SHADOWS ACROSS CAPE YORK

Drifting on a timber yardarm following the shipwreck of the Pink Pearl in the Arafura Sea in 1892 had not featured in the plans of the two doctors for their triumphant return to their Australian homeland.

Cooktown, the ultimate destination for Doctor Henry George Carson Baldwin and Doctor Edward Benton, floated as an unattainable goalpost on the periphery of their minds.

Even if they survived the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria, landing on the western shores of Cape York Peninsula with the monsoon season only weeks away did not offer substantial hope for a safe return to civilization.

With limited knowledge of this country, which promised challenges to their physical and mental strength, the two men had little hope of overcoming the harsh and unforgiving terrain. In a country where food and water were often camouflaged, they required specialist knowledge if they had any hope of surviving. Knowledge that was held by a people with little reason to trust white men.