Down on the Bay

Moreton Bay, known as ‘the bay’ is a large shallow waterway protected from the ocean by two large sandy islands. We lived on the bay during my early childhood. And what a wonderful playground it was and still is. Despite the industry along parts of it shores the water is quite clean. Even now dolphins and turtles are a common sight. The bay is dotted with islands, all different from each other and many with interesting histories. One was used as a penal colony, another as a leper colony. My father had a run-about and we would go out on the bay fishing and crabbing. I really loved the crabbing. We went after sandies. We’d bait a line and drop it over the side till it settled on the bottom. Before long you would feel the tug as a crab took hold. Then, ever so gently, you would pull the line back up. This was the best part because the crab could let go at any time if it felt threatened. When it was almost at the surface we would scoop it up in a net. As a small child I found this an exciting and challenging business. The foreshore in front of our house was another great place and we spent hours down there roaming the mud flats and causeways amongst the mangroves. One day when we were toddlers, my sister and I stayed in the shallows as the tide went out, watching all the creatures that live there. Our parents had gone up a for an afternoon nap. We grew tired of watching small crabs, shells and toadfish and started spreading each other with mud. It is dark brown and we must have liked the look and feel of it. We went to a lot of trouble to cover every part of our small bodies. Then, when we were satisfied with our handywork, we marched up to the house to show our parents the fine result. They were confronted with two very proud and very muddy 2 and 3 year olds standing in the door. It was such a funny sight that all they could do was laugh. Nichola Wallace

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