Dharug: Wild and Free

Dharug is the Aboriginal name for 'Wild Dog' or Dingo. This story is about 2 men and a dingo: their love of animals and their deep friendship. Stefan is an aging white gay man and Barnum is an Aboriginal man living in an isolated community in western Queensland in Northern Australia. Barnum is an outcast of his mob as he too loves men and will not lay with a woman.

Stefan buys an isolated shack near Winton in the Far West of Queensland after his partner of over 40 years, passes away and he feels rejected by his numerous gay friends. Barnum had been a deep friend of the original owner of the shack, sleeping with him but never being allowed any sexual contact. The shack is known as 'Jack's Shack' and Stefan becomes known by the locals as Jack after he purchases the shack from a local Aboriginal tribe.

The shack comes with several animals, a feral cat, and Dharug, the dingo. Within a few months, Barnum starts to sleep in Stefan's bed, or should we now call him 'Jack'. Together they continue Jack's refuge for injured animals found along the roadside each morning having been hit by the fast-moving cars and trucks on their way to Darwin. The refuge goes under in a flood, is threatened by bush fires and the death of an elder throws their lives into turmoil once again.

This story is only a short time of about 18 months of their lives in this remote place on earth but as all outback stories, has its share of emergencies and grief.