The Exiles

On board a ship headed for Van Diemen’s Land (modern-day Tasmania) and the Franklins, Mathinna waves goodbye to her stepfather through her tears. The captain, a former British convict who has served his time, tries to comfort her, but she is unaccustomed to sea life and promptly throws up. The only things from home that she is allowed to bring with her are the shell necklaces her mother made for her and her pet possum, Waluka, which she has raised from a baby.

The captain shows her a map of their journey—it will take 10 days to reach Hobart Town, but she does not recognize any of the names on the map. The days go by, and Mathinna watches the captain closely as he goes about his duties. When he reveals that he had originally been sent to Australia as a convict, he remarks that she would never believe “what people do to each other” (83). For Mathinna, who has been “torn from her family and everyone she knew at the whim of a lady in satin slippers” (83), this idea is not hard to comprehend.

They finally arrive at Hobart Town, and Mathinna packs her items in her bag and puts her shoes on—uncomfortable as they are for her normally barefooted feet. She does not understand what she sees at the landing—activities, smells, and sounds that all seem foreign to her. The captain hands her over to two men who will take her to the Franklins. As she rides in the carriage, she feels that “no one in this strange place look[s] like her” (86).

The carriage arrives at Government House, the Franklin’s home, and the housekeeper greets Mathinna with distaste—she is dirty and unpresentable. Mrs. Crain, the housekeeper, orders her into a bath immediately. Sarah, a young housemaid, assists Mathinna and reveals that home is a pretty nice place to live. Sarah is a convict, allowed to work at Government House due to her good behavior and low criminal activity. She dresses Mathinna in an old dress that once belonged to Eleanor, the Franklin’s daughter.

Sarah takes Mathinna to the kitchen to eat dinner, where Mrs. Wilson, the cook, forces her to eat cold fish and gelatin before meeting with Lady Jane. When Sarah takes Mathinna up to her new room, Mathinna is shocked to see that the windows have been covered with wide wooden planks, obscuring her view of the outside. Sarah reveals that the window coverings are by order of Lady Jane, who thinks that Mathinna will be less homesick if she can’t see outside.

They then move to the parlor where Lady Jane is waiting, a room covered in artifacts of Australian culture—human skulls, stuffed animals, and lifelike recreations of native life. Mathinna notices a spear, “decorated with a distinctive pattern of ochre and red” (92), and recognizes it as her father Towterer’s. Lady Jane promises to donate all the artifacts to the museum one day. Waluka’s presence in Mathinna’s basket surprises her, but she allows Mathinna to keep him. However, she is most pleased to see the three shell necklaces made by Mathinna’s mother and asks to have them. Though Mathinna objects, Lady Jane believes they will be a “worthy addition to [her] collection” (94) and takes them anyway.

As Mathinna lies in bed that night petting Waluka, she cries as she thinks of her mother’s necklaces. She misses her mother, her stepfather, and all of the life she once lived on Flinders Island. She closes her eyes and tries to live vicariously through her memories.