How does Paul characterise his latter life and those of Darwin?

Goldsworthy ends the novel in Darwin, where he also successfully ties up the theme of "coming of age." As Paul walks through the town of Darwin, he is stunned by the changes.... the town has been recuilt, it has been transformed from the place he knew as a young man, and his unfamiliarity with the landscape..... a place he once knew so well, makes him realize that his childhood is over. There is no going back, his chances have passed him by. Paul mourns both Keller's death, and the times and possibilities that he himself will never again experience.

"And now it was too late: once we begin to sense our childhoods, we are no longer children. And decisions have been made—by omission, neglect, inertia—that cannot be unmade." pg. 149