CO-OPERATIVE SETTEMENT ASSOCIATION. PARSDISE LOST

摘要

STORIES OF AN AUSTRALIAN colony in the South American jungle have brought me to Asuncion/capital city of the landlocked nation of Paraguay, where men with guns linger on street corners and young thieves known as pirahitas lurk, waiting to relieve unwary tourists of their belongings. The streets of Asuncion are no place for a gringo such as myself, conspicuous as I am with my blond hair and boardies — so I've enlisted the help of a well-connected local. I'rn now nervously awaiting his arrival in thelobby of my hotel. He double-parks and strides through the doorway with a swagger, tufts of chest hair poking through his open shirt. He grabs my hand with the familiarity of an old friend. "G'day mate! Welcome to Paraguay," he says. Roddie Wood is the grandson of Bill and Lillian Wood, who travelled to South America in 1895 with a group of Australian socialists determined to create a 'New Australia' in the Paraguayan backwoods. He is one of 2000 Australian—Paraguayan descendants of the original settlers.