Brandon has just graduated from university as a primary school teacher. As he travels to his first teaching post, he wonders what he’s got himself into. From the airplane, the tiny town of Gunnanilla looks no bigger than a cattle station. And when he lands, he steps into heat such as he has never encountered before. Sweating and feeling faint from the extreme temperature, he meets his new boss Mark Petersen, the racist principal of the only school for miles around. Then he meets the school’s other teacher, Mark’s wife Trina, and the students, most of whom are Australian Aborigines. Life in the small town is no picnic. In the summer, the heat is unrelenting. In the wet season, the town is cut off from the outside world and all deliveries are brought to a halt. There is only one television channel. To top it all off, there are any number of poisonous creatures around, such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders. How’s a poor city boy like Brandon, who’s interested in fashion, music, and clubbing and none too confident with his sexuality, going to cope? Enter the handsome, rough-around-the-edges miner, Frank. When Mark warns Brandon that Frank is gay, it seems this town might finally have something to keep him entertained. But how can he meet Frank without drawing attention to his own sexuality? How can anything possibly happen between them in such rough, tough, and macho surroundings?

Desert Country

“My name’s Brandon. What’s yours?”


Suddenly the class erupted. “Nabaru! Nabaru!”


A boy with a head that looked too big to be supported by such a thin, scrawny body came rushing up to him and took his other hand.


Brandon looked to Jenny for an explanation.


“Nabarumeans something like…:” She began shaking her head slowly as though the motion would shuffle a definition onto her tongue. “…forbidden. Someone from the tribe must have been named Brandon…”


Jenny nudged the boy with the big head gently back in the direction of his chair.


“That’s Daniel. Or Doonga. Anyway, when someone dies, their name becomes nabaruand they aren’t supposed to say it


Jenny shrugged. “Dunno. Anyway, I’ll let you get on with it. What would you like me to do?”


Brandon looked around the room, his mind racing. “I’m not sure. What do you normally do?”


Chapter 3