Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms (31 page)

Inside the cemetery, Hiroshi stands, blinded by tears, overwhelmed by returning to the town that saved his life while others lost theirs. He reflects on the night of the escape, remembering the sounds, the lights, and the smell of burning wood as if it was only yesterday. Hiroshi is filled with the same regret he felt while hidden at Erambie. Hiroshi finds Masao's plaque and wonders if anything has been learned from the tragedy of war. He looks at other headstones and wonders why the men all behaved so recklessly when he knows so few wanted to go ahead with the breakout. Why did they cause so much trouble for the Australian guards who had treated them so well? Why, after arriving in Australia frail, injured and starving, had they all recovered their good health only to end up dead?

His heart aches with the memories, but he is there with a purpose: he has returned to Australia to pay his respects to his fallen countrymen. To Masao. To show there is no personal hatred for the country or its people; Cowra kept him alive and gave him hope for a better world.

He is also hoping to see Mary.

Under the clear blue sky and summer sun, Hiroshi looks out across the cemetery and notices a woman in a pale blue
dress. She has dark skin and a thin frame; she has lips that he once kissed. He is frozen to the spot and overcome with the same emotion he felt when he first told Mary he loved her. ‘She is here,' he says under his breath. The flame in his heart that he carried on the long boat ride home and for almost twenty years still burns as strong as it did the day he first knew he loved her. And now she is here, in front of him, looking for him. Now they can hold each other without fear of reprimand or judgement and, he hopes, without a government policy that says she can't marry him. ‘She is here,' he says again.

While the ceremony is solemn and official, Hiroshi is full of happiness, as if he has just started breathing for the first time. He is focused only on Mary as he starts to move through the crowd. He hasn't taken his eyes off her for a second, hoping she will look in his direction and see him too. His heart is racing, his palms are sweaty and his mouth is dry. ‘She is here,' he repeats, and he feels like the luck he experienced two decades ago is here again just for him and the woman he has never stopped loving.

Then Hiroshi watches Mary turn away without having yet spotted him. He can't see who she is talking to but by the time he gets to the gate, a man has his arm around her waist. Hiroshi stops still.

‘I thought I'd find you here,' he hears the man say to Mary thoughtfully. ‘It's time to come home.'

A
s history cannot be owned by one person, I thank all those who were part of pulling together the many stories of Cowra that became
Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms
.

First, my mum Elsie told me her own stories about growing up at Erambie. It was a wonderful writing journey to be on with her, listening, learning and retelling.

To those in Cowra who offered their knowledge, wisdom and time in helping me research and then in reading drafts, this book is for you.
Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms
could not have been written without the support of local Koori historian Dr Lawrence Bamblett; Lawrance Ryan and Graham Apthorpe from the Cowra Breakout Association; Marc McLeish and Aunty Norma Wallace (Newton) – who were all part of making as complete a story as possible, even though this is of course a novel.

To my tiddas Beatrice Murray and Jacki Beale, thank you for pounding the pavement with me on early mornings while I was in Cowra researching. I appreciated you trudging up Billy Goat Hill and back again and offering words of support all the while.

To Ann Weldon (Coe) for reading pages, and Aunty Hazel Williams for sharing the story about Claude Williams and the ‘scary horse'. Thank you.

I'd also like to acknowledge the friendly staff at Cowra Library, and the volunteers from the Cowra Family History Group for helping load and reload the microfiche machine!

For information and insight into the Japanese stories around the Cowra Breakout, I thank Professor Mami Yamada for her time, knowledge and feedback on material. Thanks also go to Kylie Wallbridge for researching with me in Tokyo in 2015.

Heartfelt thanks to Dr Donna Weeks from Musashino University (Tokyo) for providing brilliant translations of Basho's haiku for the novel.

Much of the first draft was written while under the care and loving hospitality of my tidda Julie Wark in Barcelona, who also read drafts with a careful eye. I must also acknowledge Carles and the staff at Brunel's Café too, for filling me with appropriate fuel while writing in their space.

I did much of the editing of
Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms
at the State Library of Queensland and I thank all the staff at the Queensland Writers Centre for their support and literary collegiality. To my de-stressing swimming
tidda Ellen van Neerven for listening to me whinge while I splashed – thank you.

And to Lisa Heidke – for the long phone calls about writing, researching, editing, planning and everything else that causes anxiety in the process.

To the publishing ‘A team' at Simon & Schuster Australia: Larissa Edwards and Roberta Ivers, and to my editors Elizabeth Cowell and Kylie Mason. Thank you for helping me make this book the best it can be.

To my agent Tara Wynne, who I trust with my life – I've no words left to express my gratitude.

And finally to you my reader – I hope this book adds something to your own journey in life. I believe that understanding and appreciating who we are today requires us to understand and accept who and what we have been, collectively as a nation, in the past.

Anita Heiss

2016

1. Life on Erambie Station was hard, with food rations and no electricity, constant restrictions and intervention in daily life. In what ways did the government benefit from enforcing these harsh conditions on Aboriginal people? Why would the POW compounds have better food and facilities?

2. Banjo Williams' decision to hide Hiroshi came at great sacrifice to his own family and the other families of Erambie. Do you think it was the right choice? What does this decision say about Banjo's ethics?

3. What would you have done if you were Hiroshi – stayed in the prison camp or attempted to break out? Is there shame in staying behind? Would you be able to survive on the run?

4. What are your thoughts on Mr and Mrs Smith? Was John Smith trapped in his role as the mission Manager or were there things he could have done to help out the residents of Erambie? Could John Smith have led a less harsh regime while still complying with government expectations?

5. 
The Japanese and Italian POWs were treated differently by the townspeople, with the Italians working and more integrated into life outside the camps. Were the Italians less discriminated against than the Japanese? Do you think any of these perceptions between the different cultures are still held in the broader community today?

6. Indigenous soldiers fought for Australia in the First and Second World Wars (and other conflicts) despite not holding Australian citizenship. Can you understand why people made this choice? Why/why not? Were these Indigenous soldiers treated equally in and after wartime? What sacrifices did they make for Australia?

7. Have you ever been to Cowra, in rural New South Wales? What were your experiences there?

8. What rights have Aboriginal people won since the 1940s? Do you think that all Australians are treated equally today?

9. Mary was only seventeen when she fell in love with Hiroshi. Did you fall in love as a teenager? How did it turn out?

10. Do you think Mary is truly happy in her decision to marry Raymond? Why/why not?

© Amanda James

Dr Anita Heiss is the author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women's fiction, poetry, social commentary and travel articles. She is a regular guest at writers' festivals and travels internationally performing her work and lecturing on Indigenous literature. She is a Lifetime Ambassador of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation of central NSW. Anita is an Advocate for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence and an Ambassador of Worowa Aboriginal College. She is an Adjunct Professor with Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, UTS, and currently divides her time between writing, public speaking, MCing, managing the Epic Good Foundation and being a ‘creative disruptor'. Anita was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards and the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards. She currently lives in Brisbane.

Find out more about Anita on her website at

www.anitaheiss.com

on Twitter at
@AnitaHeiss

and on her
Facebook
page

Also by Anita Heiss

Fiction

Not Meeting Mr Right
(2007)

Avoiding Mr Right
(2008)

Manhattan Dreaming
(2010)

Paris Dreaming
(2011)

The Tightening Grip
,

written with the students of St Laurence's College, Brisbane (2012)

Tiddas
(2014)

Nonfiction

Sacred Cows
(1996)

Dhuuluu-Yala: Publishing Indigenous Literature
(2003)

I'm Not Racist, But . . .
(2007)

Am I Black Enough For You?
(2012)

Young adult and kids

Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937
(2001)

Yirra and Her Deadly Dog, Demon
,

written with the students of La Perouse Public School (2007)

Demon Guards the School Yard
,

written with the students of La Perouse Public School (2011)

Harry's Secret
(2015)

Matty's Comeback
(2016)

Poetry

Token Koori
(1998)

Anthology (ed)

Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature
,

edited with Peter Minter (2008)

Life in Gadigal Country
(2002)

BARBED WIRE AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS

First published in Australia in 2016 by

Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited

Suite 19A, Level 1, Building C, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062

A CBS Company

Sydney New York London Toronto New Delhi

Visit our website at
www.simonandschuster.com.au

© Anita Heiss 2016

Basho translations © Professor Donna Weeks, Musashino University, Tokyo

Quotes from wartime coverage in the
Cowra Guardian
are reproduced with permission from Australian Community Media (Fairfax Media).

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Creator:

Heiss, Anita, 1968 – author.

Title:

Barbed wire and cherry blossoms/Anita Heiss.

ISBN:

9781925184846 (paperback)

9781925184860 (ebook)

Subjects:

Erambie Aboriginal Reserve (NSW) – Fiction.

Prisoner-of-war escapes – New South Wales – Cowra – Fiction

Prisoners of war – Japan – Fiction.

Prisoners of war – New South Wales – Cowra – Fiction.

Women, Aboriginal Australian – New South Wales – Cowra – Fiction.

Man–woman relationships – Fiction

Love stories.

Dewey Number: A823.3

Cover design: Christabella Designs

Cover images: Australian Scenics/Getty Images, Winai Tepsuttinun/Shutterstock, AVprophoto/Shutterstock

Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia