I owe thanks to writer Patti Miller and her husband Tony Reeder for a house-swap in their Kings Cross flat over an Easter long weekend in 2016, which gave me time to thoroughly explore the Cross, Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay and Woolloomooloo and take hundreds of photographs to jog my memory and soak up the atmosphere. I am also grateful to my own neighbours, distinguished historians Richard White and Catherine Bishop, who have generously allowed me to stay in their Potts Point flat for later field trips in the Cross. Thanks also to Richard for regular chats that provided me with some excellent research leads for this novel.
I also owe a debt of gratitude to prolific journalist and author Sue Williams, long-time resident of the Cross, for her valuable local contacts, who found me Justin Miller of Justin Miller Art. My sincerest thanks to Justin Miller for his gracious hospitality and generous personal tour of his flat and the environs of the gorgeous Macleay Regis apartment block on Macleay Street. Nothing can substitute for experiencing a location in person.
I am indebted to recently retired Detective Senior Sergeant John McGee for his thorough checking of my manuscript for any errors of police culture, protocol and procedure. I enjoyed our long and informative talk over coffee about everything from the 1968 Glenfield Siege to the representations of police in fiction and drama.
I am deeply grateful to my agent Selwa Anthony for her unfailing trust and support and to my publisher at Allen & Unwin, Annette Barlow, for her ongoing commitment to my writing. Thanks to Christa Munns for a thorough and thoughtful structural edit, and to Ali Lavau for her rigorous and amazing ‘hands-on’ copyedit. I am delighted by the gorgeous and clever cover art of Nada Backovic, which perfectly captures the ambience of the novel. My thanks to the hard-working team at A&U who continue to demonstrate their commitment to Australian storytelling.
I wish to convey my gratitude also to all the guests who have attended my public lectures, many of them history enthusiasts and practitioners, including members of Local History Societies and National Trust branches. They often take the time to share personal stories and valuable historical information with me after my talks. Thanks also to all those readers who have sent me fan mail, much of which adds new dimensions to my own research.
I dedicate this book to my sister Verity with whom I share a passion for books, fiction and non-fiction; I enjoy our regular conversations about what we are reading, and I value her judgement and support. She gave me a magnificent silk scarf with a dragonfly motif to celebrate the launch of The Opal Dragonfly: I wear it with pride!
The research and writing of my three novels would not have been possible without the practical support as well as intellectual and passionate companionship of my brilliant and talented wife, Claire Corbett. She is a sublime writer in her own right and has also become a much-loved teacher of creative writing, a fiction editor for Overland, and a valued Varuna board member and assessor. I am grateful every day that I am so lucky to have the benefit of her insights and to share our deep love of books and reading. Quite a few discussions over morning coffee and on our local walks have been critical to the development of this manuscript. For however long we share this journey together as writers, I feel blessed.