to enjoy a world trip in 1935 and another in 1938. During this trip the young Albert married a Czech refugee, Bella Zarvis, and she returned to Australia with them.’
‘But tragedy still stalked the family. In 1939 the first son born to Albert and Bella died. In the same year Otokar, now aged 85, died. The property passed to Albert. A second son Edward, born in 1950, is now at boarding school.’
On reading that Stephen asked Tom when the article had been written. “Nineteen sixty five,” Tom replied. “The librarian dug it up for me. She has an interest in the old pioneering families she told me. Her own family came off one of the cattle properties nearby.”
“No mention here of World War Two,” Stephen commented.
“No,” Tom replied. “I’d say they weren’t among the people of German origin who were interned.”
“You wouldn’t expect it, not after all that time,” Stephen replied. “But no mention of any of them serving in the armed forces either.”
“Those trips around the world in Nineteen Thirty Six and Nineteen Thirty Eight intrigue me,” Tom added. “If the Great Depression was hitting the cattle industry hard how could they afford that? And did they go to Germany?”
“I’ll bet they did,” Stephen said. “Nineteen Thirty Five is when Hitler was in power I think”
“Yes it was,” Tom replied. “I checked that. The Nazis became the government of Germany in Nineteen Thirty Three. In Nineteen Thirty Five they began re-armament and introduced conscription.”
“I wonder if Bella what’s-her-name was a Sudeten German,” Stephen said.
“Today the Sudetenland, tomorrow the world!” quoted Tom.
Stephen was surprised at Tom’s depth of knowledge on the subject but decided he had made it a special interest because of his Great Grandfather. He said, “We still don’t have any real proof.”
“No, but it makes you wonder,” Tom replied.