SHADOWS ACROSS CAPE YORK

<p>Drifting on a timber yardarm following the <strong>shipwreck</strong> of the <em>Pink Pearl</em> in the <strong>Arafura Sea in 1892</strong> had not featured in the plans of the two doctors for their triumphant return to their Australian homeland. </p><p>Cooktown the ultimate destination for Doctor Henry George Carson Baldwin and Doctor Edward Benton floated as an unattainable goalpost on the periphery of their minds.</p><p>Even if they survived the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria landing on the western shores of <strong>Cape York Peninsula</strong> with the <strong>monsoon season</strong> only weeks away did not offer substantial hope for a safe return to civilization.</p><p>With limited knowledge of this country which promised <strong>challenges to their physical and mental strength</strong> the two men had little hope of overcoming the <strong>harsh and unforgiving terrain</strong>. In a country where food and water were often camouflaged they required specialist knowledge if they had any hope of surviving. Knowledge that was held by a people with little reason to trust white men.</p>