Strange Encounter — Ronald Griffin

Young Pete Beck left sleepy East Anglia with the prospects and hopes of a better life in Australia. His short stay with his Uncle Tom in Perth proved a traumatic after discovering his uncle was linked with a 'gay setup'. He absconded to a Sydney hostel where he became involved in a confrontation with a drug addict and a scuffle knocked the assailant unconscious. Pete quickly checked out only to discover he was about to be hounded by the police for an attempted murder. To escape the trauma of Sydney, Pete sought work with the help of resettlement officer Don Gibbs, on a remote farm in the terrain of the Blue Mountains, where the farmer John Crane lived with Ellen, his surrogate deaf sister. Pete was to discover the truth of their relationship when he found they were in a sexual relationship and Ellen eventually became pregnant. To save face, John offered Pete a share in the farm if he would partake in a mock marriage with Ellen.