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* Contents derived from the South Yarra,South Yarra - Glen Iris area,Melbourne - Inner South,Melbourne,Victoria,:Currey O'Neil,1983 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Following a similar thread to Henry Lawson's "The Drover's Wife" (and many believe, a direct response to it), "The Chosen Vessel" follows a young mother left alone in her outback hut who becomes growingly concerned for her own safety following the arrival of a menacing swagmen. The story also follows for a short time a man riding in to town to place his vote and his struggles with religious guilt.
Tom Denison is sent to investigate a situation on an unnamed island in the Southwest Pacific where a trader is alleged to have shot an Islander. When Denison and the taciturn ship's captain arrive on the island they discover the trouble is over a girl the trader brought to the island. The captain buys the girl, intending to make a profit on her.
An injured sailor is put ashore on an isolated island to be tended by a German doctor. The doctor declares he has given up medicine to study the mating behaviour of green turtles. The sailor is terrified when he learns what the doctor is really doing.
A family is awakened by many cats surrounding their house. On further investigation they find the dead body of an enormous cat, around which the others have gathered to mourn.
