Free A Distant Dream by Vivienne Dockerty Page A

walk around the deck and the biscuits and milk that were served to his scholars that attracted them?
    â€œWell, I think that there should be a cleaning rota amongst the women passengers” said Alice. With her husband being the ship’s doctor, she was aware that a regular scrubbing of the steerage area, instead of when one or two sailors could be spared, wouldn’t go amiss. “Many hands make light work and I’m quite willing to oversee a group of women to see that things are properly done.”
    â€œI can sew” said Margaret Trowbridge. “I’m sure we all can and have brought a few things with us that can be used for mending tears or stitching hems.”
    â€œMy talent is floristry” said Lily Dickinson. “I don’t think there will be much call for floristry on board.”
    â€œI can crochet” said Bessie. “I have brought some crochet hooks and a few skeins of wool.”
    â€œI am sure you could all contribute to their welfare” Lady Harriet boomed. “Even you Mrs. Dickinson. I am sure you could help Mrs. Trowbridge to organise a sewing group. Splendid, splendid, we’ll make a start after we’ve lifted anchor. Now I wonder what we can think up for the men to keep them occupied?”
    *
    By the time the ship had tied up at the docks in Cape Town, there was a happier atmosphere aboard the
Umpherston.
They were halfway through the voyage and to celebrate, the captain had allowed all passengers on deck to watch as the ship steered across Table Bay to a berth at the busy wharf.
    Poor, crudely built shanties sat cheek by jowl with the granary stores and warehouses; black skinned workers loaded bales of wool, crates of fruit and tons of grain onto the many sailing ships that had come from the four corners of the world.
    Farmers, their heads covered from the sun with floppy hats, were on their way to market, or heading back to their land in the far flung areas of the Transvaal. They drove laden covered carts pulled by teams of bullocks; whilst locals took advantage of the many travellers, selling worthless
gewgaws
as souvenirs. In the distance, in the taverns of the fast growing town beneath the shade of the Table Mountain, British and Afrikaner masters did financial deals on land and property.
    This time, the cabin folk had been given rand in exchange for their shillings and were allowed to troop down the gangplank one by one, but as Johnny said to the men who stood beside him, who were muttering that they weren’t allowed to go ashore again:
    â€œWe ain’t got a feckin’ shillin’ to spend between us anyway!”
    *
    Whilst the loaded ship waited out in the Indian Ocean for favourable winds to hasten their voyage along the last leg of their journey, a woman gave birth behind the curtained area in the female quarters which served as the vessel’s hospital and two children went down with a bad dose of “the trots.” Lady Harriet swung into action; there was no way that sickness or infection was going to cause an epidemic on a Her Majesty’s commissioned ship. Just imagine what people would say if they got to hear that the
Umpherston
, carrying carefully selected workers to populate the free colony of Adelaide, had been stricken with an onset of dysentery or a child had died because of it. It was enough to make her rally her cabin dwelling troops.
    Bessie, who was in charge of Lysol and scrubbing brushes, scurried down to steerage to oversee the team of willing females who had already begun their quest for cleanliness, whilst all the men were banned to the decks. The two sick children were isolated behind the ‘hospital’ curtain in the capable hands of Alice Foley and the new mother and child were sent to rest in one of the cabins above.
    Margaret Trowbridge and Lily Dickinson were given the job of distributing the contents of the many sacks of fruit. Bananas, oranges, pineapples and fat, round melons which had