GP Peter Burke’s passion for Western Australian history and his third book leads us on the arduous journey to the monastery of New Norcia.
By Ara Jansen
Dr Peter Burke says the early days of the Swan River Settlement are one of the most documented colonies in the world.
Because at the time it was so far from, well anywhere, people wrote copious journals and letters which they sent home to Europe.
That has given the author plenty of source material for this third historical fiction novel.
Peter specialises in a fresh retelling of the stories that Western Australians thought they knew. His previous books have told stories of the pearlers of Broome and the C.Y. O’Connor tragedy.
His new book, The Silk Merchant’s Son, is a cracking read about the Spanish Benedictine monastery at New Norcia. Peter says while most people are probably loosely aware of how European missionaries found their way in Perth and then New Norcia, his book both fills in some holes and adds a good dose of fiction.
You can easily imagine these mismatched and misguided Catholic missionaries trudging inland in clothes wildly ill-suited to the blazing sun of WA, and who didn’t share one common language between them.
Joining this group is a French linguistics professor Fabrice Cleriquot who is dispatched from home with a box of silkworms to stop him bringing further disgrace upon his family and who is charged with holding the purse strings for this ecclesiastical adventure. He’s also witness to the folly of his travelling companions who make presumptuous attempts to rescue the original inhabitants from themselves.
The idea for Peter’s book first took hold when he got absorbed in the true story of French monk Dom Léandre Fonteinne who set out towards New Norcia in February 1846.
“He came out here and in his own words, was ‘totally unfit for being a priest’,” says Peter. “He was a great gossip and wrote constant letters about the 28 missionaries and gave lots of behind the scenes accounts of the famous people we know about. He’s the sort of fellow who would be elected straight off for a reality TV show today!
“Apart from Fonteinne’s gossipy letters, Ursula Frayne wrote to Dublin about her battles with the cranky bishop, and Dom Salvado wrote his famous memoirs. Miraculously all these remain in print, so I had plenty to go on regarding the historical characters. Then I added in some fictional characters who are sceptics, to provide some pushback and humour.
Apart from being a fascinating read about early history, one of the other aspects which makes The Silk Merchant’s Son interesting is the duality of humour and compassion evident throughout the book.
“I am a fan of irony and the book is meant to be a bit funny. A lot of WA history makes people a bit glassy-eyed so I hope I have written a book with heart and humour. You don’t want so much history that it stifles the story, but enough that you are intrigued by the characters.”
In his day job as a doctor, Peter divides his time as a GP in the Murdoch University medical clinic and in the hospitals of the Kimberley over summer. It’s the time in the Kimberley when he’s not on call that gives Peter space to think, plot, research and write his books. He has never been tempted to author a medical story.
Another aspect which attracted Peter to the story was its contemporary resonance. With the evidence of colonialism right there on the page, it gently demands you think, consider and contemplate. The author was able to inject a little bit of 2023 into the story by having some of the characters ask tough questions about colonisation and colonialism.
“I love getting lots of little bits of information and turning it into something that gets people to read something they would not have otherwise read. My aim is to seduce them into becoming interested in WA history.”
The Silk Merchant’s Son is published by Fremantle Press.