Richard Fidler

Let's start with two of the central characters in the novel, Mulan Yin and Nita.

Tell me something about them.

Malinian is from saltwater country and he talks a lot about the Barra Garra.

Tell me about that and its meaning and significance to him.

Well, when he's learning the way to be a man in his community, he catches a really big fish that he's really proud of.

How do the adults around him react?

And it's a lesson that, like other lessons he learns in the book, isn't told explicitly, but one he's got to kind of glean from just putting his mind and experience to the test a little.

Makes it a bit tricky for me here as the journalist asking you questions, Melissa.

The mutual obligations and connections in Goori culture between humans and animals and between humans are beautifully drawn and contrasted, sometimes comically, sometimes tragically, with the way of life of these new arrivals.

For instance, there's one night where Mullanyin goes to cross the river, but the Kirilpur canoe that should be there has been stolen.

And he thinks, you know, he can't even leave a canoe by the riverbank anymore because some white fella's just going to nick it.

Nita and Malinian are fictional characters, but in the novel their lives are intertwined with this historical family, the Petrie family, who come from Scotland to Moreton Bay.

How did you first discover the story of Tom Petrie?

How did he understand that?

What kind of connections did he have with local people, local landowners here?

And did Tom Petrie stay a kind of loyal friend to First Nations people over that course of his life?

What did you learn about the kind of place that Brisbane was in the 1850s?

As white settlement was moving north in this period, Aboriginal people had been fighting to defend their lands.

Tell me about Dundalee.

What happened to him in 1855 in the middle of Brisbane?