Sacred Places

Sacred Places tells the story of Paul, a young boy of mixed indigenous blood, who is chosen by the remaining elders of his tribe to learn their language, stories of the dream-time and to protect and preserve their sacred sites.. . Paul spends all his school and university holidays learning the ways of his people and his relationship with one of the elders; N’gardi and his wife, Mary, are central to the early story. After graduation, Paul goes on to be a Northern Territory Park ranger, responsible for the country of his people.. . Paul’s story culminates in his conflict with Soni Jadara. Soni’s family was slaughtered by the Dutch during their occupation of Indonesia. Soni becomes a senior Indonesian army officer and participates in the murder of an English journalist following the slaughter of the Balibo Five when Indonesia invades East Timor.. . Soni and his beautiful wife, Karina, become part-owners of a cattle property that adjoins Paul’s territory in the Northern Territory. His property contains a bauxite mining tenement and his plans to build a railway through Paul’s country to ship ore to the coast lead to an inevitable clash.