The Society of Women Writers, Tasmania, Inc

Incorporation No.: IA 08090 ABN: 91 079 957 602

AUGUST, 2016

THEME FOR AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 2015

INDEX:
1. Co ver Page with ne wspa per clippin gs courtesy

...PHEW!...

The Examiner, L aunce sto n, Tasman ia

Deadline: Thursday, October 5, 2016

2. Index & Images from the A lice A ward even ts

(short poem, or prose up to 750 words)

3. Fro m the D esk, Co mmittee & Mag azin e Ed ito rs

4.

A lice

5.

A nd the Winner is

Cover page newspaper clippings courtesy

The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania

6. Behind th e G lam and G litte r, Joy Elizabeth

7. A n Eve ning at the Bo atho use speech, Her

RANDOM PICS FROM THE ALICE EVENTS

Excellency Professor Kate Warner, AM, Governor of

Images by Christina McKercher Booth

Tasmania
8. An Evening at the Boathouse continued

9. Fro m the W ome ns S ocial Pa ges to th e Co untry

Co urier, Rose Frankcombe

Fro m Flann ie Shirt to E vening G own, Rose

Frankcombe
10 . The Culmination of Mu ch Work, with Than ks,
Rosalie Sydes
11 . Co ngratulations; Oppo rtunities
12 . R ememb er, poem, Helen Brumby

Le tte rs to the E ditor

13 . You ng A dult Sho rt Story Co mpetition Winners

14 . How is this Eq ual, winning entry in the YA s/s

competition
15. How is this Equal continued
Marse llaise, 2nd place in the YA s/s competition
16 . R eminders

9
7

10

11

13
14
12

15

18

16

17

1) Eric Jessen & Thea Biesheuvel 2) Maureen & Bernard Saunders 3) Erin Eiffe 4) Christina McKercher Booth 5) Mayor Albert van Zetten & Cameron Hindrum
6) Ali Andrews & Erin Eiffe 7) Nancy Corbett, Anne Wilde, Beryl Wilson, Marilyn Quirk 8) Ros Sydes 9) Nancy Corbett 10) Yvonne Gluyas, Ariel Gluyas Riley
and Tegan Hawes 11) Marilyn Quirk & Beryl Wilson 12) Tim and Ros Sydes 13) Wendy Honnor & Lyndal van Zetten 14) Freya Su, Mary & Ray Hawkins 15)
Libby Hathorn & Jane Waite 16) Robyn Friend & Andrea Dawkins 17) Joy Elizabeth & Eileen Litherland 18) Kathy Duff, Mary Farr & Ros Sydes

FROM THE DESK...

COMMITTEE

Who would have thought Id be sitting here at the desk again, a year out!
Not me!
I am standing in for Marilyn, who is enjoying the delights of our vast
country as she and her husband take the long and straight, often dusty
roads into the heart and along the coastlines of this great continent. Safe
travels.
And, while speaking of safe travels, we have no Presidents Report this
edition, as Yvonne, too, has journeyed far, to the United States of
America and beyond. We also wish her safe travels.
As you will notice below, the SWWT AGM falls due on Monday,
September 5. Please come along and join everyone on this special
occasion. Cast your vote for the new Executiveand enjoy lunch
afterwards. We would love to see you there.
The biggest event we have ever held is now behind us. Much work
went on behind the scenes for months. Many members chipped in to give
of their time taking workshops, presenting a book fair for Tasmanian
writers, selling raffle tickets. With generous sponsors also coming on
board to assist in the fundraising leading up to the Alice Award
presentation night. Two evening events were held. On Friday August 5 a
Meet and Greet took place at the Penny Royal Wine Bar and Restaurant,
while the main event was held the next evening, at the Boathouse, by the
Tamar River in Launceston.
SWWT was delighted to have our Patron, Her Excellency Professor the
Honourable Kate Warner AM and her Aide-De-Camp Flight Lieutenant
Catherine Saunders join us at the Boathouse for the Award presentation.
We are also delighted to be able to share with you in this edition of
Stylus the whole of Her Excellencys speech, which she delivered before
making the presentation to the winning author.
Two other special guests also entertained and enlightened dinner
guests with the talks they delivered. Journalist Alison Andrews spoke
about the progress of women reporters in Australia from the mid 19th
century to the present day, while Rachael Treasure shared her passion for
the land and its soils, being an advocate for change for the sake of the
land and the planet we share.
The winners of the YA Short Story Writing Competition held in
conjunction with a book fair for Tasmanian writers at Ulverstone on May
28, have now been announced and the prizes presented at a ceremony
held in the Burnie City Council Chambers.
Read about the above events and more in this issue. My thanks go to
the contributors, the copy writers and photographers who have made this
a truly Special Edition.
The final Alice raffle prize winners have also been selected, so all in all
its much of a wrap, really...

President
Yvonne Gluyas
Telephone: 0413321834
Vice Presiden t:
Robyn Mathison
Telephone: 6234 4418
(afternoons only)
Treasurer & Public O fficer:
Jane Waite
3 Hawley Street, Newstead, 7250
Telephone: 63342842
Minu tes Se cretary:
Ros Sydes
Competitions Secretary:
Wendy Laing

MAGAZINE EDITORS

Mag azin e Co -o rdin ato r

Jane Waite
Co ffee Bre ak:
Robyn Mathison
Telephone: 6234 4418
(afternoons only)
O ve rflow:

CONTACT

R ipp le s
Yvonne Saw

We bsite A dministrato r:
Rose Frankcombe
http://www.swwtas.org

Contact SWWT Email:

swwtas@gmail.com
Editor email contact: Marilyn
pedla@hotkey.net.au
Postal contact for Stylus Editor:
721 West Tamar Highway, Legana, 7277

AGM 2016
Monday September 5, Ida Burchill Room 34-36 Paterson Street, Launceston,
10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. All welcome to attend.

Alice images courtesy Christina McKercher Booth

The Alice
4

AND THE WINNER IS

Dr Clare Wright was announced as the 2016 Alice Award recipient at the presentation night on August 6.
An historian, an Associate Professor in History at La Trobe University,
Melbourne, an award-winning author and screenwriter, a television writer
and presenter, Clare has written a number of books, among them Beyond
The Ladies Lounge: Australias Female Publicans, Melbourne University
Press, 2003 (republished 2014, Text Publishing). Her second book, The
Forgotten Rebels Of Eureka, Melbourne, Text Publishing, 2013, took ten
years to research. It won the 2014 Stella Prize. We Are The Rebels, The
Women And Men Who Made Eureka, Melbourne, Text Publishing, 2015, is
directed towards teenage readers. It was Shortlisted in the CBCA Eve
Pownall Award for Information Books, 2016.
For screenwriting, Clare can include Utopia Girls: How Women Won The
Vote (ABC), and The War That Changed Us (ABC).
Having written and published numerous articles and book chapters, at
present she is researching a history of mining for her latest publication Red
Dirt Dreaming: Re-imagining the History of Mining in Australia.
Unable to attend the award night personally, the 2014 Alice recipient,
Libby Hathorn, NSW, who had travelled to Tasmania with the Alice
statuette, then accepted it back on Clares behalf.

Clare Wright.
Image courtesy La Trobe University 11/08/16.

It is a great honour to be the recipient of the Alice Award. I cant tell

you what a thrill it is for my name to be included in the list of past
winners; authors of extraordinary calibre and grace, dedication and
resolve, intelligence and imagination. Many of these women are
personal heroes of mine. Clare Wright.

Speaking to David Rood, Higher Education Reporter, The Age

newspaper, Melbourne (April 21, 2004), Clare declared History has an
image problem, citing we have celebrity chefs and gardeners but no
historians, who, given the chance are great story-tellers.
Libby Hathorn accepts the Alice on behalf of Clare Basking in the success of Beyond the Ladies Lounge, which had
Wright from Tasmanias Governor Kate Warner, as
quickly sold out of its first print run, in the 2004 interview Clare had
Yvonne Gluyas watches on.
Image courtesy Christina McKercher Booth
argued that the women on the gold fields, were not just sitting in
their tents folding handkerchiefs. They were shopkeepers, teachers,
prostitutes, military wives who played an integral part in family decision-making and held political
aspirations, hopes and fears.
At the time of the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, from historys perspective women played a bigger role
than has been generally accepted. Women were intimately bound up in the events and emotions that led up
to Eureka Stockade, she said.
In an interview for The Australian, (June 9, 2012), ten questions had been put forward, one being Who
have been the strong women in your own life?. The first one was Clares mother, who brought her to
Australia from Michigan, a US state bordering Canada when she was five, and then the women of Arnhem
Land, a place where Clare had once stayed for six months. They had also impressed her.
Moving on to her documentary Utopia Girls, the story reflects how a small group of Australian
suffragettes led to the vote for women. Fighting for gender equality, these women were of a higher social
ranking, being barristers, politicians, philanthropists, writerswho believed in the cause of gender equality.
They led the way and gained the vote for women in Australia in 1902.

The Society of Women Writers, Tasmania congratulates Dr Clare Wright on achieving The Alice Award, 2016

BEHIND THE GLAM AND GLITTER

By Joy Elizabeth

What an ambitious idea that tiny Tasmania should host the prestigious Society of Women Writers
biennial Alice Award in 2016. But we did it. And with extraordinary style.
Our Meet and Greet at Penny Royal Wine Bar on the Friday night, enabled Alice organisers, visiting
nominees and guests to get to know each other in an informal setting, and was the beginning of new
networks and friendships.
The Gala dinner at the Boathouse in Launceston was a brilliant conclusion to the Alice Committees
months of planning, organising and fundraising. Guests included Her
Excellency, Professor the Honourable Kate Warner, AM, Governor of
Tasmania, Alice nominees, Robyn Friend
(Tas) and Dr Marilyn Hume (Qld), 2014 Alice
Recipient
Libby
Hathorn
(NSW),
Launcestons Mayor Albert van Zetten and
his wife, Lyndle, SWWT members and
friendsand writers across many genres.
Over a delicious meal, we were inspired by
the excellent speakers.
The highlight of the evening was of
course the announcement and presentation
Joy Elizabeth and Robyn Friend
by our Governor, Kate Warner to the 2016
Image courtesy Christina McKercher Booth
Alice winner, distinguished writer, historian
and broadcaster, Dr Clare Wright. Unfortunately Clare was unable to be Mayor Albert van Zetten, Yvonne Gluyas
and Lyndle van Zetten
present and the elegant Alice statuette and framed certificated were Image courtesy Christina McKercher Booth
accepted on her behalf by 2014 Alice recipient, Libby Hathorn.
Behind the scenes of the glam and glitter, the publicity pics in the Examiner and reports of Dr Clare
Wrights win in the National press, was much work and huge generosity from many people throughout
our community. There were the many donors of raffle prizes SWWT members, other individuals,
bookshops, gift shops, art shopsthe organisers of and contributors to our wonderful book fair in
Ulverstone, particularly Rose Frankcombe and Marilyn Quirk and local member Joan Rylah, MP, who
donated prize money for the student writing competition? There were those who donated time to run a
wide range of workshops over the months leading up to the Alice, Greens Member for Bass, Andrea
Dawkins who contributed $400, Liz Russell-Arnot who provided a folio of prints of her beautiful
Tasmanian animal paintings for everyone who attended the
dinner, the staff at the Boathouse who accommodated our
various changes of plans, the Penny Royal staff who stepped
in at the last minute and did us proud at the Meet and Greet,
Freya Su who designed our Alice Award certificate and
certificates for shortlisted nominees, and many, many more.
And pulling all of this together was the Alice organising
committee, who, even when besieged with serious ill health
and family illnesses, worked tirelessly to make the Alice the
success that it was.
Hosting the Alice has been, as they say a steep learning
2014 Alice winner Libby Hathorn, Tasmanian nominee
curve for SWWT.
Robyn Friend and Joy Elizabeth

Would we do it again? Now there is a question.
Image courtesy Christina Mckercher Booth

AN EVENING AT THE BOATHOUSE

ALICE AWARD PRESENTATION NIGHT

I was honoured to accept Patronage of the Society of Women Writers Tasmania in October 2015; this is
the first event of the Society that I have been able to attend and Im delighted to be able to do so
although last December we did enjoy having the Societys President Yvonne Gluyas and member Robyn
Mathison at Government House among guests at a formal dinner for the Ambassador of Portugal and
his spouse.
And speaking of firsts, the national Alice Award presentation has never before been hosted in
Tasmania. I therefore extend heartiest congratulations to the small SWWT committee which has worked
very hard to put this wonderful evening together.
Now, I have been asked to say something about the history of the Alice Award. We know that it dates
back to 1978. However, an award was in some sense a long time coming, given that the Society of
Women Writers was formed in Sydney way back in 1925. And I would like therefore to take a moment
to quote the first President, Florence Baverstock, who wrote a piece in The Sydney Morning Herald in
October 1925, explaining the new Society.
I quote:
This new organisation of women ... spreads a net with a finer mesh than the London Society of
Women Journalists, inasmuch as many of the leading writers of stories, nature studies, and verse have
joined its ranks. This inclusion makes for a larger and more influential membership roll, and shows that a
spirit of unity animates all travellers by the various routes which lead to publication, whether they use
the humble paths of the youthful reporter who describes a very pretty wedding, or the higher walk of
the verse writer who can produce lines with a thrill in them; or the woman who can tell a story that will
move, and of the nature student who brings all out-of-doors before us ... The new Society of Women
Writers makes strong appeal to the spirit of comradeship already a growing factor among women doing
similar work.
How good it is to know that over 90 years later that spirit of comradeship is not only undiminished
but possibly even enhanced, through the prestige of the Alice Award: the award being in some ways a
unifying symbol of Australias autonomous state Societies of Women Writers.
The Awards unique bronze statuette was created by artist Alan Ingham, who took inspiration for it
from Henry Lawsons short story The Drovers Wife. It was named in memory of Alice Booth, whose
generosity to the Society during her lifetime helped to pay for the statuette.
The Alice is awarded biennially for an outstanding long-term contribution to Australian literature. It
has therefore passed through many significant hands. And this is a fitting occasion to hear that roll call,
from 1978 onwards: Eleanor Dark; Dame Judith Wright; Dame Mary Durack; Kylie Tennant; Ruth Park;
Nancy Cato; Nance Donkin; Elizabeth Jolley; Mem Fox; Patsy Adam- Smith; Kathryn Purnell; Jill Shearer;
Kate Grenville; Margaret Scott; Rosemary Dobson; Brenda Niall; Christobel Mattingley; Susanna de
Vries; and the current recipient Libby Hathorn, awarded the Alice in Perth in December 2014.
Now, it is true that every recipient has been worthy and so it is difficult to single out any one over
another. But given that we are in Tasmania and that the Alice is being hosted here for the first time, I
feel it is quite in order to specifically mention Margaret Scott, who I understand was a past Patron of the
SWWT and who in 1959 migrated to Tasmania from the UK; and Patsy Adam-Smith, who lived in
Tasmania from 1945 to 1970. Both of these authors made significant contributions to Australian
literature. What I will say, briefly, is that I read a most interesting article recently about Patsy Adam-
Smith, published in this years first issue of the UK journal Studies in Travel Writing. The article is called
Footloose in Tasmania: Patsy Adam-Smith and middlebrow travel writing, 1950-1973.
Many years ago, I guess shortly after it was published in 1986, I read and enjoyed Adam-Smiths
Heart of Exile, her story of the Young Irelanders transported to Van Diemens Land in 1848. But I did not
know about her travel writing, her autobiographies or her life.
Robyn Greavess article and its discussion of middlebrow literature, and the rather elitist

7

connotations of this term interested me. I wondered where it would situate (to use a buzz word in
cultural studies/literary criticism) one of my daughter Megs writing assignmentswriting for the online
magazine that accompanies the TV reality show Love Shack!
But what most struck me about the article was what an amazing woman Patsy Adam-Smith was. Her
formal education ended at 13, she married very young and came from Queensland to settle in Tasmania,
in Ulverstone, where she felt imprisoned by cold, housework, caring for her two small children and an
unhappy marriage. She escaped all of this by writing, first as a stringer for the ABC, and then after she
left her husband, by her travel writing.

And quoting from the article:
As a woman writing from masculine space and in a traditionally masculine literary field [travel writing],
Adam-Smith pushed the bounds of genre and (re-)created a space for herself and others to follow ...
In conservative 1950s Australia, Adam-Smith defied convention, stepping outside the traditional
(feminised) domestic realm to embark on a peripatetic existence at road and sea, living and working
among men ... Adam-Smith found travel liberating while at the same time contending with prejudices
based on preconceived notions of acceptable behaviour in a conservative society.
And the article ends with these words:
In placing herself outside the home as an itinerant story-teller, Adam-Smith disrupts and subverts
gendered notions of space, offering alternatives for others (particularly other women), and a revision of
traditional conventions. Her legacy to Australian folklore, history and literature is a valuable
contribution to the nation.
That certainly deserved an award!
Her Excellency Professor
The Honourable Kate Warner AM,
Governor of Tasmania

LtoR: SWWT President Yvonne Gluyas, Governor Kate Warner, and Launceston Mayor Albert van
Zetten. Image courtesy Christina McKercher Booth

Coming from diverse backgrounds, guest speakers at the Alice presentation

dinner, Alison Andrews and Rachael Treasure have two things in common,
the love of country lifeand the written word.

___________________________________________

FROM THE WOMENS SOCIAL PAGES TO THE COUNTRY COURIER
By Rose Frankcombe

Alison Andrews began her career in journalism on the cusp of change in the 1970s, when female
reporters were relegated to the womens social pages of newspapers.

When I started as a cadet reporter in 1970 at the Launceston Examiner newspaper, I was the only
woman, girl, among nearly a dozen first, second and third year cadets.

It has been a long and difficult road for female reporters to make a mark in fields other than the
domestic pages. Often the early pioneers had to hide behind a pseudonym in order to hold onto their
positions, their readers never knowing they were female.
Time, determination and activism saw those early women journalists begin to change the accepted
norms. Women like Mary Gilmore, one of the founders of the Society of Women Writers, circa 1925,
who wrote for the Bulletin, New Idea, The Book Fellow and later became the editor of The Worker,
giving her an outlet to express her ideas on social reformsand feminism.
For many years The Examiner ran six pages for women daily, with more in the weekend editions.
Ready to shrug off the limitations of those womens pages, Alison nagged the editor, Goodwin
(Goodie) Ewence, to let her escape the confines of the social pages and set her free to do the police
rounds, local government reporting, news and sport.
It (writing) teaches you the importance of research and accuracy and the ability to adapt your skill to
the situation and the style of writing required.

After a long and varied career spanning more than forty years, including a stint with the Melbourne
Sun, and later running her own media and marketing company, Alison then returned to The Examiner
and achieved the rank of Chief Reporter.
Newspaper writing teaches you a succinct, pithy style of writing, (the) importance of research and
accuracy.
Retiring in 2013, this was not the end of the story. Two years later Alison became the new owner of
the Country Courier newspaper operating out of Longford.
A writer, like a musician, must constantly practice her craft, constantly work with words to keep your
skills at the highest levels otherwise youll lose it.

___________________________________________

FROM FLANNIE SHIRT TO EVENING GOWN

By Rose Frankcombe

Rachael Treasure reflects on her life in the bush, her love of the earth and soilsand her fears for the
planet and agriculture steering away from healthy practices as she crafts her latest non-fiction work,
Down the Dirt Roads (Penguin Random House, due out in November, 2016).
(Down the Dirt Road) is part memoir and also part manifesto for change in what I see as a masculine
heavy system of corporate agriculture.
Bursting with ideas for a story, when Rachael returned to Tasmania from outback Queensland, where
mustering was riding a helicopter, and a shotgun to hand was sure defence against any rogue bull
stirring the dust, Rachael says she didnt set out to become a published author.
9

A mentorship with the Tasmanian Writers Centre saw her partnered with Robyn Friend (Tasmanias
nominee for the Alice Award).
She not only became my mentor, but my mainstay for my entire career. That manuscript, Jilleroo, that
Robyn played midwife to, went on to inspire an entirely new genre, rural lit fiction. (Jilleroo, was
published by Penguin in 2002).
As all writers know, dont fall into the trap of purple prose. Show, dont tell, is an adage that Rachael
keeps closely in mind as she crafts her stories.
Ive been able to use my platform as a best selling novelist and rural fiction author to become a change
agent in agricultural systems.

When Tasmanian writer Danielle Wood mentioned a collection of twenty-four Tasmanian stories she
was collating in partnership with Ralph Crane for the University of Tasmania titled Deep South, saying
that Rachaels story The Mysterious Handbag would pair nicely with another one written in the 1950s,
there was no understanding at that moment of the close connection between the earlier writer and
some sixty years later her contemporary counterpart.
The late Joan Wise, poet, writer of childrens fiction and short stories, has The Conquest of Emmie
included in the collection. Set in Tasmanias highland lake district, this tale, despite the hardships of life
portrayed, is light and funny. Published in the Bulletin on January 18, 1950, recently this story has been
adapted to film.
Rachaels story, The Mysterious Handbag, has a distinct, macabre twist in the tale.
While researching Joan Wises background Danielle discovered a surprising fact she had to share with
RachaelJoan was in fact Rachaels maternal grandmother.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE CULMINATION OF MUCH WORK, WITH THANKS

By Rosalie Sydes
Many helpers made the night at the Boathouse special.
On Friday at the Meet and Greet at the Penny Royal it was a good chance for me to connect with
the Queensland contingent of 6Acting President SWWQ Thea Biesheuvel and husband Eric, Marilyn
Hume and her son Brendan, her
secretary Penny Steel and their
friend Roger Hughes.
On Saturday evening the
gathering waited in the foyer for
the arrival of our patron, Her
Excellency The Governor of
Tasmania, Kate Warner and her
ADC who were met and escorted
in by President Yvonne Gluyas and
Kim Nielson-Creely.
LtoR: Joan Webb, Yvonne Gluyas and Flight Lieutenant
Emcee Joy Elizabeth ensured
Kim Nielson-Creely
Catherine Saunders, Aide de Camp to Her Excellency,
the
e
vening
r
an
s
moothly.

Image courtesy Christina McKercher Booth
Kate Warner
Settling
d
own
t
o
d
inner,
w
e
Image courtesy Christina McKercher Booth
were entertained by absorbing speeches from our patron Kate
Warner. Ali Andrews spoke on female journalists changing role, and country woman Rachael Treasure
spoke on her successful writing careerand, wearing another hat, the changes she wants to see in the
care of the land.
The 2014 Alice Award winner Libby Hathorn, accepted the impressive Alice statuette and certificate
on behalf of the successful 2016 winner, Victorian entrant and historian Dr Clare Wright. Libby also read
out Clares acceptance speech.
10

We were saddened some of our SWWT members through illness of their own, or that of family
members, were unable to join us on the night and thank them for their sizeable
contributions towards making the event such a success.
Delicious Cocobean Chocolate gifts were given to Ali Andrews and Rachael
Treasure, Alice Finalists Robyn Friend and Marilyn Hume, and some with our
thanks to our patron Kate Warner for coming along and supporting us. Libby
Hathorn also received a chocolate gift in appreciation for her bringing the Alice
statuette down from NSW. Libby said she said she had such good luck with Alice
she was reluctant to hand her over.
Thanks go to Vice President Liz Russell-Arnot who generously provided her
folio of Tasmanian Wildlife artwork to all at the event. Wendy Laing took
bookings and payments for the dinner, Christina Booth ensured there was
Facebook picture coverage to be accessed by those who couldn't attend over
both nights. Thank you to Mary Hawkinsand Cocobean Chocolates for the
generous sweet donation. Floral displays were artfully arranged by Joy Elizabeth
Penny Steel and Thea
Biesheuvel from Queensland
and Nancy Corbett. Kathy Duff ensured we had name tags at both events. Freya
Su (who designed our Alice certificate) met and guided guests at the venues.
Image courtesy
Christina McKercher Booth
Marilyn Quirk and Beryl Wilson ably presided over the book sales and display
tables.

All in all it was a splendid two nights and SWWT should be proud of what can be achieved when we
put our minds to it.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

CONGRATULATIONS

Jacqueline Lonsdale-Cuerton for achieving a Highly Commended for poem, Metamorphosis, from
Scribes Writers, Victoria.
Christina McKercher Booth has been selected as a member for the 2017 May Gibbs Childrens creative
time residential fellows.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

OPPORTUNITIES
Author and speaker, Emily M Morgan runs a parenting website (the Parent Resource Centre,
www.parentresourcecentre.com) full of articles, interviews and real life parenting stories. Here there are also
reviews of new release children's fiction and non-fiction and parent-related non-fiction from traditional
publishers and independent authors. Emily would be happy to accept such books from SWWT members for
review. Review copies are generally used as giveaways or competitions, or donated to local schools or
organisations.
Members
can
take
a
look
at
examples
of
the
reviews
here: http://parentresourcecentre.com/category/product-reviews/ and can contact Emily directly to arrange to
send review copies at info@parentresourcecentre.com.

Aleesha Darlison is touring Tasmanian in August and September. Her new picture book release of huge
significance is titled Stripes in the Forest: The Story of the Last Wild Thylacine. Its coming out in time to
commemorate the 80th anniversary of the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger on 7 September (National Threatened
Species Day). Although it is too late to attend the Scottsdale workshop, we can give you a link to her website so
you can read about her story books for children, which includes teachers notes.
http://www.aleesahdarlison.com/resources.html

Kim Ogden of BLUE APPLE-ITES asks if you can let her know if you know anyone that makes quality: Tasmanian
skin care (not soap); Bears; Books by Tasmanian authors; Timber - trucks / cars / planes.

11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

REMEMBER
The book was far from new,
A large print, hard-cover volume,
The type preferred by older folk.
It told the tale of a man,
A young man,
Early in the twentieth Century,
The tormented tale of a lad at war,
One of those young innocents
Who volunteered in World War One,
One who survived, though sorely wounded,
Returning to his life and love at home.
Musing on the story,
Its satisfying conclusion,
I turned to the back cover,
To find a faded photograph
Pasted there on the page,
A portrait of a serious-faced young man
In battle dress,
High-buttoned, with cap correctly askew.
Above, his name was printed in clear type,
But there below, now blurred by age,
A slightly shaky hand had written Paddy.
I wondered then
Who placed this precious picture on the page.
Had the story in the book
Revived long-buried memories
Of another lad who went to war?
Was it a reminder of our countrys loss,
The grief of mothers, sisters, sweethearts, wives,
Or did some unknown hand place it here
So someone, somewhere, some time
Would think of Paddy.
Helen Brumby

The Meet and Greet

The meet and greet was very enjoyable and
sociable.
There were lots of people going around
taking photos, even the Examiner was there.
I had my photo taken so many times I lost
count.
The snacks were delicious and quite
varied. The wine was delicious and a good
vintage. When I was young and stupid I liked
white wine now I prefer Red!
Yvonne and Joy did a fantastic deal by
organising the Penny Royal. It is a beautiful
venue especially, with the rock formation as
its back drop.
Last night we shook hands with the
Governor, who was very informal and
sociable. She gave an informative talk on
women writers and their contribution to
Australian literature.
Anne Wilde
Thank you, SWWT
I want to express my ardent thanks for your
recognition, support and kindness to me in
the nomination for the Alice Award, and also
my
admiration
for
your
organizing
abilities. The Gala dinner was quite
wonderful, and Alison and Rachael such a
good choice as speakers.
I really enjoyed meeting Libby and
Marilyn and the Queensland contingent and
catching up with so many friends. I was
impressed, too, by just how much talent
there was in that room. As I looked around I
could almost see pages of manuscripts that
it has been my privilege to read at some time
or another, and if I have one regret it was
that I didnt bring home to Tasmanian that
beautiful Alice statuette for you, as I felt all of
the members deserved her. However Clare
Wright was the ideal choice and I have
written to her to say so.
A highlight for me was meeting our
Governor. What a delight Kate Warner is,
and an inspiration.
Robyn Friend
Viewed from the outside
As someone who couldnt attend the
functions
arranged
for
the
Alice
presentations, I would like to thank the
members of the SWWT who took the events
forward so magnificentlyand in particular a
word of thanks to Christina McKercher
Booth, who arranged a feed of photos and
short videos of the proceedings via
Facebook, making those of us who couldnt
be there feel a part of everything.
Grateful for the inclusion

12

YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY WRITING

COMPETITION WINNERS

Rear LtoR: Lilli Markota, Mackenzie Maclaine-Cross, Amy

Dodwell, Makayla Martin, Smmer Scott

Front LtoR: Marilyn Quirk, Burnie City Council Mayor Anita

Dow, Braddon Liberal MHA Joan Rylah.
Image supplied by Marilyn Quirk

First prize: $100
How is this Equal? - Amy Dodwell (15) (home schooled)
Second Prize: $60
Marsellaise Mackenzie Maclaine-Cross (14) (Burnie High School)
Third Prize: $40
My Dearest Granddaughter Lilli Markota (12) Parklands High School
Commended: Voucher My difference Summer Scott (13) Burnie High School
Commended: Voucher Untitled Makayla Martin (14) Parklands High School

With thanks to Karen Kelly, Marilyn Quirk had managed to secure the Burnie City Council Chambers, a
coup, as an event such as a prize giving for young writers had never happened here before.
On Friday August 12, guests included the Burnie City Mayor Anita Dow, Deputy Mayor Alvwin Boyd,
the City Manager Andrew Wardlaw, Braddon MP Joan Rylah who had donated the prize money, parents,
teachers and principalsand the short-listed students who had entered the competition and the
competition judges, Michelle Luck and Carol Hay.
Judge Michelle Luck, Raising the Bar (Literacy), is Assistant Principal at Burnie High School. Co-judge
Carol Hay, Raising the Bar (Literacy), is from Parklands High School.
The competition, theme Suffrage, run in conjunction with Extravaganza by the Leven, a book fair for
Tasmanian writers, held at Ulverstone in May, was extended by a month to allow electronic entries to
be submitted. Then came the task of judging the entries.

I would like to express my appreciation to the Society of Women Writers Tasmania for their
facilitation of the recent high school writing competition. As students progress through school, more
value is often placed on the different forms of academic writing, while creative writing becomes a
hobby for a small group of students to pursue in their own time. I feel that these entries demonstrate
that our young people are capable of great imagination, empathy and storytelling, and these are
qualities worth recognising and celebrating. Michelle Luck.

Saying how important writing is, and how the development of those skills would benefit them for all
communication in their lives, Joan Rylah made the presentations to the winning students.
Each student was also presented with a book from Marilyn Quirk and one from David Laing.

13

HOW IS THIS EQUAL?

By First Prize Winner Amy Dodwell

Why cant I leave this dreadful place and go north? Lesley screamed inwardly.
The answer was obvious, an answer she had thought about and cried over for eight months.
She found Mum, who sat darning her old coat again. Money had been scarce since Father had been reported missing
during the Great War, seven years ago, both mother and daughter worked long hours to pay the costs of living.
Mum looked up as Lesley sat down. Lesley could see how hard Mum had worked for these last few years, in her black
eyes and the wrinkles on her chocolate skin.
Crying over the Racial Integrity Act again, love?
Yes.
Arnold doesnt think it will last. Dont you believe him? Love takes trust, you know. One day hell take you North, he just
needs to secure his position in the Newspaper, its so promising. By the way, I will have left to queue before you have
woken tomorrow.
Do you need me to come too? Remember how long you had to wait last time?
Ill be alright, Mum replied. One of us should work tomorrow.
You dont have to vote. Arnold says...
Mum laughed. Is there anything that Arnold hasnt said about politics and voting? And yes, I do. If women didnt vote
then why did they fight for the right to?
But others will vote, Lesley protested. It isnt hard for the white women, theyll all vote. People only fight us
Then not to vote would mean letting them win. That wouldnt do.
The next day seemed to drag for Lesley and when it was finally over she walked home only to find that Mum was still not
back. Worried, she ate her dinner and waited. Time dragged. Finally she heard a knock.
Lesley opened the door, but it was Arnold and his father who stood there looking terribly upset.
What is it? she whispered. Tell me Arnold.
Arnold was silent.
Its your mother, said Mr Jakes. Arnold took Lesleys brown hands in his cream ones. She collapsed while waiting in
queue, just over an hour ago. She hit her head, Lesley.
Lesley paused. She understood what they were saying. In a daze they led her up to her bedroom and lay her down. After
that she could remember nothing.

Nine days later Lesley awoke to the autumn breeze on her face. Mrs Jakes was opening the window to let in the fresh air.

Thank you for looking after me, said Lesley.

Thats alright love. I see you have your senses back. Perhaps if youre up to it you could take a walk down to Arnolds
office. He says he has an idea.
Ill go now.
A few minutes later she burst through the door of the office. Im so glad to see you, Lesley, Arnold said. Ive had an
idea and I want your help.
What is it?
An article. Its going on the front page.

While waiting in queue to vote, Sarah Chilton collapsed from exhaustion and exposure after standing
for over 11 hours in the cold and the wind.
Why was she forced to wait all this time? The answer: she was a coloured woman.
Fifty-two years ago this was signed as the Fifteenth Amendment: The right of citizens of the
United States shall not be denied or abridged by the United states or by any state on the account of
race, colour, or previous condition of servitude.
Then in 1920 as the Nineteenth Amendment: The right of citizens of the United States shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any Sate on the account of sex.
Black women, therefore, have the right to vote but when Black women hold votes, Black voters
outnumber white. Virginia does not want coloured people to obtain such political power so they have
been trying to deter negro voters.
But on July 4, 1776, fifty-six of our fellow Americans signed to this proclamation: We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
If the words of the Declaration of Independence hold no truth, then do we ourselves hold Liberty?
We cannot claim the truth of these words for ourselves yet withhold the same freedom to others

14

 So if Black is equal to White, why then is political power denied them? If theyre equal to us in
intellect and are fellow Americans then no divide should be drawn. Their power is our power and our
rights are their rights. Where, also, is the crime in marrying your equal? Eight months ago the Racial
Integrity Act was passed, prohibiting interracial marriage.
This is to preserve the White Virginian bloodlines, but it is interesting to note that seven of the
fifty-six men who signed the Declaration in 1776 were Virginian, including Thomas Jefferson himself,
elected President in 1801. If we hold our fellow in any respect, we will regard their word when they
say that all men were created equal, and we will treat them as such.
Forcing negroes to stand in a queue for 11 hours or refusing to marry into them, is not treating
them as equal. Are American, we should never reject one of our own, what kind of Nation would do
that and how will it stand?

Arnolds article travelled all over America. A man in Washington read it. His eyes were sad but hopeful. He left for
Virginia.
Standing in the hall he waited. Lesley walked to meet him.
Pa?
Lesley.
Pa.
Two months later Pa would take Lesley north.
Lesley, said Arnold before she left. I have a new position as a political writer. Ill help change Virginia. Maybe one day
Ill change it for us.
Yes, said Lesley. Do that.

MARSELLAISE
By Second Prize Winner Mackenzie Maclaine-Cross

The outraged crowd escalates in a barbaric uproar. The kaleidoscopic sea pushes and collides, spilling with blood
thirsty madness. I stand rigidly and observe the wild herd curse, cheer and yell as the eruption plays out around
me in such appalling suspense.
I recall not quite when this all began, as it had been stirring in common France for a while. But in my mind I
vividly remember the day that I became fully aware. It was just as any other day; a blue sky outside of my simple
home, fresh air; light breeze and a soft melody that I had hummed softly in the still and quiet space in a grassy
field.
I was making my way into town to purchase some bread for my family. Bread which we could barely afford.
Bread which we saw as scarcely as all other peasants. I had heard gossip and conspiracy of the loathed king and
queen. They had begun whispering off to the side of forbidden things I would overhear as silently drifting by. In
my blissful ignorance, passively eavesdropping is how I managed to gain knowledge. And I did. Soon I was visiting
town often, picking up on snippets here and there, and developing an understanding. Until the massacres came.
By this time the uprising was popular, and the revolution was more than just controversial rumours on the
streets of Paris. During July the first 900 workers and peasants stormed the Bastille Prison to take arms and
ammunition, making the beginning to the French revolution. That October they stormed the Versailles palace,
demanding that the King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette be brought to Paris. My father was fighting for this
cause. He was fighting for democracy. The rights of men. And he had sacrificed himself in doing so. That is why I
became a supporter. I believed in the future of France and fighting with the rebels just as my father had. I still do
believe in this cause. But watching the mindlessness of the crowd around me which thirsts only for vengeance
inflicted upon its enemy, I ponder on where the true monstrosity lies. Our cause also carried its fair burden of
horrors.
And so the national convention abolished the monarchy and the declaration of the French republic was
established. We had triumphed. But it did not end there. Could not end there. The abominable truth was that my
fellow rebels savageness could not be quenched until the enemy was demolished. And so the king and queen
were tried for treason and were found guilty and therefore sentenced to death by the infamous guillotine. And it
is the death of Queen Marie Antoinette herself that I am here to witness today.

15

M EETINGS : W AN T

TO GET TOGETHER ?

If you would like to meet up, to confirm the next meeting date please telephone one of the
numbers given below

H OBAR T:
In Hobart, there is an opportunity to meet a small group of writers, on the first Wednesday of
each month, (Feb - Dec) at Hobart Women's Health Centre, 25 Lefroy Street, North Hobart.
For further details, contact Robyn Mathison telephone 6234 4418 (after 1.00 p.m only)
LAUN C ES TON:
Our usual meetings are held on the first Monday of each month (Feb Dec)
(Nov. meeting is the 2nd Monday due to a public holiday)
NB: we now meet in the Ida Bu rc hi ll roo m, 34 - 3 6 Pate rso n S tr ee t, L aun c est on , at
10.00 a.m - 1.00 p.m.

Gold coin donation. Tea and coffee available

Always check our website for current news of meetings or guests:
http://www.swwtas.org
W RITING THEME FOR OCTOBER, 2016: ...PHEW!... (see page 1 for details)

The Society of Women Writers, Tasmania, Incorporated

SWWT encourages urban
and rural writers to be a
part of our statewide
roster of postal
magazines that circulate
throughout the year. A
critique with positive
advice for improvements
is given to your submitted
work.

Do you write verse?

Short stories? Articles?
Other?

Incorporation No: IA 08090 ABN: 91 079 957 602

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Membership application forms can also be downloaded
from our web page: swwt.org.au

Treasurer, SWWT, Inc.,

3 Hawley Street,
NEWSTEAD, 7250

Please note that member resubscription

always falls due annually, on June 30

Membership: $20.00
(under 16 years $15.00)

NAME:
ADDRESS:

Tell us when you send

in your membership
application form with
payment to:

POSTCODE:

EMAIL:

TELEPHONE:

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING A WRITING MAGAZINE, WHERE YOUR WORK CAN BE CRITIQUED, INCLUDE THE
FOLLOWING DETAILS:
Please forward a small sample of your writing (500 words or less) for allocation to a magazine when you submit your application, by email if possible.
DATE:

SIGNATURE:

For further information, contacts: or downloads view: http://www.swwt.org.au

16