Buffaloes - Life and Adventures in Arnhem Land

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are now republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. EXTRACT CHAPTER I: WE SHAKE ON IT IT was a night on Gallipoli. The 5th Brigade was in occupation at Quinns Post, and four of us- Bert Rockliffe, who had been assistant town clerk at Orange, Bob Hayward, a butcher, Lawrence Whittaker, a Sydney engineer, and myself-had established a dugout. Darlrness had fallen. It was a reasonably quiet night, only an occasiorlal bomb bursting, and the whine of a few bullets passing high overhead to remind us that life was likely to be a very precarious thing. We were squatting in the unlit dugout snoking cigarettes, and passing the time in desultory chatter. Strange what men will talk about in such circumstances But surely there could have been no more renlote topic than What will we do after the war I forget which of us started it. However, there we were after four months of war-quite long enough to know the cheapness of human life-calmly discussing plans for the future. Only youth with its regardless enthusiasm could have done so. Best Rockcliffe had had a row with his gjrl over enlisting, but he fancied all would be well on hls return. He intended to g-et married, pick up the threads of his Local Government work, and live a peaceful, settled life in some country town in New South Wales. Poor Bert He was hit in the leg at Pozieres. When the stretcher-bearers arrived he waved them on, in his generous way, to others more badly wounded. When they returned, fragments of tunic were all they found ofBert a shell had landed where he had been lying. Bob Hayward spoke of becoming a master-butcher, with a string of hunters for country shows as a sideline. Bob came through the mess all right, and is now handling carcasses somewhere in Sydney....