The Word of a Gentleman his wife Nora are the focus of many chapters (and the book opens with a quotation from Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"); these reflect Niesewand's detention by Desmond Lardner-Burke under P. K. van der Byl and Smith, and his subsequent deportation, leaving behind his wife of three years, Nonie Niesewand (née Fogarty). The Word of a Gentleman The Word of a Gentleman (1981) (later retitled "Undercut") was the third of five novels written by Peter Niesewand, the South African journalist who spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his coverage of Ian Smith's government in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
Normanton Gaol The gaol was eventually built on an unproclaimed reserve in Borck street (now Haig street) and was a far more modest four cells. The Police Gaol proclamation was rescinded in 1893 when it was proclaimed a prison. The deferment of the status of prison is an indication of the stature of Normanton amongst townships in the Carpentaria Gulf region. Locating the gaol in the centre of town maintained a close proximity between the gaol, police reserve and the Court House. The location allowed Normanton Gaol to be used as both a police lockup and a district gaol. This meant that