I have a visitor!

Some years ago (not that anyone is counting) I 'met' Kay Crabbe via an international children's books website. It took many more years of emailing before we met in person. We've stayed in touch and it's lovely to be able to share in the release of her first novel, 'The Pearl-shell Diver', published by Allen & Unwin and 'Out Now'. 

The cover is enticing, the joyous leap into the water tempered by the presence of a sailing boat and an underwater diver. 

I asked Kay some questions about how she came to write 'The Pearl-shell Diver', which is set in the Torres Strait over 100 years ago.

 

1. Why did you choose this location, this era, for your novel?

Firstly the history. Many people know little about the Torres Strait Islands, or the economic benefits the Strait delivered to Australia in the exporting of pearl-shell. Harvesting the shell (mother-of-pearl) led to the exploitation of indigenous groups, including young children. It was a story I had to tell.

Secondly, the plea from indigenous children. Where are the stories about us?

I heard this question constantly in the school where I worked. Students from indigenous communities including the Torres Strait Islands, found it difficult to relate to books showing white children living in busy cites or on farms. The lifestyle was foreign to them and often turned them off reading. I didn’t forget their plea.

2. Why do you think it is important that there are stories from the Torres Strait represented in our literature for young people?

Society in general know little about Torres Strait culture. The Islanders are a minority group with different customs and identity to the Aborigines of mainland Australia. As part of our nation their unique history should be passed on, especially to children. The Pearl-shell Diver is a factual resource for teaching young ones.

3. What was the most difficult part of creating this adventure?

Writing complex history in uncomplicated terms for children, keeping it simple while staying true to fact and developing a gripping adventure. Research material from a century ago is sparse, conflicting, and recorded by white men. This was a cruel period, I had to weigh-up how much to tell 9-13 year olds, and how to show all sides of an issue – black, white, Asian and Filipino. Also show clearly the friendship and fun within a clan structure and outside.

4. Who is your favourite character apart from Sario and why?

I have a soft spot for Wesley, the boy from Cape York who tells us how he sees the world with humour and honesty: ‘We all bruddas. We all bleed.’

5. Most of Australia's population lives in urban settings. How do you make sure that they understand Sario's world?

Dialogue was restricted due to the language of that time, an island-creole is spoken more widely today. Readers say they are absorbed into Sario’s setting through the interweaving of daily chores, clan networks, and the varying attitudes of characters from different backgrounds.

6. Is there still a pearling or pearl-shell industry in the Torres Strait? How has interaction with non-islanders impacted on village culture?

Pearling sheds closed in the 1950s. The book includes a history timeline up to this period. Pearl farming continued on a small scale. Torres Strait has a multicultural mix of people and customs due to inter-marriage and acceptance of other nationalities who arrived on the islands, particularly in those pearling years.

7. What's next?

Works are in progress, but readers keep asking, ‘What happens next to these characters?’ Sario attracts a great deal of reader empathy, as does his gentle caring sister, Leilani. Stay tuned.  

Read reviews of The Pearl-shell Diver at - www.kaycrabbe.com