It was 1964, long before the Opera House adorned the landscape of Sydney.  The ferry from Manley was taking its passengers to the city harbour.   It was thronged with people heading to work or  tourists leaning out to photograph the spectacular views.  Many were just waiting patiently to get to their destinations, no longer overawed by the scenery.

She sat beside two other girls who had become her friends.  She was a striking girl with sallow skin and high cheekbones.  Her auburn hair, shaped neatly at the neck, was back-combed on top which added to her height.  She was tall, but her slimness and hairstyle made her look even taller.  She wore a blue suit with a short fitted jacket and three-quarter length sleeves. Her white handbag matched her pointed low heeled shoes.  She could have been dressed for a job interview.

The shadows under her eyes looked darker than usual.  The girls talked together as the ferry made its way towards the harbour.  Waves splashed up against the sides and the engine hummed gently as it neared its destination.  Other ferries from different parts of the suburbs of Sydney were already lined up against the quays, their passengers making their way in all directions.  It was going to be another scorcher.

She was more subdued than usual.  Her thoughts were on the boy she had come to Australia to marry.  He was to meet her off the plane a month earlier but hadn’t shown up.  Then she received a phone call asking her to meet him.  She was trying to be her usual cheerful self, but part of her was somewhere else, and her smile never quite reached her eyes.  She had a firm grip on her handbag, along with the piece of paper with the directions he had given her.  She glanced towards the quays as the ferry made its way to its moorings.

It wasn’t a journey she wanted to take on her own.  She must have had her reasons.

Josephine Nolan