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‘After Tony’s and my trip to Sarawak, I became intrigued with the orangutans and the Iban. Orangutans are remarkable animals, but the Iban are people I could talk to and I wanted to know more about their way of life. So, thanks to Tom Harrisson, who’d introduced us to Leonard and his village, I returned to Sarawak to spend time in the jungle with them.

‘But when I returned to Kuching, Tom had been blacklisted. He wasn’t allowed re-entry into Sarawak. Apparently a jealous woman colleague had made false allegations about his work. I didn’t believe them, but Tom’s wild behaviour had offended many people, so the charges stuck.

‘Even without him, I was happy to travel upriver with Leonard or Bidui, which was his Iban name, and I stayed with his family in their longhouse. I was also able to observe the orangutans and I realised that the destruction of their habitat would create a perilous situation for them.’

‘Hence the book and the pamphlet you wrote,’ said Caroline.

Bette smiled. ‘There are a lot of people who are trying to raise awareness about the situation now.’

As Bette and Julie chatted on about the Iban and orangutans, Caroline was thoughtful, appearing a little distracted. ‘Bette,’ she said. ‘I’ve learned a lot about the rift between you and my mother and a lot about you and your life in Penang, and the POW camp. But the person I don’t know much about is my father. I still don’t understand why I grew up in Brisbane with my mother while my brother stayed on in Malaya with him.’

Bette took her hand. ‘Roland was a lovely man. Tony had a lot of respect for him. Actually, the last time I saw Roland was at Tony’s funeral. He died from cancer not long afterwards. But he never said an ill word about your mother. Whenever I had asked how Margaret was, all Roland said was that she was spending time in Australia. I think that after the war Margaret never settled back into life at the plantation. But more than that I cannot say.’

‘And you never spoke to Philip after you left Utopia,’ said Julie. ‘I think that’s so sad.’

‘I suppose I could have made contact, but I always thought that if I stayed away, then Philip and Margaret would become closer. I might have written to Philip if Margaret had died, but he was the one who died first. Now, of course, I regret our separation, but it’s all too late.’

Julie looked at her mother and realised that Caroline also had a lot of unanswered questions that went right back to her childhood. She turned to her great aunt. ‘Bette, is there no one you can recall who knew Roland and Margaret and who might be able to shed some light on what happened between them?’

Bette was thoughtful. ‘There could be someone. Give me a minute to think.’

‘I’ll make a fresh pot of tea, shall I?’ said Julie.

Over tea they talked about Brisbane and all of the changes that had occurred there since Bette had left nearly sixty years before, but Julie could see her mother was anxiously watching Bette. Then, in the middle of a conversation about something quite unrelated, Bette’s eyes lit up and she broke into a smile.

‘Bill! Excuse me, Julie. Bill Dickson. Roland had an old army friend he fought with in Malaya. I think Tony knew him as well. He said he met him a couple of times. I wonder if the boys at Utopia would know of him, and whether he’s still alive.’

‘He’d be very old,’ said Caroline doubtfully.

‘Grandfather Roland wrote about him in his war memoir,’ exclaimed Julie. ‘I’ll email Shane and Peter and ask if they know anything.’

‘Thank you so much for having us, Bette,’ said Caroline as she rose to leave.

‘Not at all,’ replied Bette. ‘I can’t tell you how happy you have made me. Knowing that my Australian family are interested in me and care about what has happened to me means more than I can possibly say. My ninetieth birthday will be on me soon and I know that the Tsangs are planning big things. I do hope that you can get back to Cairns to join the festivities. I would love you both to meet my other family.’

Caroline and Julie