KOA

It was rather ironic that the waves of nostalgia crept in when I was doing what I loved most in the world. Sitting out here on my faithful old logger, I turned my head to the far right and could just make out the dozens of well-oiled machines that had begun to pop up all over the headland. These were the mechanical monstrosities that had begun tearing down the centuries old ‘shacks’ that held so much history and many secrets. Within the blink of an eye, the surf shacks that had provided so many occupants over the years with a sense of security and serenity were gone. Lost to developers and mining magnates who were waiting for their approval to be granted which would allow them to drill into our precious ocean for oil and goodness knows what else.

The six plus figure had appeared in my bank account only days ago. A binding contract, straight forward sale that seemed to be done and dusted before I’d reluctantly put pen to paper. Don’t get me wrong, I’d stood my ground and remained firm for two years. I was not budging and was not interested in selling my beloved A-frame timber and fibro home that I had inherited from my grandmother ten years prior. The love that I had poured into Grandma’s home infiltrated every crack and imperfection that immersed this beautiful sanctuary that she had aptly named ‘Koa’, meaning happiness. Yet now, as I gazed longingly at this new breed of development taking place, I felt an ache, a feeling of homesickness for my home, the ocean surrounding it and the impending loss of habitat, marine life and eco-systems that would surely ensue.

Dad had warned me that this precious land had be an item of ‘hot property’ for years. As local, state and federal governments came and went, so did endless applications from companies vying for the chance to develop and explore this headland. “You can’t be that stubborn and refuse to give in love, we’re sitting on a gold mine” he’d state as we propped on my locally acquired jarrah deck, listening to the morning cacophony of wildlife. “It’s not about the money Dad. This is my home. Grandma knew how much I loved it, and she would be counting on me to fight tooth and nail to protect it. She would be horrified to know there had even been conversations about development on the headland. I’m not backing down. They’ll have to bulldoze Koa with me in it. By the way, when are you going to help me rebuild the shed? There are still boxes of Grandma’s in there that we need to go through and sort”. Dad mumbled something about making it a priority after his footy season had wound up. I was secretly pretty impressed and proud that my dad was still playing such a high contact sport at his age.

As I caught my last wave of the day in, I suddenly remembered the boxes of Grandmas that Dad and I had rescued from the shed that I needed to sort through. It was a job I’d been procrastinating doing for years. As the demolition day loomed closer, I felt I owed it to my darling grandmother to sort out her things in her house, whilst it was still standing.

“Hey Jess, how is it out there?” I turned toward a familiar voice. “Charlie T, so great to see you! I haven’t seen you back here since they tore down your place”.

“Nah, too painful for me to go anywhere near it, however when the swell’s turning it on here as it has been the last week, you know you won’t find me surfing anywhere else. How are you going? Any progress on Koa?”

“Money’s in the bank and they’ve given me thirty days to get my things together, pack up my place and get the hell out before they flatten her”.

“Shit Jess, I’m so sorry. I know how hard you fought to keep our places”.

“Yeah well, it’s not over yet, and I won’t go down without a fight. Come over for a drink after your surf if you feel like it, although I understand if it’s too painful”.

“Love to, I’ll see you in a couple of hours”. I watched as Charlie ran down the beach, board safely tucked under his arm, ready to immerse himself amongst his favourite break. Charlie was like a brother to me, we had grown up here together and spent many a day lying on our surfboards discussing the ways of the world. His place had been one of the first to go, and he had been battling with adjusting to city life ever since. However, I knew the ocean’s cleansing mystique would bring the smile back to his face.

“Now that you’re back for a couple of days, I have a favour to ask. Can you please, please, please help me go through Grandma’s things that I found in the old shed? I’ve been putting it off for too long and I feel as though I need to do this for her, to keep her spirit alive in Koa if that makes sense”.

“Sure, no problem, how many boxes are there?”

“Only three and a strange old locked tin box, that I actually have the key for. I’ve often wondered what the key was for as it came with the house and once I found the tin box, I knew it would open it. I just haven’t got any further than that, any further than putting a key in a lock”.

Charlie laughed before launching into detail of the waves he’d caught that afternoon.

“Let’s start with this” I said, as I clicked the padlock open. A stream of old photographs, some jewellery and trinkets from ages past seemed to occupy the space inside. A small, discreet black notebook that was the size of a five by seven photo frame was tucked under the pile of photos. Interesting I thought. What secrets does this old book contain? As I opened it up, a photo of Grandma and I came tumbling out of it. We were standing in front of Koa with large, wide grins on our faces. I must have been all of around four years old and Grandma had her arms around me in a loving squeeze.

“Check this out”. I handed the photo to Charlie and he perused it longingly before handing it back to me. “Ah the good old days” he sighed. “Wait what is this” I asked myself more than anyone else. Within the book, folded up, was some sort of stained contract, that had been witnessed and signed on old parchment paper. “It looks like an agreement or treaty that has been signed between three parties. That’s Grandma’s signature, that’s a government signatory and the third one states a traditional land owner. “What does it say?” Charlie asked as he paced around the room.

“Under title law, all parties have reached an agreement that the land and existing dwellings can never be sold, unless all three parties agree and sign a new contract. It is illegal to sell the traditional land and it is recognised under the act that the signatories are as stated; The government, the traditional land owner and the home owner on which the dwelling is located”. My eyes grew wider as my heart raced with the anticipation of what this could mean. As I flipped the first page of the contract over, I saw a copy of hundreds of residents contracts that were identical to my grandmother’s.

“Charlie, here is your pop’s name and signature! He signed it too. This treaty which is a legal document, has been signed by all past residents on the headland. It’s dated back fifty years, which explains why Grandma never mentioned it. So many people obviously forgot about it, or had hoped that this land would never be under threat of being developed! Oh Charlie, this could be the saving grace we need! This can stop those machines in their tracks!”

“What about the houses they’ve already destroyed?”

“We’ll buy back the land and rebuild! The legalities of this are a minefield, however we can sort that out later. Now we need to halt this development before any more houses are torn down. This means there is no land for them to occupy, explore and develop! The contract states, it stretches over ten thousand kilometres in circumference. That includes the surrounding ocean Charlie!”

As the cogs started to turn in Charlie’s mind, he knew as well as I did what this meant.

“Give me a minute” he said as he scrolled through his phone and started calling someone.

“Hey Finn, it’s Charlie. Look, I won’t be in tomorrow mate, or the next day and not sure after that. Something’s come up and I need to take some leave”. As he hung up the phone and turned to me, there was an energy reverberating through him that I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Let’s do this. Let’s save Koa and rebuild our homes and our lives”. As I hugged Charlie, I heard the waves crashing out to sea, as though the ocean was sounding her applause.