"Scotty." "Scotty." "Where's my little pal?" "Come on." "Off to bed." "There, there, Scotty." "Now, now, now, now, boy." "It's all right." "It's only the storm." "Come on." "Yes." "Here we go." "There's a boy." "Oh, God!" "Scotty!" "No!" "Scotty!" "Where are you?" "Come..." "Come back to me!" "My little baby!" "This hearing is to determine whether Jake Matthew Cullen is to be committed for trial for the murder of Scott Matthew Cullen." "A pig, you say?" "No, a boar." "Razorback." "And this... this razorback broke your leg and carried your grandson away." "Yes." "You mean to say, Mr Cullen, that as a kangaroo shooter armed with a high powered rifle, you were unable to kill or even wound this boar." "The animal in question is not a normal product of nature." "It's armoured in a thick layer of bristle that can't be penetrated by a rifle shot unless it's fired from underneath it." "Your Worship, we have already heard expert testimony from Mr Baker that he shoots and kills razorbacks every day." "There are all sorts of razorbacks." "It's a hybrid species." "A freak." "An aberration." "Aberration or apparition?" "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Then the answer is no." "You were unable to wound it." "Well... you'd have to see it to believe it." "Indeed." ""Indeed." "Indeed."" "So, as a professional kangaroo shooter and an expert on local wildlife, how big would an animal, say, a razorback, how large would a razorback have to be to carry a two-year-old child over any distance?" "About four or five times bigger than anything I've seen or heard of." "For an animal to have grown to such a size, he must be shy and cunning..." "Even an exceptionally large and cunning beast couldn't have dragged the boy?" " Where to?" " Anywhere." "No, not for any distance." "The razorback's a kind of cowardly bastard." "Usually a good "Boo!" would scare him off." "Do you often leave the boy with his grandfather?" "I was away in Brisbane." "My mother was sick." " Do you know what happened?" " Objection!" "Overruled." "Dad said it was a razorback, but what razorback?" "Where is it?" "Why hasn't anyone else ever seen it?" "'There is insufficient evidence to support the charge." "'The accused is hereby discharged.'" " '... exploitation of animals.' - 'Exploitation, honey?" "'" " Carl?" " Hello." " Is it on yet, honey?" " No, it's still cooking." "It's nearly ready." "Oh, you mean the TV?" "Yeah, it just started." "'They enjoy performing.'" "'With cattle prods attached to their genitals?" "'" " 'We don't used prods here.'" " Oh, God." " Hey, I want to watch that." " No, please, Carl, leave it off." " Uh-uh." "Don't you touch it." "Here." " No." "Come on." "Just relax." "'That's a damn lie." "Not one of our wranglers ever used a prod.'" " 'Would you like to see the proof?" "' - 'Honey, you and your... friends 'couldn't tell a cattle prod from a pool cue.'" " 'They cause the same pain.' - 'Don't play with me." " 'I've been in the business for years.'" " Look at him." " 'My reputation speaks for itself.' - 'But the animals can't do the same.'" "'You start with the horses and steers, 'why don't you go and save the fleas and flies in the world, too?" "'They're animals, aren't they?" "People swat fleas." "'I got no time of day for this." " '... fleas in America.' - 'Cruelty to rats, too.'" "Jerks." "The agency greenlighted the Australia special today." "On the kangaroo slaughter?" "I thought they passed on that months ago." "They changed their minds." "And they're insisting that I go." "Damn right you should go." "It was your idea in the first place." "Honey, that's terrific." "Congratulations." "I'm scheduled to leave on Monday." "Oh, well." "Yeah." "Oh, hon..." " What's wrong?" " Oh, I don't know." "Come on." " Prenatal depression." " Come on." "What about you?" "Well, I'll be utterly and completely miserable but I can probably take care of myself." " Really?" " Oh, shit!" "Argh!" "Come on." "Here." " Will you miss me?" " Is the Pope Polish?" "Does a bear shit in the woods?" "I don't like being apart on our anniversary." "You know, there's a rumour going around that they've actually got telephones in Australia now." " I read it in National Geographic." " What would they know?" "Well, I suppose if you're so determined to run off again and leave me," "I should probably give you your little surprise now." "Carl!" "It's beautiful." "Good?" "Good." "Then it suits you." " Ahem." " Set." "We're 600 miles west of Sydney in the outback town of Gamulla, an aboriginal word that appropriately means intestine or gut, appropriate because Gamulla deals in an economy of flesh and blood." "Last year, more than 800,000 kangaroos and waballies... wobblies!" "Oh!" "Erm..." " Still rolling." "Still rolling." "From "last year" OK?" "Right." "Last year, more than 800,000 kangaroos and wallabies were slaughtered in this district alone." "They were summarily gutted and quartered and dumped at the Petpak cannery eight miles from here, to become dog excreta on the sidewalks of Sydney, Hong Kong and New York." "That'll do." "I'll do the pampered pet routine in voiceover, OK?" " Well, how did I sound?" " Wobblies!" "Friend of yours?" "G'day." "We'd like to book a couple of rooms, please." "Beth Winters, isn't it?" "The animal campaigner?" "Yes, that's right." "How do we get a message out?" "Radio phone." "It takes time to get through." "Where are you ringing?" " New York." " New York?" " You'll be lucky to get Burke." " Let's start with Burke then." "Where are the rooms, mate?" "We... we'd like to interview some kangaroo shooters." "Anyone interested?" " I see." "Well, I'll just..." " Right." "There's no way the Petpak cannery's going to agree to an interview." "How about we do a walk-in tomorrow?" "You're the boss." "All they can do is smash my camera like in Dubbo." "Think positive." "You can collect off my insurance." "Just remember you're not in New York, surrounded by animal lovers." " Let's get set up." " Now?" " Now?" " Hurry!" "Sir?" "Sir, my name is Beth Winters and I'm from the World Animal League." "How do you respond to claims by scientists that the kangaroo is becoming extinct?" "Wouldn't know." "I hunt boars." " Boars?" " Razorbacks." "Well, boars or kangaroos." "You're a professional hunter, right?" "You make your living by killing wildlife, correct?" " If you say so..." " Well..." "Erm..." "Roughly how many razorbacks would you kill in a season?" "There isn't a season for razorbacks, girly." " Then why kill them?" " Oh, I don't know..." "Blasting the shit out of a razorback brightens up my day." "But surely..." "Cut." "Come on." "Hello?" "No..." "New York." "United States." "America?" "Erm..." "Sorry." "Over." "Erm..." "No, I want to telephone there." "I want you to connect me with a landline." "Over." "Winters." "Carl Winters." "He's the party with whom I wish to speak." "Hello?" " Mate?" "What do you reckon?" " I reckon." "Sorry." "Only want to give you a little drink." "The roads will be full of kangaroos after dark." "It wouldn't look good for you to be running animals over." "Thanks for worrying." "I'll drive slowly and be back by dusk." "Don't use all the hot water, OK?" ""Who wouldn't be?" So they took her to intensive care." "The next day the Mother Superior was there." "She said, "My dear, how do you feel?"" "The nun says, with her eyes full of tears," ""Terrible." "He hasn't called, he hasn't written..."" "What's up your hole?" "You American shit!" "You give me that..." "Listen, man, you come round to where we work and you shoot..." "You want this back?" "Quick, Benny!" "Benny!" " Bye!" " Oh, yeah." "Bye." "You idiot!" "What's she doing down there?" "Come on." "# Send me your warning siren" "# As if I could ever hide" "# Last time la luna" "# I light my torch and wave it for the..." "# New moon on Monday" "# And a fire dance through the night" "# I stayed the cold day... #" "We're turning left!" "Stop!" "Jesus!" "Hi." "Everything OK?" "Any bones broken?" " Anything like that?" "You all right?" " Yeah." "Yeah?" "Good." " I'll have a go after you, Dicko!" " Mind your own business!" "Just relax!" "Don't rough her up too much, mate!" "We don't want to spoil the goods!" "Go on, son!" "That's right!" "Do you want to make love?" "I said..." "I said do you wanna make..." "Try it again." "Stay on the bed, Mavis." " That's a good girl." " Get her legs up, mate!" "Can't get her legs open!" "How's your French..." "I said, how's your French kissing?" "Get into it, darl." "Hey, cut that out, Dicko!" " Shut your hole!" " You don't want to kill the bloody woman!" "Quick!" "Let's get out of here!" " Quick!" " I'm just getting her ready!" "Leave her!" "Get out of here!" "# Blue eyes holding back the tears" "# Holding back the pain" "# Baby's got blue eyes... #" "Going to cost more to tow it back than the bloody thing's worth." "Insurance job." "Should have just left it." "Townies run off the road, knock posts down and wander into the bush." "Bloody locals have got to drop everything and go looking for them." " He's back." " Hey?" " I said he's back." " Who's back?" "An old friend." " Benny!" "Benny!" " What do you want, Jake?" " You were there." " We were where?" "You and Dicko." "You saw it." " What was it we saw?" " All right." "Where's Dicko?" "Dicko didn't see it." "He didn't see any boars or any women." "Bye, Jake." "Silly old bugger." "Now get off, you." "Bye, Jake." "Cut it out, you mongrel!" "Just cut it out!" "Carl." "It's beautiful." "'... claims that the kangaroo is becoming extinct?" "'" "What do you mean, she's missing?" " It was an accident." " My fault." "'How many razorbacks would you kill in a season?" "'" " 'There isn't a season.'" " Shouldn't have let her go." "'Blasting the shit out of a razorback brightens up my day.'" "That's Jake Cullen." "Excuse me." "Can you tell me who runs this place?" "Yeah." "Me." "I'd like to reserve a room for the night." "I'll give you a bed out the back." " Where can I find Jake Cullen?" " Jake?" "Nowadays he's out about Ten Train Road." "35 miles down this road here, turn left at the junction, follow the road right through to the end." " How about a taxi or a car for hire?" " Taxi?" "I haven't seen a taxi here since about 1953 and he was lost." "Listen, you better take my old bomb." "Just top up the tank when you get back." " You sure?" " Sure." "I'll look after your bag." "Thanks." "Thanks a lot." "I'd watch the steering." "She gets a bit wobbly over the ton." "OK." "Back soon." "To the left!" "How's it going?" " Same as usual." " Bit dusty, huh?" "Yeah." "My name's Carl Winters." "Yeah?" "Jake Cullen, right?" "What's it to you?" "You were one of the last to see my wife alive." " Your wife?" " Beth Winters." "Oh, yes." "The kangaroo woman." "It's too bad." "I'm sorry." "Thought you might know what happened to her." "Razorbacks." "Vicious, shit-eating godless vermin." "God and the devil couldn't have created a more despicable species." "Here." "See this fella?" "I blew half of his hind quarters away and he kept coming." "Usually the concussion alone is enough to knock most animals rotten but..." "But your razorback doesn't have a nervous system like most animals." "It's only got two states of being - dangerous or dead." " Nothing in between." " That's very interesting." " Now tell me about my wife." " I sort through their droppings." " You learn a lot from droppings." " Droppings?" "Boar shit." "You're giving me a lesson in wildlife." "It's my wife we're talking about." ""The kangaroo woman"." "You make it sound as if she has a goddamn pouch." "Now, listen, son." "You and me, we got something in common." "I know what you're going through." "Then help me." " No proof." " I'm not asking for proof." "Just give me some place to start." "Try the Petpak cannery." "Hello?" " Hi." "What are you doing?" " The smell brings the flies in." "I've got to put these lights up so they don't clean me out." " American, are you?" " Ah, no." "Canadian." "Canadians are American, aren't they?" "Hop up." " Dicko!" " Hang on!" "I'm busy!" "I got an American out here!" " Bugger." "Eh, this is er..." " Bill." "He's gonna get a ride out with us to the diggings, mate." "Why don't you give Dicko a hand until we go?" "Here." "Take the spade." "Welcome to Petpak." "You idiot!" "I told you to watch it!" "What are you trying to do?" "Blow us up?" "Get away!" "What do you think you're doing, Wallace, you idiot!" " I'll follow you." " No, ride with us." "Save yourself a dollar." " That's not necessary." " You can give Turner's car back tomorrow." "Look out for the piggy-wiggies, Wallace!" "Hey, Ben." "I'm out!" " You over here on your holidays then?" " Yeah." "Yeah." "I guess you guys hunt roos in this thing, huh?" "Yeah." "You do any hunting in Canuck land?" " Deer." " Sweetheart." "Get it?" "Dear?" " Hey!" "Hey!" " Yeah, that's Sarah Cameron's place." "Hey, you can always pop in for a quick... visit." " Sorry?" " Yeah, you'd be sorry all right." "You would be, yeah." "Homey-poo!" "After you!" "After you!" "Come in." "Watch your step here, Bill." "We've got plenty of bunks down here." " No, I've reserved a room in town." " No, we wouldn't hear of it." "We like a guest." "And you'll be closer to the diggings here." "Dicko's gonna burn us some snags." " Snags?" " You know, bangers." " Mystery bags." " What?" " Sausages." " Oh, yeah." "I'm really beat." "If I could use your shower, I'd like to lay down for an hour." "Shower?" "You can hose off under the tank if you like." "There you go, Bill." "This is your bunk here, mate." "Nice and soft, eh?" "That's a good one for you." "You can punch a few Zs away there, mate." "Do you want a rum?" "'I knew you'd be a fun group when I saw you with the whoopee cushions.'" "'You will all give me your names and relatives.'" "Wakey, wakey, hands off snakey!" " We're going hunting, mate." " Hunting?" "Tonight?" "You don't shoot roos in the daylight." "They can't see the spotlight." "There you are." "Don't be shy." "Great." "You don't get many strangers up this way, huh?" "Nah." "Tourist coach about once a week." "That's all." "What about that American woman, Beth Winters?" " That grunter from New York?" " What happened to her?" "Cops say she fell down a mine shaft." " Friend of yours, was she?" " Me?" "No." " You come from over there, don't you?" " Never met her, though." " I don't go along with animal welfare." " How come you came to Petpak?" "How come you came down our place?" "Jake Cullen said you guys knew a lot about opal mining." "Did he?" "What else did he say?" " Nothing." " Oh." "That's all right, then." "You don't want to listen to him, mate." "He's as mad as a meat axe." "Yep." "You know what?" "He murdered his grandson." "Is that right?" "Kid disappeared." "They tried Jake but they couldn't convict him." "They didn't have enough evidence." "Kid vanished." "It must have been him." "Maybe he fell down a mine shaft, too." "You know your trouble?" "You ask too many bloody questions." "You writing a book or something about this Winters woman?" "Not me." "You gonna hold onto that all night?" "Get a blanket." "Gets cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." "Did you ever see them castrating lambs?" "We'll have to take you out to do that one day." "You work the spot, Bill, so Dicko can shoot." "Unless we see a mob of big reds." "Then you'll have to drive so I can shoot too." "Spot's behind you." "For Christ's sake, mate, don't switch it on until you get up there." "Now just swing it around slow like you're doing a spotlight." "You hold it there while I cut the donk." "You cut their dogs?" "The motor." "No!" "No!" "Left, left, left!" "Down!" "Down!" "Up!" "That's it." "Beautiful." "It's beautiful." "See?" "See how it's mesmerised with the spot?" "Beautiful big brown eyes." "Fuck me!" " There!" " God." "God!" " What?" " It's still alive." "Of course it is." "You don't kill it outright." "It'd go stiff as jerky before you had time to butcher it." "Strewth!" "Charming!" "Charming!" "Charming!" " Must have been the snags." " Sure smells like it." "What's up, Billy?" "That snag turn in your gut, did it?" "You only had to holler if you wanted to barf!" "Give me the rifle." "Give me the rifle!" "No way!" "Why do you want it?" "What are you doing?" "Leave it alone!" "You killed it!" "What did you want to bloody go and do that for?" "You better finish it off now." "Skin it and gut it." "Pretty tough hombre, aren't you?" "Do you chuck up when you're shooting deer?" "That's mine." "See you, Skip." "You're in the middle of bugger all here so for Christ's sake don't go walkabout." "We'll be back in five or six hours." "Wakey, wakey, hands off snakey!" "Can't swim..." "You can't swim!" "You can't get me!" "You can't get me!" "Oh!" "Oh, God!" "No!" "No, you!" "It's OK." "It's OK." "Good morning." "What happened to you out there?" "Car break down?" "The Baker brothers." "Benny and Dicko took me shooting." "Yeah, that'd be their idea of a joke." " Some boars chased me." " You were chased by boars?" "Dozens of them." "I spent the night up a windmill tower." "At the pumping shed?" "God, they've busted through the north boundary." " You ever heard of Beth Winters?" " Animal campaigner?" "Yep." " She's my wife." " She wasn't very popular around here." "So I gather." " Do you know what happened to her?" " She fell down a mine shaft." "Lie still." "Lie down." "Keep still, huh?" "If the boars had you surrounded, how the hell did you get away?" " Sorry." " I don't know." "Something big scared them away." "Like what?" "I don't know." "But it was huge." "As big as a rhino." "You just lie still." "I've got to make a call, OK?" "Sarah tells me you've seen the boar." "The razorback." "Come on, boy!" " I'm not sure." "I didn't see it clearly." " Tusks around about so." "I couldn't say." "It was a long way away." " I'm going out there." " Could it be the same one?" "It'll do me." "Wait." "I'll get the dart gun." "Jake!" "You're not going to stop him with a.303." "I won't stop him with a dart." " We can get a transmitter on him." " I don't want to track him." "I want to nail the bastard's hide outside the pub so everyone can see." "Take the dart gun." "Please." "Thank you." "What's with him?" "Doesn't he care about anything but his goddamn razorbacks?" "One of them got into his house and took his grandson." "It was a razorback?" "He's had a private war going ever since." "Took his grandson." "His daughter." "And his pride." "That boar destroyed his life." "Come on, Spider." "Come on." "We've got a long wait." "Here, boy." "Here." "Here, boy." "Yeah." "'In South Australia, instead of mowing your lawn, you can smoke it.'" "Oi!" "What are you trying to do?" "Drown the flies?" " What are you doing?" " Putting a tag on it." "I keep track of their migration that way." "I got a grant to carry out research." "It's more work but I need the cash." " So you're here all alone?" " Yep." "Jake drops in regularly." "He's supposed to be my stockman but I can't get him to take any pay." " What's wrong?" " Oh, nothing." "I..." "I've never seen anyone in Dad's trousers since he died." "It looks good." "Next time he comes back this way I catch him and check his growth." " There it is." " Yeah." "How long have you been all by yourself here?" "My mum died last year." "Jake's never more than a radio message away." "Must be tough." "It wasn't so bad a couple of years back." "Now these boars are eating us out of house and home." " Why has it gotten so bad?" " We're not exactly sure." "A lot of them are diseased." "They've got worms and parasites." "The sicker they get, the hungrier they become." "Lately Jake's been finding their teeth." "They've been cannibalising their young." "It's not normal." "I dissected a sow last week." "Guess what I found." " A stress ulcer." " Boars worry?" "Yeah." "Lately something's been worrying them a lot." "Jesus wept." "It's him, Spider." "The big fella." "Sarah was right." "It's gonna take a lot to stop him." "Go!" "Die, you murdering bastard!" "Die!" "Dart!" "They'll believe me now." "I'm sorry, son." "The electronic gizmo." "Switch it on." "Gotcha, you murderous bastard." " Where is he?" " Hang on, Jake." "Give me a minute." "Three miles west of the pumping shed." "No water in 30 miles." "He's got to come to the water hole to drink." " If you couldn't stop him..." " He's bacon." " Get some help." " No, he's mine." "That.458 your father keeps around the place." " That ought to slow him down." " Be careful, you old goat." "Sorry." "Didn't agree with her ideas but I'm sure she was a good woman." "I never..." "What?" "The day she disappeared was our anniversary." "First one." "She didn't want to make this trip." "She was six weeks pregnant and worried about the baby." "I'm the one that convinced her to go." "Are you OK?" "Yeah." "'Trying to get in contact with Constable McCleary." "Over.'" "He's been away all week as far as I know." "What's the trouble, Sarah?" "Jake's camped out at the northeast boundary." "'I'll get him to go over there in the morning." "Over.'" "What's up?" "Jake reckons he knows what happened to Beth Winters." "'Over and out.'" "I'll be leaving in the morning." "You've been very kind to me." "You can stay as long as you like." "Give the locals something to talk about, eh?" "No." "I'm gonna go home." "I got what I came for." "There's not much more I can do." "I'll take you to the bus stop in the morning then." "Well, I guess I'll try to get some sleep." "Good night, Carl." "Good night, Sarah." "He must have found water someplace else." "Well... we've got plenty of time." "Dicko, you can't just go around killing people cos you don't like 'em." "Why not?" "I haven't killed anybody." "It's the razorback, eh?" "Besides, the old coot's been shooting his mouth off." "I'm gonna have to teach him a lesson." "Well, I don't want no part of it." "Yeah, but you never want to do anything fun." "One fart and you're a hamburger." "Come on!" "Get down!" "Get down on the ground!" "Come on!" "I want to make sure you don't go to the cops." "What are you talking about?" "Cops?" "Why didn't you stay in the truck?" "What did you do that for?" "Because he was gonna go you, you mug." "He wasn't gonna go me." "Pig's arse." "You just spoilt everything." " Spoilt what?" " How's he gonna feel it now?" " When we bust his legs." " He'll feel it soon enough." "Not if the razorback eats him before he wakes up." "Jeez, you give me the shits sometimes." "If you're gonna do it, just bloody do it." "Sarah." "Get Sarah for me." "Go on." "Thank you." "You know, for the clothes and everything." " Good luck." " Good luck to you." "Off to New York." "I've never even been to Sydney, you know." " You will." " I hope so." " Bye-bye." " Bye." "Bye." "# Ease on down, ease on down the road #... down the road #" "Tragic, eh?" "Ease on down." " What did you do that for?" " I don't know." "Weird." "Come with me." "Jake!" "Jake!" "Sarah." "Sarah, wait a minute." "Sarah!" " Where are you going?" " I'm gonna kill it!" " Jake couldn't stop it." "We can't either." " We'll get people together." "We'll get it this time." "Follow me in Jake's ute!" "Benny!" "Dicko!" "Hang about, Bill." "You're supposed to put your brakes on." "My name's Carl Winters." "As in Beth Winters." "That's no reason to..." "What did you do to my wife?" " What did you do to my wife?" " It was Dicko!" "I wasn't even there!" "See, Dicko..." "He'd gone out and he'd been drinking all day." "He'd got a skinful." "Let me out!" "He was just gonna frighten her and it got out of hand?" "Yeah." "And then this razorback came." "I've never seen anything like it in my life." "Even though you weren't there?" "Even though you weren't there?" "You left my wife to the razorback?" "I tried to help her." "Just like you tried to help Jake Cullen." "Is that right?" " I'm not a violent man." " Where's your brother now?" " I don't know." " Where's your brother now?" " I don't..." " Where is your brother now?" "Petpak!" "He's at Petpak!" "Help me out, mate." "Don't leave me here!" "I'll come and give you a hand!" "Hey, mister!" "Oi!" "Don't leave me!" "Hey!" " Got it." " Come on!" "Oh, shit!" "Follow my car!" "Now!" " Stupid bloody woman." " My dog's bigger than that." " Waste of bloody time." " Bloody big pig that, love." "Back to the pub, boys." "Hey, Wallace!" "You better put some light around the cess pool." "Otherwise the joint will be full of boars tonight, eh?" "Put ten out." "Gardner?" "Are you coming?" "Gardner?" "Wallace?" "Sorry." "Would you like a hand?" "I'm a kangaroo." "T-t-t-t!" "You've got a really good sense of humour for a Septic." "Well, shoot me!" "Come on, man!" "Shoot me!" "You finished the kangaroo off!" "Shoot me!" "Wow!" " I've got him on the screen!" " Come on, love, it's been a long day." "He's definitely at Petpak." "If we can get out there quickly..." "If he's a Petpak, he won't be molesting anyone." " Is Carl there?" " Who?" "Over." " 'The American.'" " I haven't seen anyone." "I've got to go." "Over and out." "Oh, God!" "Carl?" "Carl!" "Sarah!" "Oh, Jesus, no." "Sarah!" "Get out of here!" "Sarah!" "It's down there!" "Get the hell out of here!" "Get out!" "Oh, my God!" "Oh, my God!" "Come on!" "This way!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on, you son of a bitch!" "Sarah!" "No!" "No!" "No!" " Sarah!" " No!" "Sarah!" "Come on." "Come on!" "Come on, you scumbag!" "You want me?" "Don't just stand there." "I dare you." "You're stupid and you stink, too." "You think I'm coming down there?" "You can kiss my ass." "Come on, you bastard." "Come on!"