Paula From Tasmania

BY PAULA XIBERRAS

TOM’S ELF-Y VIEW ON LIFE

When you talk to Tom Keneally you can’t help but notice the impish charm, maybe not Santa exactly but a mischievous elf and one that isn’t content to sit on the shelf. Tom’s propelled himself off and with that impressive vocabulary and language lilt he’s qualified for a good old rant backed by impeccable research. In his book ‘A Bloody Good Rant’ he tells the reader that he feels extraordinarily privileged to have been born in the 1930’s and grown up in an Australia tempered by the depression and war. Growing up believing in a sense of a fair go, his rants include joyful ones of discovering the joys and challenges of grandparentage and ones of sadness in how the treatment of Indigenous Australians and refugees leaves much to be desired, as well as the need to give more acknowledgement to climate change. Tom reminds us that the indigenous occupation of Australia preceded the European occupation by thousands of years and is two and a half times older than the famous French Lascaux cave painting. On a less serious topic, Tom explores being a grandparent and the turnaround from him telling his teenage daughters he would be happy to welcome their future offspring for 5 minutes at easter and Christmas and hand them the required chocolate treats. Now those 5 minutes have turned into Tom seeing his grandchildren as incipient Noble Prize winners misunderstood by their teachers and predicting that at 22, his grandson will both open the bowling for Australia and restrict himself to making two feature films a year while he finishes his doctorate on astrophysics. Another grandson is doing the groundwork as he studies the complex patterns in fences. Tom says that what the youngsters might give in germs, they make up for in enhancing his cardiovascular and mental health, fitness and flexibility. For example, at Sydney’s Olympic Park in Parramatta the treehouse is half the size of a grown human, making it easy for children to climb but not for grandads with knee problems.

‘A BLOODY GOOD RANT’ BY TOM KENEALLY IS OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY ALLEN AND UNWIN

WATT A TASSIE LEGEND

Every year it’s a pleasure to catch up with honorary Tasmanian and prolific author Peter Watt. In his latest book ‘The Colonial’s Son’, his protagonist is Josiah Steel, son to the famous Queen’s colonel Ian Steel, who is the protagonist of Peter’s previous novels. Josiah has said he wishes to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the military. Ian is at first not supportive in this desire, as he wants his son to have a safer occupation and had hoped Josiah would choose a business career. However, Peter himself tells me that only the morning of our interview he attended a dentist appointment where he

encountered a generational lawyer and agreed that sons do tend to follow fathers into their profession. In the novel we learn that Ian’s late wife Ella is the daughter of Ikey Solomon. Before readers think it is the Ikey Solomon who is considered the real life inspiration for Charles Dicken’s Fagin and who was a seatholder at the Hobart synagogue, no, Peter tells me that Ella’s father is not that Ikey Solomon and that the name Ikey Solomon is a common one, the equivalent of John Smith in Australia. Nevertheless, in the story of Ella’s Jewish faith the reader observes the nonpatriarchal nature of Ian, who is content to abide by his wife’s wishes and raise their children in the Jewish faith. At the time, marriage between a Catholic and Presbyterian was frowned on, as were most mixed religion marriages, so Ian and Ella’s marriage was a progressive one. Peter learned about this structure concerning marriages of the time in his history degree under the tutelage of Professor Michael Roe, whom Peter has great affection for, as he does for his alma mater, the University of Tasmania. Professor Roe continued to support Peter in his writing career and attended one of his book launches. Away from the writing desk, Peter is very action oriented and works as a volunteer fire fighter. He continues to push for causes he believes in, for example the importance of commemorating the Boer War for Australia’s contribution to the campaign. On the home front, Peter wants to see the volunteer fire fighters, who give so much, rewarded. It has become a worrying trend that fire fighters – more than other professions – have higher incidences of cancers. Peter is working to see that scholarships are awarded to the children of firefighters who are affected by this illness in the course of their duty. Some of Peter’s fans are no doubt a little upset that he is cutting back on his writing and that the book coming next year concludes the story of Josiah so that Peter can concentrate more on his volunteer firefighting and have some relaxation with fishing. Of course there is always the possibility that after some downtime he may decide to take up the pen again.

‘THE COLONIAL’S SON’ BY PETER WATT IS OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY PAN MACMILLAN.

RURAL LANE LEADS TO REJUVENATION

Karly Lane’s latest book ‘Once Burnt, Twice Shy’ is in part a tribute to the rural fire service and the work they did through the bushfires of 2020. Carly says she wanted the book to demonstrate the positive: the ability of the rural people to band together to combat a common foe at a difficult time. Away from the challenges of the natural environment, the story focuses on the main protagonist Samantha Murphy, who is returning home after many years in the city to take care of her parent’s rural property while they are on an overseas holiday. One of the people she encounters on her return is Jack Cameron, the boyfriend of her teenage years that she left behind when her restlessness saw her seek a new life in the city. Samantha and Jack become reacquainted and must ask themselves the question of if they wish to resume their relationship, when so much has happened to each – both have married, divorced and both are raising daughters. I had a chance to speak to Karly who told me that while the bushfires posed a serious challenge, the following life in lockdown in her rural environment hasn’t been too hard to go along with as she has the luxury of space and not feeling so isolated with life pretty much going on as normal. Karly’s book, like the time it documents, is about rejuvination in the land and in relationships.

‘ONCE BURNT, TWICE SHY’ BY KARLY LANE IS OUT

NOW. PUBLISHED BY ALLEN AND UNWIN. ☘