Robbery Under Arms · Chapter
Terrible Hollow explained
Dick Marston, Jim, and their father drive a mob of newly branded cattle through treacherous scrub and rocky terrain to a hidden valley known as Terrible Hollow.
What happens
Dick Marston, Jim, and their father drive a mob of newly branded cattle through treacherous scrub and rocky terrain to a hidden valley known as Terrible Hollow. Father reveals a secret track down a precipice, leading to a natural fortress of a paddock walled by sandstone cliffs. There they find a cave stocked with provisions, and father explains the operation of altering brands and earmarks to disguise stolen cattle, crediting the scheme to an educated gentleman named Starlight. Jim expresses moral unease, but Dick is increasingly curious about this mysterious mastermind.
Themes in this chapter
The Bush and Outlaw Life
The chapter vividly depicts the secret hideout of Terrible Hollow, a natural fortress used for cattle duffing, and the skills required to navigate the harsh bush.
Family and Loyalty
Jim and Dick follow their father into criminal activity out of family loyalty, despite Jim's moral objections, illustrating the tension between familial duty and personal conscience.
Class and Social Mobility
Father's admiration for Starlight as a 'gentleman' despite his criminal life reflects the colonial Australian fascination with class and the perceived natural superiority of the educated elite.
Characters to notice
- Jim Marston
Reluctantly participates in the cattle drive, expresses moral discomfort with the 'cross doings,' and refuses rum in keeping with a promise to his mother.
- Dad Marston
Leads the operation with expert bushcraft, reveals the secret entrance to Terrible Hollow, and speaks with grudging admiration for Starlight.
- Dick Marston
Narrates the chapter, follows his father's orders, feels fear and awe at the hollow, and becomes intrigued by the gentleman bushranger Starlight.
- Captain Starlight
Mentioned as the educated mastermind behind the cattle-duffing operation and the design of the hidden paddock and brand-altering system.
Key passages
“Welcome to Terrible Hollow, lads. You’re the youngest chaps it has ever been shown to, and if I didn’t know you were the right stuff, you’d never have seen it, though you’re my own flesh and blood.”
Father welcomes his sons to the secret valley, explaining that only trusted family members are ever shown this place.
This moment marks the initiation of Jim and Dick into the inner circle of the cattle-duffing operation.
“Mr. Starlight is an edicated man. This is all his notion; and many a man has looked at his own beast, with the ears altered and the brand faked, and never dreamed he ever owned it. He’s a great card is Starlight. It’s a pity he ever took to this kind of life.”
Father credits Starlight with designing the brand-altering system and expresses regret that such a talented gentleman turned to crime.
This introduces Starlight as a figure of both admiration and mystery, central to the gang's operations.