The Plantation - Di Morrissey [147]
‘Why was that?’ asked Julie. ‘Perhaps before you tell us that, what was it like in Malaya before the war? Mum has told me what Gran told her, but it would be nice to hear what you thought about it.’
‘In Malaya before the war, life was certainly glamorous and social. Margaret was in with a cosmopolitan crowd. She had lots of servants. Her way of life was quite different from our life in Brisbane. In a way, I think she wanted me to visit her so that she could show off to me. I wanted to travel, climb mountains, see the pyramids but mostly I wanted to see the Far East, so I was pleased to be asked. And she and Roland certainly showed me a good time.’
‘We have a photo of you at the races with my mother,’ said Caroline.
‘Oh, yes, Margaret loved the races. She and Roland took me to race day in Penang. That was a wonderful day, I’ll never forget it. All of Malaya, at that time, seemed to be full of eligible bachelors, civil servants, planters and assistant managers out from the UK,’ said Bette with a smile. ‘I became very friendly with one of Roland’s chums, Gilbert Mason. We had some great times together. He was a very nice man.’ She looked away for a moment and then asked Julie, ‘Did you enjoy your time in Malaysia?’
‘I did. It’s a very romantic place. And it still seems wild in parts.’
‘I agree, it is romantic,’ said Bette. ‘And I loved the jungle. I went upriver once with Margaret, Roland and Gilbert. It was very beautiful and wild. Roland’s father, Eugene, was a game hunter so I heard his stories and saw his trophies. Are they still on the walls of the big house? Rubber was fetching a good price just before the war and they lived well then. Of course no one ever thought the war would touch Malaya, except Roland.’
‘So you were caught by surprise when the Japanese came down the peninsula?’ asked Caroline.
‘There was a lot of talk in those final months about the war, but the plantation seemed so far away from every thing. I remember when the Japanese attacked the north of Malaya in early December. We were all shattered. A family arrived from the north, planter acquaintances of Roland’s,’ said Bette, now looking out the French doors.
Julie and Caroline knew she wasn’t seeing her pretty patio but another place in another time.
‘They were quite traumatised and had fled for their lives with what they could throw in the car. That galvanised Roland into action. He insisted that his father, Margaret and I, and little Philip leave for the safety of Australia straight away. I remember that Eugene refused to leave. Of course the Japanese killed him when they reached Utopia. It was so sad and so brutal. Anyway, Eugene’s driver, Hamid, was to take us to Singapore, where we were to meet Gilbert who was there looking after his employer’s warehouses. He would make sure that we got onto a ship as quickly as possible.’
‘Weren’t some of the passenger ships sunk?’ asked Caroline.
‘Yes,’ said Bette. ‘But we didn’t know about that then. Anyway, there were so many rumours flying around.’ She took a sip of tea. ‘We had planned to leave Utopia first thing in the morning, but after hearing what had happened to the planter family, my sister was adamant that she should pack up as many valuables to take as she could.’
‘You mean jewellery? Personal things?’ asked Julie.
‘Roland and I persuaded her to bury some of her valuable things. She took all the cash they could round up and all her and Philip’s clothes. I took all of mine, but I didn’t have much since I was only visiting. You have no idea what Margaret crammed into the car, which was so full there was scarcely room for us all. I remember that she even had hat boxes. Philip and I were perched on top of bags in the back seat of the Oldsmobile when we finally set off later that day.’
‘I suppose the trip was pretty frightening. I read Roland’s account of his drive,’ said Julie.
‘Did you read that? How very interesting. Yes, it was very frightening. The roads were crowded