Australia

My grandfather, King George, he take me walkabout.

Teach me black fella way.

Grandfather teach me most important lesson of all.

Tell 'em story.

That day l down the billabong,

King George, he teach me how to catch 'em fish using magic song.

See, I not bIack feIIa. l not white fella, either.

Them white feIIas caII me mix bIood.

Half-caste.

Creamy.

l belong no one.

That day l see 'em, them white fellas,

they were pushing them cheeky bulls across the river onto Carney land.

Make yourself invisible

King George angry at them white fellas.

King George say them white fella bad spirit.

Must be taken from this land.

Coppers.

Them coppers come take me away!

They want to put me on that Mission lsland.

Make me into a white fella.

But they're not coppers.

Whoa, girl, whoa, whoa.

And that first time I saw her, that Missus Boss.

The strangest woman l ever seen!

She's not from this land.

This land my people got many names for.

But white fellas call it...

Australia.

But this story not begin that day.

This story begin a little while ago in a land far, far away.

That land called England.

My husband must sell Faraway Downs.

But the offer from this cattle king, Mr. Carney,

is only one-sixth of what it was once worth.

We need the money, Ramsden!

But Maitland is just about to muster the fats.

-What? -Gather the big cows ready for market.

Ramsden, you and l both know there is only one reason

my husband has spent so much time down under.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with cows.

At least not of the animal variety.

Lady Ashley, l do think that's a bit harsh.

Oh, Ramsden, drink your tea.

Lady Ashley! What do you intend to do?

l intend to travel to this cattle station,

sell it and bring Maitland home myself!

But, Lady Ashley, it's Australia!

Darling Sarah, l implore you, do not travel.

Outbreak of war imminent. Stop.

Maitland, your concern regarding war duly noted. Stop.

Have plan concerning cattle. Sale to King Carney not necessary.

Need more time. Stop.

Nonsense. Stop.

Expect contract for sale of station to be drawn by time of my arrival. Stop.

Cannot meet you. Stop. Am mustering. Stop.

Have sent trusted man. Stop. The Drover. Stop.

The Drover?

Drover, you boong lover.

Any of you other Carney boys wanna have a go?

Come on, fellas. Don't let fear stand in your way.

l'll have you!

-Hey! -Hey! No boongs in here!

He's not in the pub, lvan.

Go on. Run after your boong friend,

'cause as far as this town's concerned, you are a black.

You work with them, you eat with them and you sleep with them.

Crikey.

Boss, plane coming.

Go down to the wharf.

When you see her, wave your hat.

Let it go!

Go down to the wharf!

Don't forget, we need the money.

What are you waiting for, an invitation?

l hate coming to town.

Lady Sarah Ashley.

A genuine aristocrat living right here in Darwin.

Administrator, we're at war!

As the officer in charge of livestock purchases for the armed forces...

She's quite a looker.

l fail to see what Lady Sarah Ashley

has to do with Carney's stranglehold on the beef industry.

Her husband, Lord Ashley, claims he's mustering fats at Faraway Downs.

Faraway Downs?

Faraway Downs, the only cattle station in the whole of the north

not owned by Leslie King Carney.

Lord Maitland Ashley is mustering on Faraway Downs?

Yeah, yeah.

lsn't quite what we had in mind, is it, Neil?

No, yeah.

And now his missus has arrived on the flying boat.

Doesn't look like they're gonna sell Faraway Downs to me, Neil.

She won't last.

A delicate English rose withers in the outback, yeah. You with me?

lf you must know, l am to be met by my husband's trusted man, a Mr. Drover!

The bloody Drover?

Hey, hey! Hey!

Bring it! Yes.

Move it! Terrible!

Look at my wife and daughter down there giving her the royal welcome.

My fiancé, Neil Fletcher, manages Faraway Downs.

Good day.

A bit pale.

Not a bad-looking sheila, but what's the story on the luggage?

Wants to settle down in the outback, does she?

lf she stays and Lord Ashley manages

to get his cattle down onto that wharf there,

then we've got a competitor for the Army contract, Neil.

Carney's control of every cattle station in the north

jeopardizes the supply of beef to our troops.

But it's a poor war that doesn't make a decent patriot rich,

so, l don't want a single beast from Faraway Downs

to set a hoof on that wharf.

You with me, Neil?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nature'll take its course.

My glasses!

What about the missus?

l've arranged for someone special to give her the old scenic route.

Give her a taste of the outback.

Go!

-Who's taking her? -The Drover.

The Drover?

Enjoy the ride, sweetheart.

l'm Sarah Ashley.

My husband, Lord Ashley,

has sent a trusted man to collect me. A Mr. Drover.

lt seems as if he has been waylaid.

No women. Ladies' lounge next door.

The hen parlor's thataway, my dear.

No wonder your establishment is empty.

Good day.

You can take it!

There, there, there. There, you drongo.

Oh! No, no! My bags! Not my...

Oh, no, no!

Welcome to Australia.

Drover take Missus Boss to Faraway Downs

in a great big fancy truck!

He even let her sit in his special seat.

She even drinks Drover's own water bottle.

That's it, that's it.

They get along like a burning house.

Now, Magarri, he sit 'em up top.

And Magarri's cousin, Goolajbaloong, he come along for the ride.

They make 'em friends right away.

Water!

That's it. Stay, Jedda, stay. Stay.

"Trusted man." Typical of my husband.

Actually, your husband's a pretty good bloke.

Yes, well, he certainly knows how to choose his employees.

-Employee? -No wonder the place is bankrupt!

Lady, l'm not an employee.

Really? So you're just driving me all the way out to Faraway Downs

as a personal favor to my husband, are you?

-No. -Him being such a good bloke and all?

l'm driving you out there because he promised me

a drove of 1 ,500 head of cattle.

What, to buy?

No, you goose, to drove. l'm a drover, right?

l move the cattle from A to B, all right? l work on commission.

-No man hires me, no man fires me. -That's...

Everything l own l can fit in my saddlebag,

which is the way l like it.

Yes, well, it's all very outback adventure, isn't it?

l'm not saying it's for everyone.

No. Definitely not for everyone.

Most people like to own things. You know, land, luggage, other people.

Makes them feel secure.

But all that can be taken away.

And in the end, the only thing you really own is your story.

Just trying to live a good one.

Yes, yes, an adventure story. You sound just like my husband.

-Oh, they're kangaroos! -Big Reds.

Lovely. Beautiful.

-Yeah, beautiful. -l've never seen a kangaroo.

-Beautiful, jumping. -They're jumping.

Oh, it's beautiful.

Look at them jumping!

Mr. Drover!

-Hey, Miss Boss! -Tucker, Missus Boss?

-Mr. Drover. -Yeah?

There's only one tent.

-That's right. -For the four of us?

Well, you know, it gets pretty chilly here at night.

We like to bunk up together, eh, Magarri? Goolaj? Huh?

Nice and close, you know.

-Freezing! -Yeah!

Oh, come on, Lady Ashley. We're just having a laugh.

Never really slept in a tent in our lives. We just bunk around the fire, see?

-See, we're not really used to... -A woman?

l suppose you think l should be back in Darwin

at the church fete, or the ladies'... Whatever you call it.

Well, l will have you know that l am as capable as any man.

Guests. We're not used to guests. That's what l was about to say.

But now you mention it, l happen to quite like the women of the outback.

But they're mostly native women.

Aboriginal women. They're very easy to...

To get along with, if you try.

Hup now, hup now! Go!