Although the majority of the novella’s action takes place at the fictional seaside town of Garra Nalla, it is important to consider both the city and the rural landscapes in this text.

Luke and Anna Worley live in the city in a small and damp apartment. The street noise drowns out any nature and they are constantly surrounded by movement. They work in small spaces they have etched out for themselves, Anna in a room that overlooks the fire escape and Luke in a rented location in a warehouse. The comparison to their workplaces when they arrive in Garra Nalla is profound. Anna ‘retires to the back sunroom … [to] look west to the smoky blue hills’ and Luke spends his time in a ‘sunstruck eyrie in the roof’. The physical impact of the city is also made prominent when Anna becomes unwell and loses her vigour and health. The constant ‘smoggy blanket’ that surrounds the pair is devastating and even the subsequent smoke from the fire has less of an impact on Anna’s asthma.

As expected in a pastoral, the small coastal hamlet of Garra Nalla where the couple resettles is in stark contrast to the city. The idyllic headland, with its sprinkling of bushland, long beach and small wildlife-filled lagoon, and the cosy yet affordable house, with its hearth (a stone lined fireplace and long verandah from which to take in the wide views, induce notions of warmth and family with space to spread out and work; divergent images when compared to the cramped claustrophobic descriptions of the city and the apartment. The presence of a variety of birds and Luke’s interest in them highlights the immediacy and availability of communing with nature and juxtaposes the bird noises of the city, unidentifiable to those living there.

The boy reflects the positive nature of the change. He accompanies the couple on their scouting journey to find a coastal property, propped up in his chair and looking curiously at the scenery. Once settled in the new location the boy springs to life, shrieking at waves, running in the yard and exploring the lagoon in the canoe. The sense of family this brings highlights the optimism that the move has encouraged.