Chapter 27: Relocation

Everything went smoother than I had expected. The closing was painless as the total came to less than Allianz had paid out. It turned out that Rachel had an acquaintance who worked at a “vintage clothing” shop in a mall on Castlereagh. Rachel escorted a “buyer” to Pennant Hills, where she combed through the closets and drawers and emerged with an SUV-full of clothing, coats, bags and footwear and gave Rachel a sizeable cheque. She expressed interest in the jewelry, but that (Rachel reported) would be in the future.

Winnie and I had gone over the house and she put neon-green stickers on the furniture she thought should be retained/moved. That included the dining set and my desk, chair, filing cabinets (I’d forgotten to list both the two-drawer and the four-drawer); the largest and a small chest; and assorted small tables and lighting fixtures.

I phoned a moving company and told them that everything with a sticker plus all of the books, pictures, kitchenware, and plates, glasses etc. were to be packed and to go to Goulburn in mid-November.

Patrick told me the agent had priced the place at $2 million, and thought he could get over $1.7. I knew he had shown it several times, as I received calls as to whether the “window treatments” would be included.

Winnie found me a cabinet-maker who seemed to understand what I wanted in my study and had no problem with a wall of bookshelving in both the bedroom and in the lounge area. And she and Rachel had one wall of each of the main areas painted: one pale peach, one a light blue-green and the study a lilac.

I had a fine lunch with Nadine. She was yearning to go back to being my aide and director of education. I said she could tell folks that I’d be back in January. I also told her that my new abode was going to be within walking distance of the Museum. We also spoke about my thoughts on displays and exhibits, especially about rivers.

Towards the end of November I spent an entire weekend organizing books in the bedroom – that seemed the easiest: Australian fiction, sci-fi, mysteries were the main genres and each was in rough chronological order. Then I realized that I’d forgotten the Bush Poets, and moved things so that they had a shelf adjacent to the fiction. (The non-fiction, Australian geography, ethnology, exploration, history all went into my study -- eventually my office things would move, too. Or I’d just sell them or throw them out.)

I found there were a Thai, a Malaysian and nearly a dozen Chinese restaurants – as well as pizza and Greek places nearby, as well as the myriad places near Central Station. I’d have to be careful or I’d become rotund – and poor, dining out was not cheap!

(The next week, the house was sold – I didn’t get $2 million, but it was only $100,000 less, and they took the “window treatments,” too! Of course, after agent commissions and legal fees, it was $1,750,000 and I’d have to pay tax on that, too. But it more than replaced my flat and furnishings.)

I realized that Anthony Powell had been right: Books do furnish a room. I felt much better with the familiar spines nearby. I wasn’t sure where I wanted the art. I’d have to see just how the furniture “sat” before I could decide. The Nolan and the very large Eunice Napanangka Jack each needed space. And needed to be kept out of direct light. The Freddie Timms was large, too. But it would go in the bedroom.

Once the house was sold and everything I wanted had been moved, I got a dealer to walk through. He took some stuff (leaving a cheque) and I had the movers pack the residue and bestowed it upon the Red Cross in exchange for a large charitable donation.

Rachel came to look everything over. “No TV?”

“I’ve never gotten the habit.”

“No CD player?”

“I may get something really upscale, but I miss vinyl. I know it’s back in fashion, but...”

“You could get a good LED screen and a DVD player with hi-fi speakers and watch symphony, ballet and opera performances. You wouldn’t even need an external connexion.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“Let us get it for you as a house-warming gift.”

“Let me think it over.”

One morning at the very end of November Patrick called. “Sarah’s back!”

“How is she?”

“She seems fine. So’s Henry. They appear to have gotten civilly married, too. As she’d rented the flat for a year, they put everything into it as a storage place. I told them that you’d sold the house and were temporarily at the Marriott. I didn’t go into details, but said you’d be moving before Christmas.”

“And Henry’s got a job in Adelaide?”

“Right. I offered to help them get someone to move stuff.”

“Do they have a place?”

“No. But Sarah’s still got a lot of dosh in the bank. I suggested they fly down, find a decent place, lease it, fly back, and have their stuff moved.”

“Sounds reasonable. He’s going to be at the South Australian Museum?”

“Yes. A three-year appointment.”

The South Australian Museum is responsible for the largest and most comprehensive collection of Australian Aboriginal ethnographic material in the world. We are committed to a process of making these items accessible to Aboriginal communities across Australia, and also have a charter to interpret the collections to a broader Australian and international public, in partnership with Aboriginal people.

Our World Cultures collection encompasses ethnographic items from the Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Our Papua New Guinea and Pacific cultures collections are particularly strong.

“Will they call me?”

“I’m sure of it. Sarah is very, very labile. I don’t know whether it’s getting back, having been married, mum’s death, or just change in general. But she was all over the emotional map when we spoke.”

“Sigh.”

“Exactly.”

“And Henry?”

“He seems content. His generally placid self. He’s glad to have his degree behind him and is looking forward to Adelaide. He seemed to appreciate my suggestion about flying down. It will take care of things.”

“My guess is that nest establishment in Adelaide will give Sarah time to settle in to her new status, set a balance and possibly go back to an educational program she’ll finish. Adelaide has a School of Animal Science.”

“I hadn’t realized, but I’m not surprised.”

The Bachelor of Science (Animal Science) program at Adelaide has a broad range of animal science courses that cover wildlife, livestock and companion animal species. Employment opportunities exist as animal science professionals in government agencies, livestock and agricultural management, livestock production and nutrition, private companies, vertebrate pest management, wildlife conservation, zoos and animal welfare organizations.

“I’ve got to go. I’m meeting Sandra at the MCA.”

“Aha!”

“She wants to show me Gordon Bennet’s ‘Number Nine’.”

“Oh. You’ll like it. It’s quite different from the Bennetts in Queensland. It’s very like the op art of Bridget Riley or Frank Stella.”