The Slave Prince

by Geoff O'Callaghan ISBN 9781846930317
Published: 2007
Pages: 169
Description
The slave prince

Prince Richard of Boulaine accompanies his father to battle to watch how he wins against his enemies, but everything goes wrong when the King is killed. The eight year old prince is captured by and sold into slavery. Four years later, Sir Dermont recognises the boy being auctioned at the slave market. The lad is crippled, and has ben fighting, so is a poor offering and is passed in. Dermont buys him cheaply, then frees him and takes him as his squire. Richard becomes an expert in the manufacture of the new fire-arms which have just been invented. More important is his skill in making black powder, which seems to be wanted by everybody. Richard must avoid the machinations of the warlords who are very anxious to acquire his skills and knowledge. As his army beseiges the evil duchess of Petronia in her castle on an impregnable mountain top, he knows his friends are being held inside as hostages. Then there are the tasks of regaining his crown and marying the princess.

About the Author

Geoff was born in Jersey, then under German occupation, during World War II. Soon after the war, his family moved to Brisbane, Australia. He was educated at All Souls’ School, Charters Towers – a rather traditional boarding school after the English style. What knowledge one didn’t learn through the ears was well and truly belted in through the rear end, complete with blood blisters. His first contact with the cane was for not running around a sports oval fast enough. He now prides himself on a complete disinterest on sports and knows nothing about cricket. This led to his creative and artistic sides developing. He had a way with words, and was a skilled debater.

After secondary school, he took to teaching, graduated, and then obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Aboriginal Education. For the next thirty years, he lived with remote aborigines in the Great Western Desert, firstly as a primary school teacher, and later as a School Principal and Administrator. During this time, he took up writing, mostly short stories and film scripts. It was a good way to while away lonely hours in the desert evenings.

The development of miniature computers took his interest, and He wrote to the Department suggesting they take a serious look at the use of Computers in Education. Because of the proximity of a U.S. Sigint facility at Alice Springs, many of the students, especially the American kids, were interested in computing. At first they used Tandy Level Ones and Apples. While very primitive compared to today’s machines, Many of the I.T. Community cut their teeth on computing under Geoff’s tutelage. They even built a ‘Dream 8080’ and got it working.

Child welfare was another interest. Juveniles who committed offences were kept in adult prisons. Some of the kids were as young as nine years of age. Geoff fought hard to get decent juvenile facilities built for them, and also did lot of research into mental illnesses in Children. While taking a rest from the Desert, Geoff worked with the Education Department as a District Guidance Officer. He was responsible for getting educational services to handicapped children across the outback. While on Long Service leave in Cairns, his family home, he met up with his old geography teacher, Kevin Burry, who was bringing Trinity Anglican School to fruition. Kevin became ill with brain tumors, and the Bishop of North Queensland appointed Geoff as the voluntary acting principal to bring the school on line, so Geoff spent his vacation from teaching as principal of one of Queenslands largest schools.

Returning to the Northern Territory, Geoff was asked to write 13 episodes of “The Jabiru Trail” for the North Australian Film Corporation, and created the initial stories for “Police Rescue”. He also wrote “Extinct, but Going Home” for Humpty Doo Productions. Retiring from Government service, he founded “Young Actors World” to teach kids to act for commercials and feature films. He also took up advertising and ran “Top End Fliers” – one of the largest advertising distributors in the Northern Territory.


Diabetes and Heart surgery made Geoff retire from active life, and he settled in the mountain town of Stanthorpe, Queensland, where he lives quietly writing science fiction and film scripts for teens and young adults. He remains a committed advocate for children’s’ rights. His stories, which are often rather gritty, are often based on fact. One of his favourite sayings is, “If you treat a boy badly, you will often end up with a bad boy.”