On a recent trip to my native WA I caught up with a learned friend John who gifted me this book Larrimah. He gave it to me with a slightly maniacal look on his face as if he was handing me something discovered in an ancient crypt.
John had lived in the NT for many years and I think the reason he was so excited was that I was going to read something special that depicted the real NT that most Australians never get to see.
If that was the case he wasn’t wrong. This story gripped me from start to finish and it’s entirely because of the writing by experienced journalists Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson.
There are a couple of documentaries about Larrimah that have achieved enormous notoriety around the world. The first is from the ABC called A Dog Act and won numerous awards.
And the second is from HBO and I think is on Netflix, called Last Stop Larrimah.
The story is a simple one. In a town of twelve people, one goes missing inexplicably. The town of Larrimah is in the middle of nowhere and the other eleven who barely speak to each other, know nothing.
The missing man, Paddy Moriarty, a colourful experienced bushman in his 70’s has literally deserted his house in the night but left behind his valuables including his beloved hat. The only other thing missing is his dog.
The police can’t find any incriminating evidence to charge anyone and frankly have no clue as to what happened to him. Everyone in the town is just as confused.
The characters in Larrimah are so unique that half way through the book when it gets to the inquest, I had to watch A Dog Act on Youtube. You seriously couldn’t have made them up if you tried.
The second half of the book is written over a few more years where Caroline and Kylie continue to visit the NT and North Qld in an attempt to uncover more information about the mysterious Paddy.
On the back of the book, renowned author and master researcher himself Gideon Haigh describes the book as “a locked room mystery in the never-never”.
It’s an apt description because not only have the authors given us such extensive research into the disappearance that is easy to understand, but they have provided beautiful descriptions of the outback that jump off the page.
Faced with all kinds of challenges such as the heat, the distances travelled, having no phone coverage and people reneging on promised meetings, the authors are unperturbed. Their positive nature and dry sense of humour carries the story throughout the book.
So what happened to Paddy? Who knows. My personal belief is that someone from his eclectic past has caught up with him which is why there wasn’t a struggle. Maybe held at gunpoint, driven to a remote spot and left for the pigs and dingoes to munch on.
Regardless, this book has all the hallmarks of an Australian classic. John was right. I could taste the red dirt and XXXX Gold from start to finish!
Willow something different as always. But great entertainment. Parts of Australia that people have never been exposed to and do not understand. Having lived in Port Headland around 1970 for a couple of years really exposed you to this kind of culture and existence. Normal people living in suburbia would just not get it. Thank you for again sharing something that is for some a little left field. But needs to be seen by more so called normal people to understand how other people live in their own country.
Thanks heaps Rod. Yes it is effectively another world! No need for a passport 🙂