The Great Barrier Reef- that amazing natural structure which protects much of the east coast of Queensland. A fabulous place of natural wonders that tourists by the million pay to visit. A beautiful place- but one that holds many perils and can also be a deadly environment.

Andrew Collins, a 16 year old high school student, and his 17 year old sister Carmen are spending the April school holidays helping friends do a university research program on a reef a hundred kilometres out from Townsville. Both Andrew and Carmen are also volunteer part-time Navy Cadets, Andrew in his 4th year and Carmen in her 5th so they are quite experienced at being on small boats and at sea.

On the fourth day of the holidays, while SCUBA diving to survey sea grass and other marine organisms around Yule Reef, they find something out of place, something man-made that should not be there- and that they should not have seen. The discovery has deadly consequences and leads brother and sister into the most desperate situation they have ever encountered. Join them as they struggle to survive in that harsh and unforgiving environment against both nature and evil men.

Forty kilometres east of Townsville is Bowling Green Bay, a vast expanse of shallow water ringed by mangrove swamps and mudflats. The many tidal creeks and rivers are the natural habitat of numerous fish, among them the famous barramundi. But it is also the home of many saltwater crocodiles, so anglers need to take great care.
Into this dangerous environment in the heat of the tropical summer, five teenage friends, all school students and part-time Navy Cadets, come to fish.
Martin Schipholl, 14, and his uninhibited big sister Letitia are with their friends Anne Maudsley and Andrew Collins and his big sister Carmen fishing in a small boat when they witness two murders. The murderers see them and try to kill them. This begins a deadly pursuit that will test their characters, physical abilities and Navy Cadet training to the absolute limit as they struggle to survive against everything that evil men and the harsh environment can throw at them.

Fifteen-year old navy cadet Tina Babcock is in love. But Tina is very shy, inexperienced and unsure of herself. While on a cadet canoe expedition on remote Koombooloomba Dam in the jungles of Far North Queensland, she and her friends encounter a gang of dangerous poachers.

Tina's life is in peril because of the secrets she now knows. In a desperate struggle to escape, she must use her navy cadet skills and wits to extricate herself from the gang's clutches. Tina must push herself to the very limits of endurance to give herself a fighting chance of survival... and love.

Cockatoo is suitable for teenagers and readers with an enjoyment of adventure-spiced romance.

"Hello Sailor!" the curvy blonde calls. Andrew, a 16 year old navy cadet, looks and is at once interested. Maybe this holiday in Cooktown might not be so bad after all, he thinks.

Andrew is at that age where he is very interested in girls but he has not yet learned the social skills needed to sustain a relationship. His girlfriend Tina (another navy cadet) thinks she is being taken for granted and dumps him.

During a short voyage on a navy patrol boat the cadets are spectators to the capture of a suspicious old freighter and then help search for an old naval mine that has been reported by fishermen on Hope Island. The mine is found and the patrol boat has to go to Cooktown to pick up a team of bomb disposal divers. While there Andrew meets some of the local girls and suddenly the prospect of spending the Christmas holidays at the famous bush pub, the 'Lions Den', looks quite attractive. But on their return to Hope Island the mine, now identified as having been laid by a German raider during World War 2, is nowhere to be seen. It has drifted off on the tide.

After returning to Cairns Andrew's family travel to the 'Lions Den' and there Andrew and his big sister Carmen explore the surrounding country and river banks and meet some of their relations and a host of unusual characters. There is romance, lust, romantic opportunities and sadness. Andrew is faced with difficult choices (which girl?) and hard moral decisions during the following weeks. The difficulties are compounded when Tina, who is Carmen's friend, comes to join them after Christmas.

And there is very real danger in the remote jungles and bush and Andrew has to draw on all his courage and reserves of character and stamina to survive and to save Carmen and Tina. So join Andrew and Carmen and spend the Christmas holidays in a fascinating and historic part of Far North Queensland.

Suitable for teenagers

Andrew Collins is a 16 year-old navy cadet navigating the choppy waters of adolescence. When his relationship with Tina hits the rocks, Andrew finds himself adrift on unfamiliar seas, grappling with the complexities of love and temptation.

During a short voyage on a navy patrol boat the cadets are spectators to the arrest of a suspicious old freighter and the discovery of an old naval mine. Whilst docked in the historic North Queensland town of Cooktown to pick up bomb disposal divers Andrew meets some to the local girls and suddenly the prospect of spending the Christmas holidays at the famous bush pub, the Lions Den, looks quite attractive.

When Andrew’s family travel to the Lions Den to manage it for the holiday season there is romance, lust, romantic opportunities, and sadness as Andrew is faced with difficult choices (Which girl?) and hard moral decisions.

Yet danger lurks beneath the tranquil surface. In the remote jungles and bush Andrew has to draw on all his courage, skill and reserves of character to survive and to save his sister Carmen and Tina.

So join Andrew and Carmen and spend the Christmas holidays in a fascinating and historic part of Far North Queensland.

Suitable for teenagers

Andrew Collins, a 14 year old navy cadet, begins a SCUBA diving course near Cairns in North Queensland, along with his sister Carmen and Muriel. Muriel is the same age and he is very anxious to impress her but is inexperienced and unsure of himself.

Worse still, Andrew discovers that he is terrified of diving; afraid of all the dangerous creatures that inhabit the Coral Sea. Pride battles with panic. Despising himself for being a coward he keeps on trying.

Andrew also stumbles on an old family mystery: What happened to his grandfather, also a diver, who was lost at sea many years before? As they try to find out what happened all those years ago Andrew and Carmen are drawn into a deadly web of lies and danger.

Before the truth is revealed Andrew has to make some agonizing choices and battle with all his worst nightmares come true.

'Davy Jones's Locker' is suitable for teenagers but will be enjoyed by all who like sea stories.

Andrew Collins, a 14 year old navy cadet, begins a SCUBA diving course near Cairns in North Queensland, along with his sister Carmen and Muriel. Muriel is the same age and he is very anxious to impress her but is inexperienced and unsure of himself.

Worse still, Andrew discovers that he is terrified of diving; afraid of all the dangerous creatures that inhabit the Coral Sea. Pride battles with panic. Despising himself for being a coward he keeps on trying.

Andrew also stumbles on an old family mystery: What happened to his grandfather, also a diver, who was lost at sea many years before? As they try to find out what happened all those years ago Andrew and Carmen are drawn into a deadly web of lies and danger.

Before the truth is revealed Andrew has to make some agonizing choices and battle with all his worst nightmares come true.

'Davy Jones's Locker' is suitable for teenagers but will be enjoyed by all who like sea stories.

Fifteen-year old Carmen and her younger brother are high school students and part-time Navy Cadets who join with a group of friends and parents for a holiday camping trip to Endeavour Island. The island is a lush, tropical paradise in the Coral Sea off the coast of Far North Queensland- a place of stunning beauty and, unknown to them, of deadly secrets.

Expecting a fun-filled and relaxing time they meet instead temptations and challenges to their character and integrity; are faced with hard decisions on morals and attitudes as they navigate the choppy seas of relationships; and are then faced with a life and death situation which requires them to use all their skills, courage and character to survive.

As they face these perils they are forced to confront their deepest fears and while doing so learn much about themselves as they make hard choices in the struggles to stay alive and to be true to themselves.

This is a Navy Cadet adventure which begins in Cairns, where brother and sister both attend high school, and then moves to Endeavour Island.

Join with Carmen, Andrew, and their friends on an unforgettable adventure where the stakes are high, the lessons hard and survival isn’t guaranteed. This is a coming-of-age story with some sexual references and violence and is not suitable for Primary School.

Kit Walker is having a miserable time. At age 14 he is the smallest boy in his class at high school in Cairns and is also the smallest cadet in his part-time navy cadet unit. He suffers from teasing and bullying by his brothers and the bullies of school and is lacking in both skills and confidence. Worse still the girl he earnestly desires to be friends with rejects his advances and her brother bullies him. Jealousy, insecurity and sheer lack of physical strength add to his miseries.

His part-time job at his father’s trucking business, even as it teaches him technical skills, also leads to more problems, especially when one of the workers also bullies him.
But Kit is not a quitter and he determines to better himself. His secret role model comes from graphic novels, the legendary Phantom. Having the same name inspires Kit to make a real effort. So, over a period of two months, he tries as hard as he can. This leads to friction, conflict and humiliation but he also finds romance.

And then he is dragged into very real danger and has to draw on all his courage, skills and reserves of character and stamina to survive. So join Kit as he battles to stay alive and to gain self-respect and confidence in a fascinating part of Far North Queensland.

Suitable for teenagers

Graham is 13 and in Year 9 at High School in Cairns. But his life is not going well and he is faced by five major challenges. The one which dominates is his unhappiness with school and life. His ambition had been to become a ship captain like his father. The previous year he had joined the Navy Cadets full of hope. The discovery that he had an eye defect that permanently disqualified him from ever being a naval officer crushed his hopes. With his dreams shattered he left the Navy Cadets and tried to reject all things to do with the sea.

But it is not as easy as that. One of Graham's hobbies is making model ships and he has a large collection. He is also tied to the sea by the family connection of his father being the owner and master of a coastal freighter.

Graham has also reached the age where he is very interested in girls and is being torn by his physical desires and by the problem of trying to choose which girl to love. His little sister's friend Margaret loves him and makes no secret of it, but Graham is strongly attracted to the golden-haired Jennifer, a Navy Cadet and daughter of a British naval officer in Australia on exchange.

To add to Graham's woes are the three Year 12 bullies: Burford, Macnamara and Harvey. They make his life a misery at every opportunity.

The story is set in Cairns and revolves around sailing. Graham and his friends are challenged by a group of Navy Cadets led by Andrew Collins to a sailing competition. The girls: Carmen Collins, Jennifer, Margaret and Graham's sister Kylie, also compete. The story is set over two months and takes the reader into all the details of the group's lives as they struggle to win the sailing races and battle to overcome the bullies. It includes much authentic detail about sailing in small boats and of teenagers growing up in the tropical north.

Graham is 13 and in Year 9 at High School in Cairns. But his life is not going well and he is faced by five major challenges. The one which dominates is his unhappiness with school and life. His ambition had been to become a ship captain like his father. The previous year he had joined the Navy Cadets full of hope. The discovery that he had an eye defect that permanently disqualified him from ever being a naval officer crushed his hopes. With his dreams shattered he left the Navy Cadets and tried to reject all things to do with the sea.

But it is not as easy as that. One of Graham's hobbies is making model ships and he has a large collection. He is also tied to the sea by the family connection of his father being the owner and master of a coastal freighter.

Graham has also reached the age where he is very interested in girls and is being torn by his physical desires and by the problem of trying to choose which girl to love. His little sister's friend Margaret loves him and makes no secret of it, but Graham is strongly attracted to the golden-haired Jennifer, a Navy Cadet and daughter of a British naval officer in Australia on exchange.

To add to Graham's woes are the three Year 12 bullies: Burford, Macnamara and Harvey. They make his life a misery at every opportunity.

The story is set in Cairns and revolves around sailing. Graham and his friends are challenged by a group of Navy Cadets led by Andrew Collins to a sailing competition. The girls: Carmen Collins, Jennifer, Margaret and Graham's sister Kylie, also compete. The story is set over two months and takes the reader into all the details of the group's lives as they struggle to win the sailing races and battle to overcome the bullies. It includes much authentic detail about sailing in small boats and of teenagers growing up in the tropical north.

Set in Cairns in Tropical Far North Queensland. Graham is in Year 8 and has discovered girls. With the discovery come some hard lessons in life- difficult choices between love and lust and what is the right thing to do.

This is a many-faceted story with drama, conflict and humour involving Graham and his friends at high school, Navy Cadets, peace demonstrators and visiting warships.

And there are sinister forces at work. Graham is drawn into a desperate and dangerous situation where his life is in peril.