Return to the High Country Read online

  TONY PARSONS

  Return to the

  High Country

  Penguin Books

  For Gloria

  Author’s Note

  I was completely blown away by the reception of my first novel, The Call of the High Country. It wasn’t so much the number of books sold but the comments made by readers that was the most gratifying. A novel may be read twice – it needs to be something special to be read more times than that. Many people told me that they had read my book three times and one Tasmanian sheepman said he had read it half-a-dozen times.

  On many occasions as a guest speaker I sought to discover what it was about The Call of the High Country that elicited such a response. I found that the reason the book touched so many hearts was because it evoked memories of past years on farm and station. This could be summed up by the comment of one female reader who wrote, ‘This is the first book I have read that takes me back to my days on the property. I can see myself in the situations you have created.’

  This was heady stuff for a writer, and was compounded by innumerable requests for another ‘High Country’ book. So here is the sequel to The Call of the High Country. In my humble opinion this is perhaps a more significant book than the first one because the young David MacLeod has grown up and moved on, and is faced with the kind of problems known only too well by many of today’s farmers and graziers.

  I cannot overstate my admiration for the many rural women who left comfortable homes to live in isolated places where they reared admirable families and contributed in countless ways to support their menfolk on the land. They did not walk away when things got tough. Some of these women are the inspiration for the women in this book.

  I am indebted to my wife Gloria who, when I was furiously busy with other matters, sketched out some ideas for this book. Through good times and bad she has always been there for me and this book is dedicated to her. At times she made all the difference to getting through.

  I owe special thanks to my American friend of nearly forty years, Doctor Jack Woolsey of Santa Rosa, California – distinguished veterinarian and thoroughbred authority and the most significant US importer and breeder of kelpies in my lifetime. Jack was good enough to supply me with some ideas plucked from his extensive casebook of equine problems. I am especially grateful to Jack Woolsey for his support and friendship over many years.

  It would be remiss of me not to mention the great support I have received from the wonderful staff at Penguin. It has been a joy to work with Clare Forster, Rachel Scully and Debra Billson. I shall not soon forget the great present they organised for my 70th birthday … very special people.

  Finally, I am so very grateful for all the letters, faxes and phonecalls that followed publication of The Call of the High Country. I answered each and every one. I sincerely hope you like Return to the High Country just as much.

  Tony Parsons, OAM

  East Greenmount, Queensland

  Prologue

  A pall of gloom enveloped High Peaks in the immediate aftermath of Andrew MacLeod’s death. Naturally, the MacLeod family were the most affected, but messages of condolence came to High Peaks from all over the country. The letter from Andrew’s old shearing contractor touched the family deeply:

  For my money, Andy MacLeod was the best shearer I ever saw. He was also the straightest man I ever met. Gil Henderson.

  Even people who had always thought of Andrew MacLeod as ‘a hard old bastard’ acknowledged that he had been a man among men. The Australian reverence for physical toughness – manifested in Andrew MacLeod’s case by his achievements at High Peaks, by the fact that he was the best and fastest shearer in the district and by his scrapping ability – found expression in the battler trying to make something of a hill-country property.

  Upon Andrew MacLeod’s death his neighbour, Angus Campbell of Inverlochy, donated a substantial sum to the Merriwa Show Society for the purpose of naming their Open sheepdog trial the Andrew MacLeod Memorial Trial, in honour of the great man. This generous gesture was deeply appreciated by the MacLeod family, although they were in too much shock to focus on much beyond the basic day-to-day tasks of running their properties.

  In the beginning there had been only High Peaks, a hill-country property nestled in the Liverpool Range, which is part of the Great Dividing Range that runs from Victoria in the south to north Queensland. Locally, it’s known simply as ‘the range’. The highest peak of the Liverpool Range is Mount Oxley, and while at 4500 feet it doesn’t come close in grandeur to the highest peaks of the Monaro country, it’s rugged and spectacular and awesome in its beauty. Merriwa, a bustling little town full of historic charm, is the closest town to High Peaks. Over the range lies the village of Willow Tree on the New England Highway, just a few miles on the Sydney side of Quirindi. Forty miles north of Quirindi is the city of Tamworth.

  Andrew MacLeod had been raised on High Peaks single-handedly by his mother, a strong, high-principled woman who had been left there when her husband joined the Second AIF to fight in the Middle East, and was subsequently away for years. Andrew grew up to be a tall, powerfully built man who could swing an axe all day, shear a sheep with the best in the business, and break in the wildest of horses. He was also admired far and wide for his skill in breeding and training kelpie sheepdogs.

  Good dogs and good horses are essential requirements to anyone grazing animals in the range country. The High Peaks property was close to 4000 acres and its highest country ran up to a peak called Yellow Rock, which dominated the property, and named because of the many split and shattered rocks that littered its slopes. Yellow Rock had an equivalent peak on the adjoining property, Poitrel.

  The hill country isn’t a place for slackers. It’s too steep for farming, and requires a lot of ringbarking for grass to be grown. So for young Andrew MacLeod there was green timber to be rung and fencing to maintain. There was also shearing and crutching and, under the tutelage of his mother’s old manager, Paddy Covers, Andrew soon learnt how to handle all these jobs on his own. To earn extra money, he also shore and crutched at other properties in the district. He broke in horses for people and sold started or partly trained dogs. Nobody could work harder or longer than Andrew MacLeod.

  A descendant of the MacLeods of western Scotland, Andrew had a great love of land. His dream was to acquire more land for the children he hoped to have one day when he found the right woman to become his wife. Andrew found her in Anne Gilmour, a spirited schoolteacher who came to Merriwa from Sydney and fell in love with the high country as well as with Andrew MacLeod. But together they had only one child, David. The boy was cast very much in his father’s mould, with a passion for the land and a love of dogs and horses. Like his father, he became an expert handler of both animals.

  The first step towards achieving Andrew’s dreams for property expansion occurred because of the generosity of a neighbour, Wilf White, who allowed the MacLeods to purchase his property, Poitrel, on very good terms. Wilf, a thoroughbred breeder and fanatic, knew that Andrew MacLeod would continue to look after his horses. Andrew’s word was his bond. He shore Wilf s sheep and didn’t ask for payment until the wool was sold. Wilf also had a tremendous regard for Andrew’s son, David, and as a parting gift presented him with his great young race mare, Ajana.

  With the purchase of Poitrel, the MacLeods formed the High Peaks Pastoral Company. But the acquisition of Poitrel ultimately came at a great cost. All the available funds earned by High Peaks were needed to pay off the bank. Andrew went back to shearing in Queensland to earn extra money where, true to his nature, he tried to ‘ring’ every shed. This led, eventually, to his first stroke.

  The second step in the expansion of the High Peaks empire came when A
ndrew’s longtime mate Tim Sparkes willed his Queensland cattle property, Aberfeldy, and a quarter of a million dollars, to David. Now a young man eager to carve his own place in the world, this acquisition guaranteed David’s future and gave him such equity that no bank would fail to back him. Just as importantly, his improved status made a substantial difference to the way he was regarded by Angus and Jane Campbell, whose daughter, Catriona, David proposed to wed.

  The purchase of another property, Glen Morrison, not long before Andrew MacLeod’s death would have given him a lot of satisfaction. Advantageously situated across the road from Poitrel, Glen Morrison was to become the jewel in the string of properties owned by the High Peaks Pastoral Company.

  Although Andrew MacLeod lived to see his son’s marriage to Catriona Campbell, his death occurred while David and Catriona were away on their honeymoon. When the newlyweds arrived home and Anne broke the tragic news of Andrew’s death to their son, David was deeply affected. Anne said later that if David had not had Catriona, he would have retreated into a shell of gloom.

  Anne kept a close eye on her son following her husband’s death. She realised, even more than Catriona, what his father had meant to David, and was determined to prevent David from slipping into depression. She would find David sitting on Nap’s log kennel, staring out into the distance. The big red-and-tan dog would be lying with head on crossed paws watching David’s every move. Across at another kennel, the famous National Trial winner, Clancy, another red-and-tan, also lay watching the silent man. In earlier times David might have been watching the eagles soaring above Yellow Rock but, if they were there now, he gave them no thought. While Andrew MacLeod lay buried on their knoll, it seemed that all of High Peaks was in mourning.

  It took time for David to shake off the emptiness that filled his soul as he tried to come to terms with the fact that his father – his inspiration for so many years – was gone, and that he would never speak with him again. He realised that it had been work that had hastened his father’s death. For all of his life his father had worked his guts out to pay off the debt on High Peaks, and then to purchase Poitrel. His father had worked so hard for David, so that he, David, would have a future free of the spectre of debt that had hung over High Peaks for so many years. Andrew MacLeod had left his son a legacy that David now had to protect and, indeed, improve upon. The MacLeods could no longer be regarded as battlers by people like Angus and Jane Campbell. For with High Peaks, Poitrel, Glen Morrison and Aberfeldy to their name, the MacLeods were among the more substantial landowners in the high country.

  Chapter One

  For the first month or so after his father’s death, David rarely smiled. His young bride, Catriona, meanwhile, walked on eggshells. Then, one morning, David looked across the breakfast table at Catriona and smiled weakly. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart. I must have been miserable company since the funeral. I’ll try and make it up to you, Cat.’

  ‘You don’t have to apologise about anything, darling. I know what your father meant to you. I’m just glad I could be here for you. There are going to be many rough patches we’ll have to face together, but we’ll weather them,’ Catriona said.

  ‘I didn’t imagine we’d have something like this to cope with so soon, Cat. It’s not the sort of thing a young bride needs,’ David said, as he reached across and took her hand.

  ‘As long as I’m with you it doesn’t matter, David. It’s been tougher on Anne than on me. She’s lost her husband and lifelong mate. I’ve watched how she’s tried to help you. God, your mother is strong. Of all the women I’ve ever met, it’s Anne I admire the most. She’s never changed from the first time I can remember her, she’s always been so kind to me,’ Catriona said.

  ‘Mum had an ulterior motive, Cat. She had her eye on you for me. I always knew that. Dad used to tell her to wake up to herself, that your father would never allow you to marry me,’ David teased, with a glimmer in his eye.

  ‘I was in awe of your father, darling, I really was. He was so big and strong, and kind of overpowering. When I went over the ledge that day so long ago and Andrew came down to get me I knew I would be all right. I knew that the mountain couldn’t defeat Andrew MacLeod. He would touch me on the head sometimes and, when he did, I thought he might like me just a little and not think me a nuisance like his son did,’ Catriona said, and smiled.

  ‘Yes, I did think you were a nuisance, Cat. Actually, I told Mum you were a little pest. But I still liked you in an odd kind of way. I didn’t think much of girls at the time, but you were the pick of the bunch. Later, I came to like you a lot more. I knew I’d have a battle with your folks to win you and that I’d have to let things simmer for a while. It was poor old Tim Sparkes who made the difference. If I hadn’t inherited Aberfeldy I would have had a tougher battle with your people. I had to dress Angus down very severely, Cat. I hope he’s forgiven me, because I might have to do it again from time to time,’ David said, and laughed, albeit weakly.

  To hear her husband laugh again warmed Catriona’s heart. ‘Oh, I think Daddy has forgiven you. You’re a man of substance now, as well as his son-in-law. David, But I think you should go and see Anne and tell her that you’re all right. She’s been very worried about you and you seem to have forgotten that Anne is grieving too. She has kept her own grief hidden while trying to help you. Tell her that you’ll be all right. You will, won’t you, darling?’

  ‘Yes, I’ll be all right, Cat. I’ve got you, haven’t I? Life has to go on. There’s also Mum, Kate and Jean to think of. Dad wouldn’t want it any other way. He wouldn’t want me to mope about and feel sorry for myself. Dad didn’t bust himself so I could let him down. Well I won’t, Cat. We’ll build an empire of properties and we’ll breed some of the best sheep and cattle in the country – not to mention the dogs and horses. And we’ll need children, Cat; children who want to stay in the bush and run properties and live decent lives,’ David said.

  ‘Are you thinking of doing something about that right now?’ Catriona asked, and blushed slightly.

  ‘Not right now, Cat. Look, I’m sorry if I haven’t been as loving as I should have been. I’ll make it up to you. I want us to have some time to ourselves before there are children. I’ll go and see Mum and after lunch we’ll go over to Glen Morrison and then call in on Jean. There’s so much to do, Cat.’

  Catriona was immensely relieved to see David’s old spirit re-emerging. Anne had told her he would come right and it now seemed that he had. David had been so loving and wonderful on their honeymoon that it had been something of a letdown to have him so depressed since they arrived back at High Peaks. If Catriona hadn’t known of the special relationship that existed between David and his father, she would have been even more concerned about her husband’s behaviour. Now, as she watched David walk up through the dog yards to the old High Peaks homestead, she felt that everything was going to be all right. It had taken a little while to absorb that she was David’s wife, which had been her dream since she was a small girl. What she also realised, even before her marriage, was that she would need to demonstrate the same kind of strength that made Anne such a very worthwhile person. David would expect no less from her.

  David and Catriona’s new house on the High Peaks property had been completed before their wedding, to Catriona’s specifications. Her plans grew from the three-bedroom dwelling David had in mind to a five-bedroom family home with a big kitchen and large windows overlooking the picturesque range country of High Peaks. The front verandah was gauzed in – a place where she and David could relax over the years; the fireplace in the lounge room was of Mudgee stone and the large playroom had a mural of animals and bush fairies across one wall. This new house stood about 200 metres from the original High Peaks homestead where Anne lived, separated by the old orchard and the dog yards.

  Anne heard her son’s boots on the front steps and detected an urgency that had been missing since Andrew’s funeral. Her heart beat fractionally faster and then her spirits lifted as she heard D
avid call out loudly, ‘Mum, are you in?’

  ‘I’m not deaf, David,’ she answered. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘Nothing’s wrong. I’ve just realised how selfish and inconsiderate I’ve been towards you. I’ve been feeling sorry for myself and not taking into account how you must be feeling.’

  ‘I’ve always known how much Andy has meant to you, David, but he meant just as much to me, only more. Andy was the only man I ever wanted, the only man I ever loved … It’s always hard to come to terms with the loss of a loved one but life has to go on, David. You’ve lost your old mate but you’re married now, and you must not neglect your wife. Especially such a new wife as Catriona. She has been very worried about you.’

  David picked up his mother and kissed her. ‘Yes, Dad was my mate but you’re the rock my life has been built on. No matter what happened, or how I felt, you’ve always been there for me. If it had been you that had passed away, I would have been just as devastated as I have been since Dad died. But Dad wouldn’t have wanted me to grieve for him; he would have wanted me to get on with the job. And that’s what I’m going to do. We’re heading over to Glen Morrison after lunch and calling in at Poitrel on the way back. Will you come with us, Mum?’

  ‘I think you should check with Catriona before you ask me to accompany you anywhere – at least for a while. Some new brides object to that sort of thing, David.’

  ‘Catriona suggested it, Mum. She said it would be nice to get you out of the house for a while. Catriona is your greatest fan … after me,’ he said with a smile.

  Thank goodness he can smile again, Anne thought. ‘That’s very kind of her. Please thank her for me. Shall I make up some smoko? Kate is usually too busy to spend much time cooking.’