CityNews 220113

JON STANHOPE / MORE SHOULD BE DONE TO HONOUR MURDERED NURSE A J NUARY 31 , 2022

elW rwite,n elw read

OPINION

Pollies too busy for community issues

PAUL COSTIGAN STREAMING

Here come the battling fantasies

NICK OVERALL GARDENING

Beware the slug that loves eating leaves

JACKIE WARBURTON

AUSSIEWOOD!

NICOLE KIDMAN stars in the exhibition looking at the Australians influencing Hollywood

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NEWS

Jack brings twisted revenge to his own backyard

By Nick

OVERALL IN his newest crime thriller “Kill Your Brother”, Canberra author Jack Heath brings a twisted tale of revenge to his own backyard.

Rural NSW is the setting for this story which sees Heath pose the ultimate decision to the novel’s main character: “Would you kill a family member to save your own life?”

When disgraced athlete Elise Glyk is captured by a reclusive woman with an axe to grind and locked inside a septic tank with her brother, it’s a question she’s forced to answer.

“It was so refreshing to set a novel in Australia, to write I could just trust my own memories or look out the window,” says Jack.

“Warrigal, NSW, is the fictional centre of the book and when I was describing its town centre I was able to use Charnwood shops – my local shops – as inspiration.”

Even Canberra features in some flashback sections of the story – a far cry from Heath’s previous best-sellers, which have been set in Houston, Texas.

“I feel like when I was younger there weren’t a lot of Australian thrillers,” he says.

INDEX

“It felt like there were a lot of Australian books, but if you wanted something thrilling you were going to need something set in the US or UK, so I’m pleased to be part of the mob of Aussies who are turning that around.”

Jack believes it’s authors such as Jane Harper, writer of “The Dry”, and Chris Hammer, writer of “Scrublands”, who have created a new craving for the Australian outback crime noir.

“I think for city dwellers, the outback landscape seems threatening and I count myself as part of those it scares,” says Jack.

“I’ve been to small towns where I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about how far I am from a hospital. If I collapsed or got run over by a tractor or bitten by a snake would I survive?

“When writing a thriller you want to threaten your hero in as many ways as possible, and in that sense it forms a great setting for doing that.”

Threatened indeed is the protagonist of “Kill Your Brother”, who throughout the book is faced with revelations that not only lead her to question who her brother really is, but question who she is herself.

“With this novel I wanted to see how many times I could swap the readers between thinking certain characters are good or bad,” says Jack.

In “flipping that switch”, as Jack describes it, he even surprised himself

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Remembering

with some of the twists and turns.

“I knew the final scenes before I even knew who the characters would be. It was just a matter of finding the right characters to get there,” he says.

“Having said that though, a lot of the things that happened in the middle of the book actually surprised me.

“Some of the best ideas are the ones that come to you as you’re wading through the manuscript and I know

that if they catch me off guard they’ll catch the reader off guard.”

Throughout his career, Heath has been praised by critics for the complexity of his female characters and they firmly take the lead in his newest tale.

“When I’m writing female characters I actually find there’s freedom to be more autobiographical with their emotions or thoughts because no one

Since 1993: Volume 28, Number: 2

Arts & Entertainment 19-22

Fussy eaters

Canberra author Jack Heath … “It was so refreshing to set a novel in Australia, to write I could just trust my own memories or look out the window.

will recognise it’s me if I switch the gender,” he says.

“I think that might be where some of the appreciation from critics for those characters comes from, and that’s something I’ve only felt safe enough to do with my male characters in recent years.”

Despite the confronting and gruesome style of his adult books, Jack says readers are often surprised to hear he faints at the sight of blood.

With this novel, he says he’s tried to exorcise some of that fear.

“When I first learned about blood doping – athletes withdrawing their own blood and reinjecting it later – the idea made my skin crawl, but I was also fascinated by it,” he says.

“I found myself imagining an athlete who had been banned for blood doping and rejected by society, and who then had a reversal of fortunes, being forced to run for her life while bleeding to death.

“The idea just wouldn’t let me go.”

With a sequel already in the works, Jack says he’s excited to write and read more thriller fiction set in his home country.

“One of the great things about Australia is its diversity of landscape – I’d love to see some more Australian thrillers set in beach communities or in the rainforests or even down in the freezing cold wastelands of Canberra,” he says with a laugh.

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NEWS / local history

A little bit of historian Bert’s history comes home

By Nick

OVERALL A DISCARDED wartime certificate belonging to a Queanbeyan serviceman and historian has been gifted to the city’s history collection he once contributed to.

The historic commendation from “The Citizens of the Municipality of Queanbeyan and the Shire of Yarrowlumla” and awarded to Philip “Bert” Sheedy, was found by The Green Shed in Canberra – meaning it nearly ended up in the tip.

Who knows where it had come from, but Green Shed co-owner Sandie Parkes happened upon the relic and got in touch with Queanbeyan’s local history librarian Brigid Whitbread.

“When I found out Sandie had come across this certificate I could barely believe it,” says Brigid.

“Bert is a foundation of the local history collection and was instrumental in the information that’s been salvaged and recorded here.”

The certificate, which Brigid says is in “remarkable” condition, was awarded to Bert for “a great duty nobly done” with the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion and the 7th Australian Machine Gun battalion AIF in New

4 CityNews January 13-19, 2022

Young Bert Sheedy in his Army uniform pictured during World Sandie Parkes and Adam Charif from The Green Shed present War II and in later life.

Photos: courtesy of Mark Butz librarian Brigid Whitbread with Bert’s wartime certificate.

Guinea during World War II. Following his service, Bert became an avid collector of history in Queanbeyan.

Today, dozens of cabinets filled with his writing and research form part of the same history collection the certificate now joins – records that were donated by Bert’s family after he died in 2000.

“There’s endless correspondence between him and people looking for info about their homes and families,” says Brigid.

“He made many contributions to historic journals and articles and was the author of ‘Moneroo to Monaro: history of Monaro Street, 1830s-1995, Queanbeyan’.”

She also says Bert helped record

three large volumes of “Queanbeyan Pioneer Cemeteries, Burials and Index”.

Those records today allow people to go online and look up where particular members of the community have been buried.

“Bert and a team went around cemeteries and wrote down who was buried where and checked records,” she says.

“They were researching in the days when computers weren’t even a dream, so Bert and the team physically went through all these records – a very time-consuming, laborious process and they still managed to garner all that information.”

The Sheedy family arrived from Ireland as bounty immigrants in 1841, later becoming farmers in the Yar-

ralumla area.

Bert was born under a wagon in Bowral in 1921 while his family were taking cattle to the Sydney show from Tuggeranong and arrived with his parents in Queanbeyan at around 18 months of age.

On top of his military service, he also worked with the Attorney-General’s Department, the Prime Minister’s Department and with the Commonwealth Police.

His wife Marjorie was also a passionate local history advocate.

Together they were founding members of the Queanbeyan Museum in 1969 and the famous “Tree of Knowledge”, on the corner of Monaro and Crawford streets, stands today because they and other Queanbeyan

citizens fought against its removal in the 1960s.

Sheedy Lane, which runs past the front of Queanbeyan Woolworths, was named in memory of Bert in 2001.

Given all these achievements and more, Brigid says his certificate will have a careful restoration and be remounted in its frame, to ensure it is preserved for many years to come.

“I think Bert would have been really happy to know it had come back to the collection,” she says.

It’s not the first time a significant relic of Queanbeyan’s past has nearly gone to the tip.

Last year The Green Shed uncovered a NSW bank ledger from 1885 that was also donated to the collection.

“I think today there’s a bit more of an urgency to throw things away,” says Brigid.

“Say someone dies or has to go to a nursing home, then there’s pressure for a house to be sold or if it’s a rental, to be returned to the landlord.

“In these situations there’s no time to find what’s valuable, what isn’t, and what should go to someone who’d appreciate it and that’s why these things end up in skips, because people suddenly have no time to think about it.

“There’s so much to learn from previous generations and previous communities.

“These physical items, they make our history more real.”

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CANBERRA MATTERS

Oh, they’re all too busy for community issues IN November Liberal MLA Jeremy Hanson proposed the ACT Legislative Assembly meet for longer than the allocated 35 days for 2022.

The reason for the extra sitting days was to allow the Assembly a Friday each sitting week to deal with issues that rarely see the light of day within the ACT government. That would be the issues that community groups continually ask the local politicians to pay attention to.

He was quickly slapped down by Labor Minister Mick Gentleman, who accused him of a stunt. Fancy that, one politician accusing another of carrying out a stunt to get attention!

Fiona Carrick, of the Woden Valley Community Council, was quoted as saying she agreed with the concept of getting attention to these issues. Her emphasis was that so much energy is put into submissions on community matters and most of the time nothing happens.

There’s a point to be made here. The ACT government has a role in local government matters that residents see as being neglected because the government politicians are busy doing other more important things. In other words, the things the residents talk about are a lower priority for actions

by ACT politicians.

If they had to discuss them on the Fridays, as suggested, that would mean that some would have to

Community councils are frustrated with the process whereby developers and their well-paid consultants show up at meetings to present on their latest development. The exercise is usually a blatant waste of community time. neglect other stuff such as trimming lawns, polishing cars or meeting with lobbyists. These are busy people and it was outrageous that Mr Hanson asked for the ACT government to allocate time and attention to discuss community issues.

The ACT government has turned out to be an annoying and frustrating beast. It has ministers with important titles and duties. These include statelike functions as well as being part of any co-ordination with other state governments and, when appropriate, involvement with national matters.

Meanwhile, within the states, their local governments meet to discuss local planning and development matters, residents get to attend to put forward views on issues and even have the opportunity to watch how councillors vote.

Here we have a complex and

The ACT Legislative Assembly… full of politicians who are all far too busy doing more important things than listening to residents.

Photo: Paul Costigan opaque planning system overseen by a cohort of public-sector officers making decisions on behalf of the elected politicians. The processes have become more akin to the dark arts. It is almost impossible to see any logic in how planning and development decisions are made. Ad hoc is the politest term used to describe the ACT’s planning processes.

If residents wish to raise matters to be attended to, the government has provided an online service that works wonders for the government.

But not so good for residents – the taxpayers. That would be Access Canberra where requests are sent off to a bureaucratic black hole. They too are busy with important matters.

The ACT bureaucracy has become very skilled at conducting consultations on behalf of the government

through online portals such as “Have Your Say” that result in reports such as “What We Heard”. Residents have been very polite and have used these so-called consultations methods – knowing too well that their responses will be largely ignored or at best a few words cherry picked to underpin colourful and banal reports.

Community councils are frustrated with the process whereby developers and their well-paid consultants show up at meetings to present on their latest development. The exercise is usually a blatant waste of community time. The developers need to tick the box before they submit their develop-

ment application and having ticked it, it’s back to business as usual – thank you, very much!

Fiona Carrick makes her points very clear. This government has become disconnected from the residents and has little capacity to identify with and appreciate issues that community groups raise. The new normal is little action by the government.

Whether it be by having extra sitting days or through some other new transparent process, the ACT elected government politicians need to do something in 2022 that allows residents and their community councils to get their matters discussed and where possible, actions taken. No more disingenuous words such as “pilots and listening reports”. Actions not words would be a change.

Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday matters.

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NEWS / fashion

Comfort trumps style in post-lockdown fashion

By Lily

PASS LOCKDOWNS have changed what people want to wear and comfort has become a much more important factor in buying clothes, says fashion design lecturer Shelley Campton.

Shelley has been in her role at CIT for more than 10 years and before that worked in fashion in the UK for 10 years and another 10 in the fashion industry when she moved to Australia.

She believes that the effect of the pandemic will be long lasting in the fashion industry, and this is evident in the work students are producing.

“Both in their designing and the fabrics they’re using, they look at the body and how it moves to ensure a garment is comfortable and wearable,” she says.

Recognising that clothing can help with general wellbeing, she says people are returning to prepandemic work clothes, but with an emphasis on comfort.

“That’s why knitwear is so pop-

ular, knitted dresses are perfect.

They can be smart if it’s good quality yarn, and very comfortable,” she says.

Maria Wolters has worked in the fashion industry for almost 20 years, and is the owner of Honeysuckle and Lace in Kingston, which opened eight years ago.

“I think women are reaching a stage where they wear what they are comfortable in, not what is considered to be ‘in’ fashion, and I think COVID-19 sped that process up,” says Maria.

She says people wanted comfort and tracksuits when they were working at home.

“I suppose they got used to wearing those things and they are looking for more now,” says Maria.

“I can tell you we’re ordering for a year in advance and pretty much every single range has a comfortable range to go with it.”

The comfort ranges include clothes that are easy to pull on, wide legs, fabrics with stretch and elastic, and plenty of dresses.

“I think women love a good dress because of its simplicity,” says Maria.

“You put on a dress and you’re dressed, you don’t have to think about what else you’re going to put with it, that’s the ease of a dress. It doesn’t have to be fitted

or anything, it can be loose and comfortable.”

To further the point, she points to what women are wearing on their feet now, “sandshoes as opposed to heels, they’re so much better”.

She’s adapting her stock in Honeysuckle and Lace to keep up with the demand and to give customers what they want.

“We probably wouldn’t have had those clothes before actually, but it’s something that everybody wants,” she says.

Design manager of Anna Thomas in Braddon, Sarah Shand has been in the fashion industry for more than 25 years.

She believes that while there are still people working from home, a more comfortable, casual sense of workplace fashion and styling will continue to exist.

“I think people love to look elegant, but there’s an element of comfort as well, in formal clothes with elastic material,” says Sarah.

“Anything which gives you stretch, comfy dressing doesn’t have to be sloppy. It can be a beautiful dress but it’s just more comfortable.”

She says Anna Thomas is known for its tailoring and “beautiful Italian fabrics,” but they will definitely be doing some little tweaks.

“We’re going to introduce a more casual element to the range, I mean fleecy, classic stuff which we’ve never done before, but we’re introducing a tiny little bit into the range to test it,” she says.

“People do love beautiful fabrics and looking gorgeous and smart and luxurious,” but for work, especially in the near future, comfort will contribute highly to people’s styling decisions.

“There’s still Zoom calls, so you’ve still got to look smart but it’s not necessarily fully structured outfits.”

Lecturer Shelley Campton says it is not surprising that lockdowns have had a major influence on fashion, and going forward, people are more likely to buy fashion pieces to explore our individual taste. Sarah Shand agrees, saying people will find their preference and personal balance.

“I think there will be a nice blend of it. People will find an easy mix of something that’s smart and pretty, but is also comfortable,” says Sarah.

Right: Office clothes with stretch…

“We’re ordering for a year in advance and pretty much every single range has a comfortable range to go with it,” says boutique owner Maria Wolters.

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NEWS / new authors

Sticky Icky Vicky learns to put courage over fear

By Lily

PASS MAWSON couple Michael and Alysia Ssentamu have just published their “debut” book, based loosely on their daughter Rhea.

Michael is a consultant respiratory and sleep physician at Canberra Hospital and Alysia was a registered nurse, so they’ve worked together before as colleagues and as partners.

“It was a very good experience actually. My wife has worked with me in the ward, but this was something completely different that we decided to do, so it was very rewarding,” says Michael.

“Sticky Icky Vicky: Courage over Fear” is a children’s story, but Alysia says everybody could learn a lesson from it.

“It can have a message in it for parents if they take it, in regards to listening to their positive voice instead of their negative,” she says.

Rhea is now six years old, but when she was younger she had grommets and recurrent ear infections, so she had a fear of putting her head underwater.

Alysia and son Tyler were doing a

New authors Alysia and Michael Ssentamu. course that talked about the negative voice in people’s heads. In “Sticky Icky Vicky” the voice is called Negative Ned. “She was pretty young, around three, so I tried to talk to her about the negative voice. I don’t know whether she grasped the concept of it as such, but she was willing to give it a go,” says Alysia.

Rhea started attending swimming lessons and, with some patience and perseverance, she learned to blow

Tyler and Rhea Ssentamu looking at their parents’ book. bubbles, then eventually put her head under the water.

“She’s fantastic, she’s like a fish now, she loves the water,” says Alysia.

In the “Sticky Icky Vicky” book, the character Vicky looks like Rhea, and the illustrations of the parents match the appearance of Michael and Alysia.

“It wasn’t actually intended, I just said I wanted a white mum and a black dad just because you don’t see many mixed-race couples in books. I

thought it would be nice, something different because that’s what our family is like,” says Alysia.

Rhea and Tyler both love the book, and it is a frequently requested bedtime story in their house.

“They’re watching the whole process which is really cool. They see the illustrations come through and I talk to them about what they think we should change, or if the illustrations go with the text and they give

a little bit of feedback,” says Alysia.

The illustrator, Noor Alshalabi, is based in Jordan.

Alysia found her online and messaged her through Instagram.

“She started working with us, and she’s working with us on the second book, too, which is really nice,” says Alysia.

Michael says they’ve received good, positive feedback from friends and colleagues, who think they have done something that is very special in trying to encourage people to face their fears.

“We’ve written a second one already and it’s being edited. It’s about Vicky being bullied for being dirty. That’s coming out in February hopefully,” he says.

“We tried to make it about choosing to be yourself. There’s bullying in it and Vicky doesn’t do what she loves to do, but in the end she chooses to be who she is,” says Alysia.

They are looking at things that kids may face, that they can help with through books.

“We’re going to see if we can look at social issues, environment, climate change and things like that,” says Michael.

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REMEMBERING / deaths in New Guinea

Australia could do much more to honour murder JON STANHOPE recently wrote about the extraordinary life of his brother Rick’s father-in-law, Derek Holyoake. This has now led him to a memorial window in St John’s church and the story of a terrible wartime massacre with a Canberra connection.

ON the outbreak of World War II, Derek Holyoake, aged 16, enlisted in the Australian Navy and saw active service throughout that war and the Korean War. I noted in passing that Derek’s brother John (his first name was Ralph), who joined the Australian Army at the outbreak of World War II, aged 18, was killed in New Guinea in 1942.

I asked Derek about the circumstances of John’s death, and he told me he wasn’t clear about the details.

However, he did have two telegrams from the Minister for the Army.

The earlier of the telegrams, dated October 15, 1942, is in the following form: “MR RG HOLYOAKE. RJ HOLYOAKE MISSING I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT V250003 HOLYOAKE RJ HAS BEEN REPORTED MISSING THE MINISTER FOR THE ARMY AND THE MILITARY BOARD EXTEND SINCERE SYMPATHY. MINISTER FOR THE ARMY.” It was not until 14 months later – December 21, 1943 – that advice was received that John had been killed in action. The telegram read:

“MR RG HOLYOAKE. IT IS WITH DEEP REGRET THAT I HAVE TO INFORM YOU THAT V250003 HOLYOAKE RJ PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MISSING IS NOW REPORTED KILLED IN ACTION ON OR AFTER THE 8TH AUGUST 1942 AND DESIRE TO CONVEY TO YOU THE PROFOUND SYMPATHY OF THE MINISTER FOR THE ARMY. MINISTER FOR THE ARMY “ In possession of a time and place of death, I uncovered several documents pertinent to John’s death. The most explicit was “The Argus” newspaper of May 17, 1943, which contains a detailed report by journalist Axel Olsen, who wrote under the title of “Argus” War Correspondent. The report refers to John’s death, in combat with Japanese soldiers, on the Kokoda Track.

This is some of what Axel reported: “Somewhere in New Guinea: Through the treachery of a few renegade New Guinea natives who had been won over by the Japanese, four white women and 14 men lost their lives last year when the Japanese captured Buna and Gona. Two of the women were bayoneted to death by the Japa-

May Hayman… bayoneted to death by a Japanese soldier. nese; the other two were beheaded.

“The story of the sufferings of the victims is one of the most macabre in the history of New Guinea. When the Japanese advanced on Gona there were at the Anglican mission station a woman teacher, a nurse and a missionary. They were Miss Mavis Parkinson, 21, of Ipswich, teacher;

Miss May Hayman, nurse; and Rev Father James Benson. As the Japanese approached the mission Father Benson and the two women decided to go inland and fled into the jungle.

“In reply to a message from a Lt Smith, who with a Sgt Hewitt and three spotters, Privates Hanna, Holyoake and Palmer was at Deunia,

the mission party joined forces with the soldiers. Five US airmen whose bomber had been forced down and who had bailed out over the jungle were with the soldiers.

“The party set out to travel southwards but met unfriendly natives… who told the Japanese their whereabouts. When the fugitives arrived

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red nurse and teacher at the upper Dobodura... the Japanese ambushed them. The two women, the lieutenant and the five airmen escaped into the jungle, but the rest of the party (Sgt Hewitt and Privates Hanna, Holyoake and Palmer) were killed.”

John Holyoake was just 20 years old when he died. I was deeply touched when reading “The Argus” report of the last days of his life. John was killed in the earliest days of the Kokoda campaign.

He died while attempting, along with four other Australian soldiers, three of whom died with him, to escort in the face of an invading army of some thousands of Japanese soldiers, three Australian missionaries and five downed American airmen to safety. Unfortunately, a sad fate awaited the surviving members of the party including the two women Mavis Parkinson and May Hayman.

In the words of Axel Olsen: “The two women were eventually captured by natives who handed them to the Japanese.

They were imprisoned for a few days during which they were subjected to many indignities and given little food.

“They were eventually led out of their prison and taken to a nearby coffee plantation where there were already two graves dug. When they arrived, a Japanese attempted to rape one of the women. She resisted and the Japanese drawing his bayonet stabbed her in the side. He stabbed her again and again before she fell dead.

“Another Japanese attacked the other

woman and stabbed her in the throat.

She died almost immediately. The bodies were thrown into the waiting graves and covered with earth.”

None of the American airmen nor Lt Smith survived more than another week or two before they, too, were captured and executed.

Affected as I was by this terribly sad story, I enlisted my next-door neighbour and nurse, Colleen Kinnane, to assist me in tracking down more information about nurse May Hayman and her schoolteacher colleague Mavis Parkinson.

To my great surprise it transpires that not only was May Hayman from Canberra and had, before taking on a role as a missionary nurse in New Guinea, worked at the Canberra Hospital throughout the ‘30s but that while living in Canberra she resided in Forrest with her aunt, Mrs Vi Waterman, whose descendants still live in Canberra.

While May has been memorialised at her Canberra church, St John’s, in a beautiful stained-glass window and is regularly honoured by the St John’s congregation, I think that Australia and in this instance Canberra, could do far more than we do to honour the memory of May and Mavis.

Ralph John Holyoake’s name will be projected onto the exterior of the War Memorial’s Hall of Memory on Monday, January 31 at 1.52am

Covid blamed for big fall in weddings WEDDINGS in Australia last year fell by 30.6 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

May Hayman... memorialised at her Canberra church, St John’s, in a stainedglass window.

Nurse May Hayman administers cod liver oil medicine to villagers at Dogura, New Guinea.

Image: Records and Archives Centre

There were only 78,989 marriages registered in Australia in 2020 compared with 113,815 in 2019.

The slowdown is being blamed on restrictions during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, including social distancing requirements, size limits on gatherings and travel restrictions.

The 30.6 per cent fall is the largest annual decrease in marriages ever reported by the ABS, since 1901, and the lowest number of marriages in Australia since 1961 (76,686).

Anthony Burke, president of the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants, said: “With travel and other restrictions, couples intending to marry either cancelled or deferred their wedding plans after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. The decline in marriage ceremonies was not unexpected.

He said it was unsurprising, the largest decrease in wedding numbers in 2020 (41.9 per cent) was in Victoria where additional restrictions were in place due to a second wave of COVID-19, but he expected even fewer weddings would have been registered in 2021.

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NEWS

Museum resists becoming a thing of the past

By Belinda

STRAHORN VOLUNTEERS are pulling out all stops to ensure a longstanding museum in Queanbeyan doesn’t close its doors for good.

The Queanbeyan Museum, which celebrates the history of the city and its people, has been badly impacted by a lack of visitors due to the pandemic.

The Queanbeyan and District Historical Museum Society Inc was established more than half a century ago, and the museum has operated out of the historic police sergeant’s residence on Monaro Street for the last 40 years.

Fred Monk, the society’s treasurer, said prolonged lockdowns deprived tourists and school students the opportunity to visit the museum in 2020 and 2021, with the museum – which opened on weekends before covid – now being forced to open by appointment only.

Mr Monk, 70, who’s been volunteering at the museum for 12 years, has issued a call to arms to keep the struggling museum going.

“We really need help and volunteers to make sure the doors don’t close here,” Mr Monk said.

“We need to keep memories alive. If we forget history, what have we got?”

The museum, which runs in

Museum treasurer Fred Monk.

Photos: Belinda Strahorn

An original iron lung used in Queanbeyan during the polio epidemic in the ‘50s.

A Metters “Canberra” wood stove at the Queanbeyan Museum.

The piano of William Farrer, creator of the “Federation” strain of wheat.

partnership with the Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council, is trying to avoid a similar fate to many regional museums that have been forced to close permanently as a result of covid lockdowns, Mr Monk said.

“A lot of museums in country towns have closed,” said Mr Monk.

“The print museum next door is closed. It closed before covid because of volunteers.

“We are trying to avoid that [closing], but we need as many volunteers as we can get.”

Although the society has 85 members, Mr Monk said only 10 are active volunteers.

“The big problem is the competition because some of our members are grandparents looking after grandkids, some have jobs or play sports on

the weekends, and others are senior citizens travelling the country and visiting family,” Mr Monk said.

The museum is home to a collection of more than 3500 items including an original iron lung used in Queanbeyan during the polio epidemic in the ‘50s, an 1860s Magistrate’s bench from the Farrer Street courthouse, and a piano that belonged to William Farrer, creator of the “Federation” strain of wheat.

One of Mr Monk’s favourite pieces is John James Wright’s 1138-page post office store journal, which records the transactions of local people in 1868-69.

“For anybody who has family from the region, this is a fantastic resource because you can see what things people bought during that time like tea, sugar, bacon and tobacco,” Mr Monk said.

“The ledger contains my great great

grandmother Mary O’Rourke’s orders; she lived on a farm at Barracks Flat in the 1860s.”

The museum is also home to an original blacksmith shop – from the Michelago area – and a 30-metre long mural of late 19th century Queanbeyan, painted by well-known Canberra artist Margaret Hadfield.

Two new exhibitions, featuring a collection of old cameras and another showcasing children’s toys and games from the past, are also on display.

“The toys and games’ exhibition was designed to show the schoolkids what their parents played with,” he said.

Before covid, the museum was a popular place for community and school groups to visit, regularly hosting hundreds of children.

“The loss of the school excursions

has been one of the biggest impacts,” Mr Monk said.

“All the schools in the area would come and that could be up to 300 kids visiting at the one time. We’d also get group tours and a steady stream of visitors on the weekend.”

The society hopes students and other groups will return in 2022.

“We want to be in a position where when the schools start having excursions that we can open up and get schools visiting again,” said Mr Monk.

“In February, we have a couple of groups with about 30 people booked in to visit, which is really good.”

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COVER STORY / ‘Australians & Hollywood’

Australians who share a whole lot of Hollywood

By Helen

3.

MUSA

2.

THE coming Hollywood exhibition at the National Film and Sound Archive is not just a big summer blockbuster for the archive – it hits at the institution’s very raison d’etre.

For, as new CEO Patrick McIntyre says, for the first time in two decades a major exhibition has been curated primarily from the NFSA’s collection, marking a moment of transformation for the archive.

Not just that, “Australians & Hollywood: a tale of craft, talent, and ambition”, shares stories and memories that “provide an insight into our national character, and where we might be heading”.

“It’s our first big exhibition in 20 years… reinvigorating our gallery space,” says curator Tara Marynowsky, an art school graduate and film tragic who’s been at the NFSA for 14 years.

“It gives us a chance to bring in our own collection even while we are reaching out to stakeholders to bring in material from other collections.”

Those stakeholders are quite something – six-time Oscar winner George Miller, of “Mad Max”, “Happy Feet” and “Babe” fame for one, and Baz Luhrmann, still producing blockbusters, as well as individual donors of personal treasures such as David Michôd, Greig Fraser, George Miller, Mia Wasikowska, Norma Moriceau, Eric Bana and Paul Hogan.

With enthusiasm, Marynowsky explains how this exhibition will be a visual feast.

“With lots of A/V screens and audio elements and also beautiful costumes from our collection, the whole thing is being done as a digital journey you can take on your device; so bring your phones to the gallery, everyone,” she says.

Her favourite things are some beautiful film projections of early rushes from “Mad Max I”, showing how they made that film, accessible thanks to the Kennedy-Miller organisation.

1. Cate Blanchett in Del Kathryn Barton’s short film “Red”.

2. Crocodile Dundee’s hat, on loan from Paul Hogan.

3. N icole Kidman in the 2007 fantasy film, “The Golden Compass”.

4. M ad Max’s steering wheel from “Fury Road”, which features a skull as a kind of figurehead.

1.

4.

Looking back on the past couple of years of covid she says: “It’s a good time to have been able to do this. It’s all come together so well and it’s been lovely to do it, actually.

“This first big show is Canberra exclusive, too. We are here in Canberra, so we want our audiences to have a good time.”

“Australians & Hollywood” will be a show where you’ll need to know the context. One of the central objects, for instance, will be Mad Max’s steering wheel from “Fury Road”, which features a skull as a kind of figurehead.

Then there are Crocodile Dundee’s hat and leather belt on loan from Paul Hogan, but surely everybody will recognise them.

Favourite items for her are from the collection of the late Norma Moriceau, who designed biker-warrior outfits for “Mad Max 2” and “Mad

Max: Beyond Thunderdome”, as well as Angus Strathie’s Oscar-winning Can-Can frocks for “Moulin Rouge!” and Catherine Martin’s art concept books for “Romeo + Juliet”.

A true believer in Australian cinema, Marynowsky reminds me we made the first feature film, the 1906 production of “The Story of the Kelly Gang”.

“We are storytellers… filmmaking and storytelling are such a large part of our culture, she says.

With that in mind, the exhibition focuses on pivotal moments from the last 30 years, so, she says, they’ve opted for a very contemporary look.

“It’s not just about Hollywood power, it’s about the makers and there will be a focus on First Nations film directors including Rachel Perkins, Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair and Ivan Sen,” she says.

Marynowsky is adamant that they’re not pinpointing single films: “We’re trying to say it’s about Australians AND Hollywood, not so much our global success as success on our own terms.”

And she’s keen to point out that it’s not just about the big-name designers, but also about the Australian make-up artists, editors and producers, many of whom cut their teeth on indie features, but later found global success.

Sure, the NFSA is using striking images of Cate Blanchett in Del Kathryn Barton’s short film “Red” and Nicole Kidman in the 2007 fantasy film, “The Golden Compass” to promote the show, but when you see the exhibition in three dimensions, you’ll see something quite different, as with the still of Ralph Fiennes peering through a glass church model to look at Blanchett in “Oscar and

Lucinda” by Gillian Armstrong.

Of course, there will be celebs hanging around and they’re expecting to have a good line-up of movers and shakers to the launch, which was postponed from early December to late January.

With the capacious Arc Cinema on hand to balance the exhibition space with screenings, the idea is, Marynowsky says, that you look at the exhibition then go and experience the films.

“It’s a really fun show celebrating the art form a lot of people love the most – and there are some films that haven’t even been released yet,” she says.

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THE GADFLY

NEWS

Genteel whitefella at the heart of change

Emissions rise in Canberra

WHEN we look back on the era that saw the great transformation of Australia to a nation that embraced its Aboriginal past and engaged the wisdom of its First Nations people, one whitefella of modest and genteel manner will be found at the heart of it.

THE ACT’s greenhouse gas emissions rose slightly over the past year compared to the previous period, as pollution from the transport sector increased.

Henry Reynolds is the very embodiment of the US President Teddy Roosevelt’s admonition to “speak softly and carry a big stick”. In his case the stick is actually a switch of more than 20 finely wrought literary canes with which he awakened the Australian conscience. Their titles range from 1972’s “Aborigines and Settlers: The Australian Experience”, to “TruthTelling – History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement” in 2021.

In between, separately and together, his books chart the course of a revolution in Australian perception. Like all revolutions, nothing was won without a fight; and through the decades Reynolds

Henry Reynolds… instrumental in the great victory of Aboriginal land rights. was pounded by the remorseless opposition of a prime minister leading a raging conservative cohort.

Born in Hobart in 1938, the son of a journalist and biographer, the young Henry went to state school and the University of Tasmania where, in 1960, he gained his BA (Hons) before pursuing a teaching career that took him eventually to the Townsville University College in 1965.

Asked to lecture on Australian history from a textbook that barely mentioned the Aboriginal people, he began his own research.

He was “shocked”, he says, “by the

revelation of the frontier wars” that plunged NSW and Queensland into a killing field that took some 20,000 Aboriginal lives. And that didn’t include the death toll from European diseases and starvation when expelled from their tribal lands.

His 1982 book, “The Other Side of the Frontier” detailed the horrors perpetrated by settlers and police. It was also a “revelation” to a population weaned on the heroic tales of the pioneers. It inspired other academics and writers to enter the fray and a Culture War erupted.

Paul Keating gave his celebrated “Redfern Speech” while John Howard labelled Reynolds and his supporters the “Black Armband Group”. Reynolds tagged his opponents “White Blindfold” and the conflict raged for a decade before the progressives gradually gained ground.

He was also instrumental in the great victory of Aboriginal land rights through chats with his university’s groundsman and gardener, one Eddie Mabo who doted on his Murray Island land in the Torres Strait.

“So intense was his attachment to his land,” Reynolds says, “that I began to worry whether he had any idea about

his legal circumstances. I said: ‘Don’t you realise that nobody actually owns land on Murray Island? It’s all crown land’.”

Eddie consulted lawyers and in 1992 a High Court judgement finally recognised Aboriginal land rights.

It is hard to overestimate Reynolds’ influence in the great movement that followed, culminating in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. If ever a writer and historian were deserving of a Nobel Prize, whether for literature or peace, that person is Henry Reynolds, now in the golden years of a life that has changed a nation.

If literature, he would adorn a cohort of historian laureates from Winston Churchill to Christian Mommsen, the recipient of only the second to be awarded in 1902, or for peace such worthies as Shimon Perez or Jose Ramos-Horta.

While the final goals of the “Uluru Statement from the Heart” have yet to be enacted, their achievement is within our grasp; and a great Australian helped immeasurably to place it there.

If ever a writer and historian were deserving of a Nobel Prize, whether for literature or peace, that person is Henry Reynolds, now in the golden years of a life that has changed a nation.

robert@robertmacklin.com

The latest figures from the ACT government’s greenhouse gas emissions report for 2020-21 show that carbon emissions totalled 1685 kilo tonnes, up 2.8 per cent compared to carbon emissions in 2019-20 which totalled 1638 kilo tonnes.

Transport pollution in 2020-21 increased by five per cent from 2019-20 most likely due to a rebound in transport use following covid lockdowns.

“This is a slight increase on last year’s emissions, which were particularly low for a number of reasons, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and low transport emissions during the lockdown period in 2020,” Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury said.

Despite the increase over the past year, greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT have fallen by 45 per cent since 1990.

Transport remains the capital’s largest source of emissions in the ACT, followed by natural gas.

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NEWS / nostalgia

The rise and fall of Queanbeyan’s retail empire

By Belinda

STRAHORN A TRIP to the department store during the holidays has been a ritual for generations of shoppers.

For many years the go-to place to shop in Canberra and Queanbeyan was JB Young – a department store chain founded in Queanbeyan by businessman James Buchanan Young in 1914.

While the department store carried the JB Young name, it was Mr Young’s manager Herbert George Coleman who bought the land designated for the site of the Young’s first Canberra store.

“In 1924 the first commercial block of land was auctioned off in Kingston and grandfather kept bidding until he got it, because he realised that the company’s long-term future lay in the development of Canberra,” Herbert Coleman’s grandson Bill Coleman said.

“The Kingston store was built the following year, and it all went from there.”

Bill, 73, is reflecting on his family’s commitment to retailing, which spanned more than 100 years and across three generations.

“When I look back I feel very proud of my family’s achievements,” said Bill

Herbert George Coleman.

The first department store of the chain founded in Queanbeyan by James Buchanan Young in 1914.

who followed the family’s tradition by pursuing a career in retail that took him to Selfridges in London.

Bill said his grandfather bought out JB Young in 1925 and that during his time in charge, the business took off.

“In 1927, JB Young opened its second Canberra store, in Civic, and a second Queanbeyan store known as ‘West End’ opened in 1936,” Bill said.

Post-war activity and major building work in Canberra, during the ‘50s and ‘60s, saw Canberra expand and JB Young stores with it.

“In 1954, grandfather celebrated 40 years with the business and in the same year the rebuilding of the Queanbeyan store – now Riverside Plaza – commenced and was completed in 1956 with a staff of 60,” Bill said.

Bill Coleman.

Following Herbert’s death in 1959 – at the age of 80 – brothers George and Jim continued to run the business.

By the ‘70s JB Young had stores in Queanbeyan, Kingston, Civic, Dickson, Manuka, Curtin, Jamison and Aranda, and other stores across NSW. The family’s connection with JB Young continued through its acquisition of the Emmotts, Meagher and Fosseys chain until its takeover by Grace Bros in 1979.

“JB Young ended up with around 26 stores throughout NSW and the Fosseys group with 122 stores. It was a big structure,” Bill said.

Joining the firm in the ‘70s – with his cousin Phillip – Bill went on to be manager of Grace Bros country division.

Having joined the company dur-

“When the Queanbeyan store was revamped in 1956, the window displays were brilliant,” says Bill.

ing the last of the department store’s heyday – where it probably enjoyed its greatest popularity and success – Bill was also there to witness its decline.

Now retired, Bill said the memory of JB Young harks back to a time when there was a “complete” shopping experience.

“When the Queanbeyan store was revamped in 1956, the window displays were brilliant,” Bill said.

“We had a display department with a team of girls who would dress up the windows and hand paint the tickets.

They were an amazing feature.”

The family oriented business engendered enormous loyalty and support in the community, and Bill never ceases to be amazed by the pleasant memories conjured up by the JB Young name.

“We had staff that worked with us for years,” Bill said.

“I still bump into people who say they remember me from the Queanbeyan store, and there are a few around that still remember my father George.”

As popular as the JB Young stores were, they were unable to withstand the change in the retailing landscape.

The Curtin store closed in 1981, and others followed. When the original Queanbeyan store closed just before 1988, it brought an end to the Coleman family’s association with retailing, which generations had grown to love.

“It was grandfather’s initial foresight, determination and struggle that allowed the single Queanbeyan store to become a leading retail force in the 1980s.”

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OPINION / fussy eaters

Revenge is best served with shiitake mushrooms!

SARAH MILNE says she’s blessed with a stomach like a galvanised bucket, but when it comes to fussy eaters...

‘God give me strength’. examination of all that is on his plate.

The poking and the prodding, the wrinkling of the nose, the sniffing of the food on the fork, the asking of those around them to speculate on the food’s provenance.

And finally, the pushing away of the plate with a martyred smile that says, don’t mind me. I’ll be fine with a bread roll.

I’m talking about those who refuse so many foods that you wonder how on earth they continue to exist. For a foodie like me, blessed with a stomach like a galvanised bucket, everything that goes down, stays down.

I’ve always been the “pack it away and ask questions later” sort of gourmand.

Back in the “greed-is-good” days of New York City, I shared a living space with one of Tom Wolfe’s X-ray women, Stella. A mustard crust on the roast beef, sprigs of rosemary on the lamb, chives in the mashed potato; all invoked a hissy fit.

One fierce winter, travelling long hours in search of sunshine and warmth, we finally got served a meal on a plane. I’d have eaten a crying baby if served one.

We did get served the mildest of

Fussy eaters… “I’m talking about those who refuse so many foods that you wonder how on earth they continue to exist,” says Sarah Milne. quiches, but the chef had the temerity to put a sprig of parsley on the top. Remove the parsley you might suggest.

Not so simple. According to Stella, the parsley left a lingering presence on said quiche that could not be ignored.

Several weeks and even more culinary revelations later, we travelled to Xiamen, an island off the south-east coast of China, abounding in seafood, seafood so fresh, it leapt from the buckets on to the plate.

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Sarah Milne came to Canberra from overseas with her husband and daughter. She has lived here for the past three years.

Alas, herself would not eat it because it did not come in a yellow Birds Eye packet. The bemused waitress had to dig out a rusting tin of corned beef, so old that it looked as if it was left behind by Chiang Kai-shek when he fled to Taiwan in 1949.

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GROWING up a middle child, I have always considered myself the essence of tolerance and equanimity.

Crying babies on planes? No problem, I often cry myself. Seat-back slammers on same planes? Slammin’ right back at ya, mister. Queue jumpers? Please go in front, sir. Crashing bores who pin you to the wall with the intensity of a laser beam? Go ahead, I recognise myself.

But fussy eaters? God give me strength. I’m not talking about genuine food allergies or intolerances here.

It’s those folk who talk about tasting a red pepper in 1972, didn’t like it and haven’t touched one since. Or what about a dodgy curry in 1983, or sour milk in their tea on a cruise up the Yangtze River, 1992, and now can’t be in the same room without heaving.

They have food memories in line with the proverbial elephant’s.

As for the addition of spices, herbs, onions, garlic, the aforementioned peppers, anything in fact that makes food tasty? Forget it. In my best Italian, it all must be blando de tutti blando.

When out to dinner, the fussy eater always conducts a forensic

But revenge is a dish best served up with a sprinkling of chopped shiitake mushrooms on top. Fussy eater friends coming to dinner turn me into a wicked alchemist, seeking to thwart them in any way possible. Powdered onion and garlic in the minced meat, finely ground black pepper in the mashed potato, no those specks are just burnt bits. Inky squid spaghetti?

This kitchen is so dark, we really need to replace the bulbs. The aroma of parmesan and truffle oil, no, must be a blocked sink.

Thank God for Heston Blumenthal and his natty ideas; bacon and egg ice cream, snail porridge and mock turtle soup. Now if I could just get my hands on one of those Japanese blowfish…

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ED IS N

Here come the battling fantasy blockbusters

NICK OVERALL

Creepy and they’re kooky… the Addams family Thirty years since “The Addams Family” hit the big screen, it is still the perfect blend of horror and comedy writes DARYL SPARKES THE dark side of films has always had a strong relationship with the light side.

Mixing comedy with horror often ensured a hit even in the early days of cinema – comedian Harold Lloyd was making such films as early as the 1920s.

This combination of light-hearted horror worked on the small screen as well. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, family sitcoms “The Andy Griffith Show”, “My Three Sons”, “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Leave it to Beaver” were all hugely popular.

But the ‘60s were also a time of the counterculture revolution. Beatniks, hippies and a general anti-establishment youth culture progressively dismissed the conforming stereotypes of the wholesome family.

From this a TV show, based on a long running “New Yorker” cartoon by Charles Addams, was launched: “The Addams Family”, based around a family who, while not outright monsters, definitely played on the dark side of life.

The series itself only ran for two seasons and was dropped for poor ratings. But in the intervening years the show’s status grew.

Children of the ‘60s to the ‘80s discovered the reruns and grew in love with the weirdness and offbeat humour. These children grew into adults who never lost interest in one of the strangest shows ever made.

In 1991 this nostalgia culminated with the

release of “The Addams Family Movie” (now streaming on Stan).

Set around a family of oddballs whose pastimes include grave digging, cutting the heads off roses (because the thorns are far more precious) and stealing stop signs to revel in the sound of cars crashing, 30 years on the film has not lost any of its eccentric charm or quirky sensibilities. The film’s story is just a flimsy backdrop to all the crazy jokes, one-liners and sight-gags that each member of the family gets up to throughout the film.

The parents, Gomez and Morticia Addams are difficult to describe. Gomez is somewhere between a ‘30s gangster and a wide-eyed man-child who finds wonder at everything. But he is definitely a Renaissance man: just as skilled with a rapier sword as he is with a golf club, his dance moves are unparalleled. The late Raul Julia plays Gomez to perfection – arguably even better than John Astin who played the TV original.

Anjelica Huston steals the show as his wife Morticia. Wistful, sublime and ethereal, Huston mixes eroticism with playful innocence.

She also gets many of the best lines.

When Gomez asks Morticia if she is “Unhappy, darling?” Morticia smoothly supines with a smile: “Oh yes, yes completely” – as though that is the ultimate state of ecstasy.

Gomez looks on her with constant adoring eyes, and cannot control his unbridled lust

“The Addams Family Movie” cast from 1991. whenever Morticia speaks French.

It is a love fuelled by constant romance. As Morticia says: “Gomez, last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me… Do it again!”. And when Gomez is racked by angst, Morticia tells him: “Don’t torture yourself, Gomez… that’s my job”.

Every horror movie needs a creepy kid.

And the Addams children, daughter Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and son Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), fit the bill nicely. Wednesday is like a mini version of her mother, but in a much more dour mood, with an intense interest in instruments of torture and execution. Pugsley is more playful, always

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following Wednesday’s lead – to the point of climbing into her electric chair to play her game of “Is there a God?” Horror is supposed to make you frightened; comedy is supposed to make you laugh. They’re genre polar opposites. Then why do horror-comedies work? “The Addams Family” is so accessible to a wide audience because, while it plays with the dark side of life, it’s a horror film without any of the horror. The darkness is very low level, and it isn’t represented as being real.

This is why children and people who don’t like real horror films love it. They can dip their toes in the horror genre, but it is played for laughs, not scares.

In a way, it has been a gateway film for when children grow older and watch real horror films. “The Addams Family” introduces them to the dark world, but there’s nothing to fear. For now, it’s just fun.

Overall, though, the one thing “The Addams Family” movie teaches audiences is regardless if you’re a witch, or a ghoul, or even just a hand, the most important thing in life is family.

Daryl Sparkes is a senior lecturer (media studies and production) at the University of Southern Queensland. This article was first published in the conversation.com

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MUSIC / Willie and the Correspondents

Willie and the old boys still shooting for the stars

By Belinda

STRAHORN VETERAN journalist Philip Williams, 64, has been a welcome and regular fixture in our living rooms for many years.

Throughout his long and distinguished career as a foreign correspondent with the ABC he’s reported on all manner of atrocities; wars, riots, natural disasters, murders – most significant world events in recent decades.

But one story he covered resonated more deeply than any other in his career, having a profound effect on him as a journalist and human being.

In 2004, 300 people, mostly children, were mercilessly murdered by Chechen separatists in a three-day siege at a Beslan school in Russia. “[We were] there on the edges listening to the slaughter,” Williams said.

“When you are a father you are supposed to be able to help, but there was nothing we could do. It affected me deeply and I suffered from PTSD.” A self-described optimist, it is when humanity turns on itself, that Williams – a father of three children – found his job most distressing.

“Natural disasters are really just bad luck, but it’s the wars and the insurrections where people get killed, especially innocent people, that’s very upsetting,” Williams said.

Willie and the Correspondents… “It’s a men’s shed with music,” says Hugh Watson.

“I’ve covered events like the Haiti tsunami and earthquake where tens of thousands of people died, but that doesn’t have the same impact because someone wasn’t responsible for that whereas Beslan was a direct terrorism attack.”

Since disappearing from in front of the camera lens, the newly retired reporter is focusing his energies on the band he helped form 27 years ago.

Willie and the Correspondents, a roots-country-folk band that calls Hall village home, started after a living-room conversation between Williams, who plays blues harp, and Hugh Watson, 71, a guitarist and former private secretary to the late

Senator Susan Ryan.

“Philip and his wife Carol came to our house for dinner, it was the first time we had met,” said Watson.

“I had a guitar leaning on the wall and Philip asked if I played.

“Yes”, Watson replied, picking up his guitar to strum “Helpless” by Neil Young.

When Williams joined in with “impressive” vocal harmonies and a blues harp – kept in his pocket – his wife suggested: “You should start a band”.

They did.

Two decades later, the band – originally named West Texas Crude – has recorded two albums, performed about 150 gigs and

raised more than $300,000 for charity.

“We have a lot of fun,” said Watson.

The band has been joined by a variety of interesting individuals over the years, including political movers and shakers and journalists such as Greg Turnball, 65, a drummer and former press secretary to Prime Minister Paul Keating and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.

Successful Canberra real estate agent, Matthew Herbert, 63, is on vocals and lead guitar. Bass player Peter MacDonald, 65, manages IT for a government agency and has performed alongside musical royalty like The Seekers and John Farnham.

Keen to share their passion for music with others, the band – which has rehearsed every Tuesday night for more than 25 years – believes music has a way of “bringing people together”.

“It’s a men’s shed with music,” said Watson who credits the band’s longevity to the strong bonds of friendship formed between members.

“We might be a bunch of old rockers, but we talk about politics and international affairs, we talk about our kids, or something a band member might be going through at the time.”

Although the tyranny of distance meant that Williams, who was based in London as the ABC’s bureau chief, wasn’t a physical part of the band for a long time, he remained connected to his fellow musicians.

With intermittent trips back to Australia, which sometimes coincided with gigs and recording, the band has been a source of

escape for Williams allowing him to focus on something other than human tragedies he reported on.

However, he admitted that in 2005 the personal toll his job extracted from him was so great he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy music or the company of friends.

“I loved music but I didn’t want to be with the band at that time, I didn’t want to talk or interact with anyone,” Williams said.

“It was a classic shutdown, but I got through it.”

The band has transitioned itself from a pub cover band to one that performs ballads.

Watson, the band’s lyricist who’s written at least 100 songs, draws inspiration from his own personal stories, as well as people he meets.

One of the band’s songs “Sons of the Somme” is an ode to lives lost on the battlefield, and was inspired by a relative’s World War I diary.

The idea for “We’re free, We’re rolling” came after Watson overheard a conversation between two ex-criminals on a train bound for Sydney.

“At Goulburn two parolees jumped on board. They were talking about their time inside so I wrote about it,” Watson said.

Despite getting a bit long in the tooth, like all aspiring musicians, Willie and the Correspondents are still waiting for their big break.

“We still expect we are going to make a breakthrough,” chuckled Watson.

“I’d say we will probably be carrying on until dementia sets in,” Williams said.

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20 CityNews January 13-19, 2022

OPERA

ARTS IN THE CITY

This beach isn’t any beach, it’s magic

By Helen Musa ALISON Lester’s classic book, “Magic Beach”, will come to life on stage in text, song, light, shadow and movement for children aged 3-12 and their adults – and so fitting for summer, offering a visit to a beach that isn’t just any beach. This new Australian adaptation by playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer is a celebration of the power of the imagination, Canberra Theatre, January 22–23. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

Emma Matthews… to play the title role in Handel’s Lauren Fagan… returning from Europe to perform “Alcina”. in “La Rondine”.

SYDNEY Opera House has just opened its new Centre for Creativity, a purpose-built home for hands-on creative experiences inside the world-renowned building.

One of the final projects in the Opera House’s “Decade of Renewal” funded by the NSW government, it’s the first new dedicated programming venue to open in more than 20 years and its inaugural program running until March features a mix of free and paid activities.

Information at sydneyoperahouse.com

Sonia Anfiloff… guest soloist in an August opera gala.

Photo: Peter Hislop

Big stars for budding National Opera

By Helen Musa

THE National Opera has announced its 2022 season and along with it a swag of luminaries and patrons and performers, inviting the question of whether it is a Canberra company or, as the name suggests, indeed a “national” organisation.

Artistic director Peter Coleman-Wright is at pains to emphasise that: “National Opera is about providing opportunities and employment for Australian artists – singers, creatives, musicians, lighting and costume designers, everyone in the arts. We are providing a platform for Australian artists.”

But the origins of the company and the director’s appointment are to be found in its forerunner, Canberra Opera that derived from the community organisation Canberra Opera Workshop, which aimed at providing opportunities for young Canberra artists.

Under the terms of a $500,000 bequest from the John Drabble Fund to be directed towards the development of new singers in the ACT, Canberra Opera morphed into National Opera.

The Drabble bequest was in part used to mount an expensive but indifferently-staged production of Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” in 2021, in which ANU-trained singers Catherine Carby and Eleanor Greenwood, who had fared well in the UK, were imported and quarantined before assuming leading roles, thereby, the company said, giving an “experi-

ence” of our professionalism to our young singers, who were largely consigned to the chorus.

The theme for this year, Coleman-Wright says, is triple-headed – “Hope, Respect and Collaboration” – hope, he says, for the future and revitalisation of the arts industry in a post-covid Australia, respect for the art form, for the past and for hard-working Australian artists and collaboration to provide opportunities for people from the entire arts community.

A famous operatic baritone whose wife, the soprano Cheryl Barker has been teaching voice at the ANU School of Music, the director has used his considerable connections to pull in big names, such as Aussie super-star Emma Matthews, who will play the title role in Handel’s “Alcina” and conductor Richard Bonynge, who will join the Governor-General and Mrs Hurley as patron.

First up in March will be the long-postponed run of Puccini’s “La Rondine”, now wisely transferred from Llewellyn Hall to the Canberra Theatre, with Australian singer Lauren Fagan returning from Europe to perform the central role of Magda, opposite the tenor Henry Choo.

In June, Coleman-Wright will present his own pocket-opera version of Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte”, cast with local singers and performed with Canberra Sinfonia under the baton of Leonard Weiss, a successor to his very successful pocket opera “Marriage of Figaro” last year.

In his role as guest artistic director of Pacific Opera in Willoughby, Coleman-Wright had done the very same pocket operas before transferring the concept and most of the casting to the National Opera.

MUSIC

BEST-known in Australia for his role as chief instructor on the series, “SAS Australia”, Ant Middleton is coming to town with a motivational presentation, originally scheduled for last July, about personal growth and positivity led by his mantra of “Mind Over Muscle”.

He’ll tell his story and give a glimpse into his life in the military, give his assessment of SAS Australia and talk about his personal battle to overcome Mount Everest in 2019. At Llewellyn Hall, 7.30pm, Sunday, January 30.

Book at premier.ticketek.com.au CANBERRA poet Hazel Hall tells us that “Poetry at Manning Clark House” will at last resume, with negotiations underway with poets for 2022. The first session at the house, 11 Tasmania Circle, Forrest, will be 7pm-9pm, Thursday, January 22.

National Opera season at a glance: • “La Rondine”, Canberra Theatre, March 16, 18 and 20, book at canberratheatre.com.au or 6275 1700;

IN a coup for the Canberra Theatre, Noeline Brown, Max Gillies and John Wood will be here in a new comedy, ridiculously titled “Mono: A Three-Person One-Man Show”. It’s about a hectoring headmistress, a bad bush poet, a puzzled policeman, a meandering minister, a chaotic conductor, a mindless “mindfulness” teacher, a surreal Sotheby’s auctioneer, and a sozzled Mother of the Bride. At The Playhouse, 2pm and 8pm, Saturday, February 12. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

• Pocket opera “Cosi Fan Tutte”, Albert Hall, June 16 and 25, book at nationalopera.org.au • Opera Chorus Gala, Llewellyn Hall, August 27, book at nationalopera.org.au • Handel’s “Alcina,” Llewellyn Hall, December 8 and 10, book at nationalopera.org.au

UPCOMING

LIVE

Ant Middleton, Llewellyn Hall, January 30.

In August, the company will hold an opera chorus gala, headed by dramatic soprano Sonia Anfiloff as guest soloist and sung by a large opera chorus working with the National Capital Orchestra, conducted by local Louis Sharpe.

Finally, in December 2022, National Opera will present Handel’s “Alcina”, under the baton of Handel specialist Graham Abbott, with Emma Matthews in the title role as well as Rachelle Durkin and Canberra’s Tobias Cole.

That production will be dedicated to the late diva Joan Sutherland and her husband, Bonynge, of whose appointment as new patron Coleman-Wright says: “I am overjoyed at his acceptance, belief in and support for what we are doing with National Opera and am honoured he accepted our invitation.”

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WATCH IT! / streaming and stuff

Here come the battling fantasies THIS year the streaming platforms go to battle with their fantasy blockbusters.

For Netflix, moody monster hunter Geralt of Rivia has returned for season two of “The Witcher”.

Henry Cavill plays the titular character this series is named after, a genetically mutated “Witcher” who trades gold for hunting ghosts, ghouls and everything in between.

The show tries hard to be more than a strapping action hero slashing at creepy creatures, wrapping itself in a loose coat of existentialism by repeatedly hitting viewers over the head with the question: “What is a monster?”

Sometimes there’s just enough ethical quandary wrung out of the idea to serve up a genuinely thought-provoking experience.

The cruelty and hubris of man proves much more beastly than monsters, and the ones Geralt hunts are more often than not a creation of the humans that want them slain.

While these deeper explorations are hit and miss, fantasy fans can count on the effects-heavy action scenes in between for bursts of eyecatching fun.

The show has been ported to TV from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s books, which were also adapted into an extremely popular video game franchise.

Here in TV form, season one struggled to cohesively tie together the stories of three characters occurring at different points in the fictional world’s history.

With season two now bringing together these characters into the same timeline, “The Witcher” shows promise of becoming the fantasy hit it desperately wants to be.

But, it’s got Amazon Prime Video’s “The Wheel of Time” to duke it out with.

This series is based on American author Robert Jordan’s ‘90s fantasy series that spans a whopping 14 volumes with more than 10,000 pages – plenty of content to siphon a mega franchise out of.

Rosamund Pike plays Moiraine, part of a powerful sect of women able to harness an ancient source of magic and who are in search of “The Dragon”, a being prophesied to either save the world or destroy it.

It’s an impressive production and Pike in particular is spellbinding in more than one sense of the word.

However, overhanging it is an almost mechanical atmosphere, one that comes from the show feeling like it’s checking every box it possibly can to be similar to other popular shows of its genre.

In putting the show on screen, Amazon had a mandate to create a series that rivals “Game of

Henry Cavill in the new series of “The Witcher”.

Thrones” in popularity and scale and it feels like that directive looms over every episode.

If “The Wheel of Time” wants to make itself one to remember a few revolutions down the track, it’s going to need some more of its own personality, rather than just trying to be something else.

Why not an aesthetic such as the zany, brightly coloured ‘90s book covers? Just spitballing.

For many, it’ll be an entrée to Amazon’s other fantasy blockbuster this year, the highly anticipated “Lord of the Rings” spin-off series.

JRR Tolkien’s epic saga is getting a prequel that will be set thousands of years before the events of “Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Hobbit”, but the finer details remain scarce.

What is known, is that the company has already signed a five-season deal totalling over a billion dollars.

That’s not including the $250 million spent on acquiring the rights alone.

All the while, off in the distance, a dragon lies dormant in its cave, wounded from an ending that saw armies of fans batter it down, but still patiently resting atop a golden pile of spin-offs.

I facetiously refer to “Game of Thrones”, which also has a new prequel series set to release sometime this year and is likely to premiere on

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Binge as one of 2022’s biggest hits.

Called “House of the Dragon”, the show will wind back the “Thrones” timeline to a few centuries before the events of the main show and offer a deep dive into House Targaryen’s quest for power.

This will be the make or break for the franchise following an ending to the original series many didn’t feel worthy of the build up The legacy of “Game of Thrones” therefore lies heavily on the head of this prequel and it’s going to have to work hard to keep viewers from jumping ship to “Lord of the Rings”.

Don’t actually care about any of this? You’re not alone.

A survey from the UK’s “RadioTimes” this year found “Game of Thrones” was in the top five TV shows people lie most about having watched to appease fans in social situations, second only to Netflix’s “Stranger Things”.

So there you have it, even the people who haven’t watched the show have watched the show.

Just remember to say the red wedding was definitely not a joyous or romantic event.

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GARDENING

Pear and Cherry Slug... can defoliate a tree in just a few days.

Photos: Jackie Warburton

Cabbage Moth decoy… deterring other butterflies and moths from settling in due to competition for available food.

Beware the slug that loves leaves THE Pear and Cherry Slug, which is the black sawfly or Caliroa cerasi, can defoliate a tree in just a few days.

butterfly shaped weatherproofed cardboard, placing them on a wire and sticking them into the ground around the plants to be protected.

This pest attacks pears, plums, peaches, cherries and some ornamental trees.

The adults lay their eggs in the leaf, which become the slug-like larvae and, after feeding on the leaves, they drop to the ground and dig into the soil before appearing again as adults and repeating their life cycle.

Keep the leaves as dry as possible and avoid overhead watering to prevent the larvae (slugs) from moving around the tree. Diatomaceous Earth sprinkled around the base of the tree in spring will help as well. Squish as many as you can with a gloved finger.

JANUARY is a hot time in the garden and it’s important to keep the weeding and watering to the early mornings or evenings when the temperature is cooler.

WHITE Cabbage Moth (Plutella xylostella) and Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) are a problem around brassicas (cabbages, broccoli, bok choy and turnips) and also feed on tomatoes, sunflowers and tobacco as well.

While unrelated, they share the same habits, cause similar problems and are dealt with in similar ways. Adult cabbage moths are 10 millimetres long and a mottle grey in colour. The more familiar Cabbage White Butterfly is larger at around 40 millimetres and has white wings with small black corner spots.

There are many ways to keep these butterflies and moths at bay and decoy plants such as alyssum can help and decoy products like the one pictured work as well by deterring other butterflies and moths from settling in due to competition for available food.

A good holiday activity to get the kids involved in the garden can be cutting out white

PARSNIPS can take from 120-180 days from seed to root and are well worth growing given how expensive they are.

They are delicious for soups, roast dinners and puree in the winter months. Plant them in a welldrained, rich soil with a pH of six or above and add garden lime if needed. Make sure the garden bed has not had too much compost or manure added to prevent forked roots forming.

Space them 20 centimetres apart and be patient, they can take a few weeks to germinate.

Plant companions for parsnips are peas, lettuces, rosemary and sage. Companion plants help each other grow. They maximise the ground space and more produce can fit into a small space.

Sowing of brassica vegetables can be done now. Brassicas like lime in their soil, so a sprinkle of dolomite lime a few weeks before planting will help sweeten the soil. Using crop rotation, they can be planted where you have had leafy greens and legumes.

to sweeten. Individual fruit will ripen at different times, so periodically pick the fruit to give other berries more room.

Now’s a good time to remove any dead, damaged or crossing-over branches in the bush to increase airflow.

MOST natives and shrubs are propagated from semi-hardwood cuttings, and they are mostly taken in late summer and early autumn.

Semi-hardwood cuttings are the most common method of propagation and a very cost effective way of growing a garden. When taking cuttings of shrubs, do it in the cool of the day and ensure planting material has not flowered. Here are some tips for growing cuttings.

• Stem length around 75-100mm directly below a leaf node.

• Trim a third of the leaves off the stem from the bottom up.

• Make a 20mm slice at the bottom of the stem.

• Dip cutting into honey, Vegemite or hormonerooting gel.

• Place in a potting mix, water and keep sheltered.

• Keep moist and roots should form in around 4-8 weeks.

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BLUEBERRIES are beginning to ripen and should be left on the bush for as long as possible

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Rain?? What rain!!

Who cares about La Nina when you have a free visit*

Visit the National Zoo and Aquarium and if it rains while you are there, you get a FREE return visit.* As an added bonus, the animals are generally more active on cooler (or wetter) days, plus the zoo is less crowded! *Conditions apply - see our website for details: www.nationalzoo.com.au/raincheck

999 Lady Denman Drive, Canberra ACT Zoo 02 6287 8400 Jamala 02 6287 8444

www.nationalzoo.com.au www.jamala.com.au