The pearl of Tagai Town by Lenora Thaker

Tagai Town is a Torres Strait Islander shanty town much like the old Malay Town area of Cairns. It’s where Pearl grows up with her family, on the outskirts of the fictional white township of Figwood, with her granny, her aunties, and cousins like Curly Anne and Sam Boy. But her heart is secretly captured by Teddy Brooks, the kole or white boy, son of the Figwood bank manager, despite stern warnings from her mother, Ama Rose, to have nothing to do with kole boys. While it seems that Teddy returns her affections, the path of true love never runs smooth, especially love between people from different sides of the track.

This is the era of the 1930s and 40s in small town Queensland. While there have been many Australian historical fiction novels set in war-time this is probably the first time we are presented with the story of a Torres Strait Islander girl, drawn from Thaker’s recollections of the oral stories of her family, of how life was for them in those days. It is a story of great warmth and humour, told with the inclusion of many first language words, from Kala Lagaw Ya, Meriam Mir and Yumplatok, three Islander languages. Although there is a glossary at the end, their meaning is apparent from context, and adds to the authenticity and down-to-earth feeling of Pearl’s family interactions. This is what shines through the novel, the caring and interconnectedness of family. Pearl seeks always to honour her parents’ expectations and diffuse conflict, and she expects the same of Teddy.

Thaker’s novel provides a new perspective on this era in Australia’s history. The Japanese strand in Pearl’s extended family is interned during the war years, Islander women struggle to find work to support their families, and then there is the impact of American black soldiers seeking the sense of family and community, the love of music and dance, that is found with the Islander people.

Pearl navigates all of this, staying true to her family values, yet also finding ways to assert her independence, her own sense of self. It is a thoroughly absorbing story, and a welcome insight into a view of history that has been neglected until now. It’s to be hope that Lenora Thaker, a proud Meriam and Wagedagam woman awarded the Writing NSW Boundless Mentorship in 2021, will be encouraged to go on to write more in this genre.

Themes: Torres Strait Islander, Romance, Community, War, Racism, Historical fiction.

Helen Eddy