Picnic at Hanging Rock: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

On Thursday afternoon, Michael and Albert sit drinking in the boathouse at Lake View. Albert is on a break, and Mike is hiding from his aunt’s garden party. Albert has narrowly avoided serving champagne at the party by reminding Michael’s uncle that he is a coachman, “not a bloody waiter.” As Albert recounts this story, Michael laughs. Since the afternoon of the picnic, Mike and Albert—close in age but worlds away in terms of social standing—have become fast friends. The “accident[s] of birth” that have placed the men on opposite ends of the social spectrum mean nothing to them. They talk about small, local matters and their own daily concerns—never politics or society.

The men’s conversation soon turns to the ongoing search at Hanging Rock. Albert says he’s heard that even more trackers have been called to the scene. If they can’t find the girls, Albert says, the girls must be “bushed”—lost forever to the wilderness. Mike, however, is perturbed by the girls’ disappearance. He’s convinced that they’re still somewhere on the rock, suffering and perhaps even dying while the rest of the world has garden parties. Albert suggests Mike forget the whole thing, but Mike says he can’t. Mike confesses that he’s been thinking of a plan to search Hanging Rock on his own—he asks if Albert will accompany him. Albert reluctantly agrees, and the two make a plan to set out at dawn the next day.

Out at Hanging Rock, Constable Bumpher finds himself frustrated with the day’s “unrewarding” search. Edith’s information has led the search in a new direction, and though they’ve turned up a piece of fabric that may have come from Miss McCraw’s underwear, the search party is still nowhere near finding her or the girls. Though the bloodhounds have growled and barked at different points on the rock, searches for tracks, prints, or belongings at those peculiar points have proved unsuccessful.

Back at Lake View, after the party is over, Mike finds himself discussing the search with his uncle, Colonel Fitzhubert. Fitzhubert believes the search is doomed, and that the girls are “dead as mutton.” Mike asks his uncle if he can take the Arab pony out the next day for a ride with Albert—he lies and says they’re going to tour another nearby rock formation. Fizhubert gives Mike permission but warns him to be back in time for dinner—and tells him they’re expected for tennis at a neighbor’s on Saturday. Mike thanks his uncle and heads up to bed, his thoughts consumed with how to prepare for the journey ahead.