The Bay by Di Morrissey

Author:Di Morrissey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

After videoing yet another wedding of a Japanese couple on the lighthouse reserve Eddie wandered over to Tina’s office to take up her invitation for ‘a cuppa’.

‘Another session of creative shooting?’ Tina asked as he entered.

‘Don’t knock it,’ Eddie said. ‘Bread and butter stuff, and it helps kick along the town’s tourism business. At least it’s better than doing a wedding on top of Mount Hazard at dawn. Did that once, and don’t want to repeat the experience.’

‘Milk and one if I remember.’

‘Ta. Have you brought over any of the old things from the lighthouse yet?’

‘Knew you’d ask. Over there.’ She pointed to two large cardboard boxes of papers, books and folders. ‘I’ve already given in to temptation and spent a few hours browsing, and it’s fascinating. I’m starting to make an archival index on the computer.’

Eddie sipped his tea and glanced at Tina, then walked over to the boxes. ‘Some pretty dry stuff amongst all this. You prepared to wade through it all?’

‘History was my favourite subject at school and uni,’ she said. ‘For a while I contemplated becoming a history teacher.’

‘Can’t imagine you confined to a classroom,’ said Eddie. ‘You show me what to put down and I’ll add to the archive as I go through the boxes. How about that?’

She quickly brought up the file on her computer and they sat together as she explained the system. Then she pointed to a desk in the corner of the room. ‘That can be your research centre,’ she declared. ‘No one is using it. And when you’ve finished, you can buy me a drink.’

Eddie was soon totally absorbed in the old diaries, journals, ships’ logs and notes kept by the lighthouse keepers. He found anecdotes and records of events that were straight out of the pages of a boys’ own adventure book or a swashbuckling movie. They were so interesting he kept reading extracts to Tina until she interrupted.

‘Rule number one. Reading aloud only permitted for major discoveries, or sexy bits. I’ve got work to do, you know.’

‘Okay. But what an amazing lively town Beacon Bay must have been in the old days. Full of a lot of hard-drinking working men, from the sound of it.’

‘Some of the older women of the town have told me The Bay was not the place for refined young ladies. It was considered a bit down at heel and working class. It was a place for slumming, before it became a place for sunning.’

‘Very nicely put.’

‘Flattery will get you anything,’ she said, and returned to her paperwork.

Eddie picked up a new file, forcing himself to concentrate. The variety of information was at once enlightening and confusing; so many diverse impressions, so many interesting stories. Everything he read gave him fresh ideas for his developing documentary. He became so engrossed that he didn’t notice Tina leave to make her final patrol of the day. When she came back he still had his head down, carefully scanning old black and white photographs.

‘These are great photos, if you like slaughterhouses.

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