The Warrumbar by William J. Byrne

At the heart of Byrne’s novel is a moral dilemma. If you are witness to something really bad, something wrong, what do you do if you know that the consequences of reporting it will have serious repercussions for yourself and your family? Robbie Brennan is a ‘black kid’, he’s experienced the harshness of a boys’ home, and he knows that if he tells what he saw, he’s not likely to be believed. He’ll probably be sent away again, and his mother would lose her job, because the person he accuses carries all the power and credibility in the community. His rational mind tells him to stay silent, stay safe, but his conscience torments him with recurring nightmares. He wants to do the right thing.

The setting is a country town in the 1960s, the Warrumbar is the river where the tragic incident occurs. Robbie’s family are poor, his Aboriginal mother grew up on a Mission, his father is a heavy drinker with unpredictable moods and discipline is heavy-handed when he is angry. Despite this Robbie loves his father and seeks to earn his affection and respect.

Byrne presents the wide disparity between the white townspeople and the Aboriginal people living on the fringe. Racist attitudes are entrenched. Life is a struggle for Robbie’s family, with lots of physical hard work, but it is a loving family and the bonds are strong. Robbie’s childhood is free and happy, hanging out with his mate Leon, rabbiting and catching yabbies. He meets the elderly Moses, a returned Aboriginal soldier, accepted in his regiment but rejected on his return home. Robbie loves to hear his stories and learns from him the importance of making peace with your past and maintaining personal integrity.

Byrne has created a quiet and thoughtful novel, exploring the tentativeness of the relationship between the boy and his father, and between the boy and the elderly relative. In its expose of racism the tone is not one of anger and blame, but of working towards better understanding. The moral dilemma is a powerful one and is worked through in a way that has some surprises, with an unpredictable but probably very realistic conclusion. This is a debut novel from William J Byrne; here’s hoping there will be more.

Themes: Guilt, Conscience, Trauma, Truth-telling, Racism, Aboriginal history.

Helen Eddy