Over the weekend I was honoured to present the inaugural Colleen McCullough Writer’s Residency. The award formed a part of the Historical Novel Society of Australasia conference which was held at the University of Western Sydney, Parramatta. The residency is named for Ms McCullough - who died in 2015. Her most well-known novel, The Thorn [...]
‘From the very first time I came to Broken Hill … in the middle of a dust storm accompanied by 100 degree heat, I loved the fierceness and the challenge of this area.’ Eric Minchin 1975. The founder of the Brushmen of the Bush, Eric Minchin was a man with an eye for opportunity. Minchin [...]
Hugh Schulz's art has appeared in many Australian and international books on Naive Art, this is a wonderfully expressive term for a man who was an exponent of what is commonly considered a more childlike approach to art. There is something quite enchanting about his work, as if he has turned a magnifying glass on [...]
Brushmen of the Bush. Now here's a painting group that deserved their iconic name. In 1973 five artists met in Broken Hill, New South Wales and started collaborating. The artists, comprising of Pro Hart, Eric Minchin, Jack Absalom, Hugh Schulz and John Pickup would change forever the perception of outback art both in Australia and abroad, ensuring [...]
Have you ever noticed that at family gatherings the stories that are shared quite often relate to a moment in a family’s history. We exchange memories of precious times and loved ones, delighting in snippets from the past, a form of reminiscence that can bring great joy and humour, but also reflective sadness. Recently I [...]
Join me and New Zealand's book podcast supremo, Jenny Wheeler as we discuss everything from landscapes, grazing life & writing at The joys of binge reading. Head to the website here to listen.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hill End. An abandoned goldrush town. Home to the ghosts of pan-shackled miners, some who won big and others who lost. In 1872 it was NSW’s largest inland settlement. Incorrectly named Forbes before Hill End was chosen and the town gazetted, it is a place that carries the memory of the wily antics of the estimated [...]
