The Australian bush has its own unique light; a natural glow that pierces through the Eucalypt branches and radiates across the land. An artist who recognised this beauty, and consciously immersed himself in these images of the outback was Tom Roberts. He was a creative who captured the vastness of rural living and the raw [...]
If you're a member of a book club and you enjoy lively discussion it's always great to have a few questions to start with. Here are seven questions relating to Stone Country that are sure to have you dissecting the plot and pondering the duality of human nature. 1. Stone Country is a compelling tale of [...]
I often find myself having discussions about food security. The availability and access to food is something taken for granted by many of us. We go to the supermarket or butcher and purchase our groceries with little thought that one day an item may not be available; that is until we reach for say the [...]
Born west of Geelong in 1867, Arthur Streeton’s only professional training was at the National Gallery of Victoria. He began painting city life in Sydney, then moved further afield to paint the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury river regions. He had a brilliant ability to inject light and space into his work, creating paintings that captured [...]
Stone Country. Like a sneak peek? Head to my publisher's page for the opening chapter. Stone Country
The duality of human nature lies at the heart of my new novel, Stone Country. What sets us apart from our friends and family? Why do we make certain choices during a lifetime? Ones that can just as easily mean our triumph or our downfall. Decisions that can affect not only oneself but also that [...]
The history of horses in Australia could fill volumes. From our first settlers, to the mounts of the Light Horse to Phar Lap, we are a culture that loves our nags, even if it just means having a flutter once a year on the Melbourne Cup. But the love affair that grew out of a [...]
Iconic Australian artists. The phrase makes me think of idyllic portrayals of pastoralism, of golden fleeces suffused with sunlight, frontier settlers framed by eucalypt trees and the blue haze of a never-ending landscape. There are also the confronting depictions rendered by more contemporary artists. Of men and women, their communities, and their profound connection to [...]
Famous for being famously superb, the shilling ram was the name given to Uardry 0.1. A merino ram of such style and class that on the 29th June 1932, the Sydney Mail announced that Uardry was, ‘generally acknowledged to be one of the most magnificent Merinos ever seen in Sydney.’ Uardry had for competition 366 [...]
He was the son of a Welsh convict and a mother driven from Ireland by the potato famine, but the man who would change his name from Arthur Hoey Davis to Steele Rudd, began life as one of thirteen children at Drayton, near Toowoomba,Queensland. Whether he was interested or not in a formal education, the need [...]
