Harry

The innocent child in the novel, Harry sees the world around him in a simple way. He explores the coast and the people in a childlike manner that only accentuates the brutality of the older members of his family. Ultimately, Harry will be the vulnerable victim but until that time he is a sweet and blameless boy who counterbalances all that is cruel about the world around him.

Kind-hearted Harry is neglected by his father after the death of his mother. He is left alone when his father demands Miles works on the boat. His time spent exploring shows his caring side as he befriends a puppy and then its owner, George, a man discarded by society. When he gets a chance to go to the Hobart Show he is determined to purchase gifts for his friend Stuart and his brother Miles. He takes time to consider them individually and decide what they would like best. This selfless act and his friendly nature further speaks to the measure of Harry’s youthful innocence.

Harry loves his brothers and enjoys spending time with them. He waits on the beach while they surf and they give him a list of treasures to find such as shells and shark eggs. He is alone during the day and this is when he becomes friends with George who takes an interest in him, feeding him and taking him fishing.

Harry’s physical abuse at the hands of his father culminates in his father pushing him overboard in an attempt to dispel his pent up rage over Nick’s betrayal and his wife’s unfaithfulness. Miles attempts but is unable to save Harry and the faultless child dies.

The Harry character may be viewed as representative of the metaphysical approach to life. His frequent pausing to reflect on life, the ocean, time and death in many ways seemed to be preparing Harry for death.

Miles

Although Miles is the middle sibling, he is positioned as caring for his younger brother Harry after his older brother Joe leaves home and the father fails in substantially caring for the two boys. After his Uncle Nick’s death, Miles takes his place on the abalone boat. He is responsible for manning the boat while his father, Jeff and Martin dive below. He is fearful of the day in which he will have to dive but feels its inevitability, with fate seeming to have chosen Miles’ path. Miles wishes he could have been a carpenter like Joe or like his grandfather, who was a real craftsman of fine furniture.

Miles is stuck between his many demanding and converging worlds. Only a child but old enough to feel the burdens of responsibility forced upon him, Miles must navigate the pressures like a boat in a raging storm. Harry needs Miles to shield him from their father and Miles is seen shielding Harry from Dad’s abuse, creating a childhood for Harry and taking him to Stuart’s place when things get scary. This responsibility leads Miles to dive into the cold Tasman Sea to attempt to save Harry after their father pushes him overboard. Miles must also please his father who demands he work on the boat. This is despite a friend of his father’s, Mr Roberts, urging that Miles not work on the boat as he considers it unfair. Joe takes Miles surfing and this is a brief respite for the young boy. Miles will ultimately leave the town but not before almost all he cares about is taken from him.

Joe

Joe Curren is the oldest of the three brothers. He moves in with his grandfather after having his arm broken in a scuffle with his father, who was enraged at the time. Determined to flee the abuse and indeed the island, Joe follows in his grandfather’s footsteps rather than his father’s, becoming a carpenter instead of an abalone diver. Joe continues to live at his grandfather’s house after his grandfather passes, cleaning up the house before setting out to sea on a boat he constructs himself.

Joe is caring toward Miles and Harry and, as the older brother, acts as a pseudo parent. He is too young to take full responsibility but intervenes when he can, urging Miles to look after Harry. Joe takes Miles surfing and spends time with him, but avoids his father. The novel ends with Joe and Miles setting off together on Joe’s boat, leaving their painful past behind as they embark on a new adventure.

Joe had moved out when he was thirteen, leaving Miles and Harry to survive with their father and ultimately Joe leaves them. Only Joe seems to grasp at something beyond the small town where they live. 

Aunty Jean

Aunty Jean is a dislocated member of the Curren family. When her father – the boys’ grandfather – dies she has a disagreement over the will with her brother-in-law – the boys’ father – and consequently becomes estranged from him. Aunty Jean takes some interest in her nephews but the time spent with them seems methodical and completed as some sort of obligation rather than driven from any warmth or nurturing. Harry’s innocence shields him from this when he spends time with her. The older Curren boys do not spend time with Aunty Jean.

Aunty Jean takes Harry to the Hobart show and is seen as a normal member of society talking about community members and watching them at the woodchopping. She emblematises a community that knows what is going on at the Curren house but fails to act.

Jean embodies that human paradox of being in pain but not able to articulate this feeling. On the surface Jean appears hard and difficult, but she does want to help the brothers. 

Parrett effectively evokes these features of Jean: 

• She is the only female role model the boys have left.

• She grieves for her sister and sees so much of her in Harry.

• She loves and protects Harry but cannot be gentle or tender with him.

When the boys have lunch with Jean (pp. 83–88), the reader gains a powerful insight into the character of Jean:

• She is strict, difficult, demands certain standards, has high expectations of the boys.

• There are secrets about the family tension and Miles finds baby things in the cupboard so there is another secret:  He just kept thinking about the little blankets and the baby clothes and how all that stuff was perfect and clean and never used. 

Jeff

Jeff is a hard and rough man that works with Mr Curren on the boat. Jeff is complicit in plans to poach abalone in areas that are illegal. Jeff and Dad get drunk and force Harry to have a drink. Harry is greatly upset and Miles steps in but has his head slammed into a coffee table. The boys flee to George’s house and are cared for there. Jeff joins the scuffle as Dad shoves Harry. Jeff trips him and the boy is lost to the ocean. 

Jeff is characterised by cruel, vindictive and bullying behaviour. There are a number of incidents that reveal this behaviour:

• staring menacingly, shooting the shark

• forcing Harry to drink alcohol

• his overall enjoyment at seeing the boys uncomfortable. 

Dad

The Curren family is dominated by the father and his behaviour. Steven Curren epitomises the human paradoxes that are often found in families. As the only parent of Joe, Miles and Harry he is the carer and the provider but his cruelty, personal demons and behaviour create tension and conflict within the family and impact on the daily lives of his sons. Interestingly, we only read his name once when officials from the Fisheries Department visit their home. The lack of such personal reference reinforces the coldness of this man. At the centre of his behaviour is the grief, bitterness and pain involved in the death of his wife and the family secrets of what happened on that fateful night.

It is easy to quickly see the Currens’ father as the bad guy. However it is implied that at one time Steven Curren was a typical and even loving father. The novel joins the Currens when Dad is at his worst. A hardworking abalone diver he aims to provide for his family with now just the two sons, Harry and Miles, at home. A series of events are unveiled as the novel progresses and the father’s recklessness and brutality increases as the reader learns more of his troubled past.

Steven Curren’s wife had been having an affair with her sister Jean's husband, Nick, and they planned to flee with Harry, who it is thought to be Nick’s son. As they are leaving town a fatal accident halts their plans. Coming upon the accident, Steven removes his brother from the car and frames a scenario where Nick is seen to have drowned at sea.

His drinking habit, and an influential friend who possesses a mean streak, dictate Steven Curren’s actions after the accident. He is angry and abusive toward his children, having also been physically abusive to their older brother Joe who left home after such an incident. Harry and Miles live in fear of their tempestuous father. His destructive behaviour concludes in the ultimate act of cruelty when he throws Harry to his death from a fishing boat.

George

George is disfigured, scarred on his face and hands. He lives in a small shack and has a dog named Jake, who links him to Harry who wishes to play with Jake. The pair become friends and George passes on things he knew about Harry’s mother. He is paternalistic toward Harry and even toward Miles when he seeks asylum there one night after Dad’s drinking gets out of hand.

Harry and George explore the area and George takes Harry fishing. Harry spends some of the few dollars he has on buying the tea that George likes and dropping it off at his shack. Harry seems safe at the shack and moves about as if he belongs there. The two have a strong bond and after Harry dies, George finds his body and mourns his passing.

George Fuller is reminiscent of the marginalised characters who have appeared in novels like Jasper Jones and To Kill a Mockingbird. Despite this early characterisation as someone to be feared, he is both caring and kind to Harry and the only person that Harry and Miles can actually turn to for help.