Offthebookshelf.com
Paul Freeman
I was born in New Zealand in the southern city of Christchurch; I am now a resident of Tropical North Queensland in Australia.
The environment in which I live, is a quiet tropical town on the edge of the Coral Sea, and is ideal for stimulating ones perceptions. It creates an open mind to thoughts, ideas and characters. It is like being in a big bowl of warm water floating on your back, it is tranquil, for the mind and soul, one is able to drift in and out, conjuring up situations and characters, be they pleasant or disturbing.
I have has a number of short stories published in anthologies and had a column ‘Coconut Wireless’ in a local newspaper.
All Books By This Author:
- Foxtail
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In 1983 at Cape Melville on Cape York Peninsula in Northern Australia, a palm was found. It was the only place on earth it grew and was not even known to botanists .
They named it Wodyetia Bifurcata, it was the only plant in the genus and was named in honour of Wodyeti, an Australian aboriginal bushman, who was the last male in his line. It was commonly called Foxtail, after its bushy leaves which resembled a fox’s tail
Cape Melville National park was closed to the public, in an attempt to protect the palm. The effect was the opposite of what the Government expected. The palm seed became a desirable item; groups and individuals illegally went into the park to harvest the seeds, one tree could produce up to one thousand, each fetching up to five dollars each.
This is a story of murder, helicopters downed, trawlers sunk and kidnappings, all in the name of profit, from the seeds of a protected palm, the Foxtail. A virtual war broke out between competing gangs on land and sea, anarchy reined.
Miles Stannard was a successful builder, having fallen on hard times due to an economic downturn. He is unwittingly enticed by his accountant into using the funds he has left, to finance a very suspect group, to harvest the Foxtail seeds.
It was only some two years before it was realised the futility of the restrictions, so they were lifted and peace returned.
Today Foxtail palms are seen growing in all the tropical areas of Northern Queensland, and many other parts of the world, including Texas and Florida, their value has diminished, but the grandeur of the palm remains for all to see.- Genres: Historical Fiction
