Step back in time at Saumarez Homestead

A feature in the Live, Love, Play magazine focusing on the ladies of the White family

Profile of Richard Torbay MP

Intro, on the front page: here And the main story inside, The rise and rise of Richard Torbay

The latest from Wendy James

Having just filed a news story for the Armidale Express about how and why novelist Wendy James caricatures Armidale in her new novel, The Mistake, as well as a book review detailing what a tremendous read it is, I went looking to see if the feature I did on Wendy and her sister Rebecca for the Sydney Morning Herald was out there on the wild web somewhere. And it is! Well, at least in plain text form. It's available here

Depicting the year, a day at a time

Yesterday it was my turn to contribute to the 3six5 project, a worldwide online chronicle of 2011 from 365 points of view. My entry, about early morning walks, magpies and Mum, is here

The Thunderbolt Mystery

I was invited to a location shoot at the old fossicking grounds in Uralla, to do a story about the making of a new docudrama about controversial local bushranger, Captain Thunderbolt. The atmosphere on set was surprisingly relaxed - probably because the actors were amateurs (albeit brilliantly cast ones), didn't have any lines to remember (the scenes were dialogue-free re-enactments), and the film crew consisted of only two people (director/cameraman Shayne Cantly and his lovely, warm partner/producer Jo Cantly).

I spent a guilt-inducing amount of time chatting to the actors and watching the filming. It was great fun. The guy who played Thunderbolt was perfect, a genuine slow-talking Aussie bushman by the name of Clint Poulsen. He lives on an isolated property 120km west of Chinchilla and landed the role of Fred 'Thunderbolt' Ward after his wife sent in a photo of him on his horse.

"The wife and I heard on the wireless that they were looking for someone to play Thunderbolt," Clint told me, the strong country burr in his voice evoking memories of long-dead, rustic great-uncles. "He had to ride a horse and have a beard. I never thought any more about it. But when I came back from work that afternoon, the wife said she'd put my name down for it. I thought it was a bit of a joke. I went off mustering for three days and when I got back she said I had the part."

While I was there, they re-enacted a legendary tale from Thunderbolt's life, about the time he and his teenage sidekick, Will Monckton, robbed some wandering minstrels on the road between Tenterfield and Warwick. When the bushranger demanded their money, the musicians protested that they had almost none. Thunderbolt relieved them of three pounds, and ordered them to perform for him. He liked their act, and promised that if he had a win at the Tenterfield races he'd send them back their money. His horse did win, and the money was returned, or so the story goes.

Jo suggested that I come back later that afternoon, to watch them filming the horse chase scenes. I wrestled with my conscience - I had more than enough material for a good story already. Luckily for me, it tipped down rain and I stayed diligently at my desk.

The full version of this article appeared in The Armidale Express on 24 October 2011, on p.1 and p.7. There's a preview here

A country journalist - tasks for today

I'm always surprised by how many people discount country journalism and don't bother to buy the local paper. I had lunch with an academic friend recently who seemed bemused that I'd want a part-time postdoctoral fellowship so I could continue working at the Armidale Express. She even asked me if I'd 'ever considered journalism as a profession?' - by which she meant a job on a "real" newspaper, a daily in the city covering serious, important stories.

Although the list of things that I'll be working on today by no means represent a typical day at the Express, tasks like these do come along often enough to keep me hooked:

1. Writing up the speech Walkley-award winning journalist David Marr gave in Armidale on Tuesday about the 'politics of panic' driving Australia's asylum seeker policies

2. Waiting to hear back from federal MP Tony Windsor about his reaction to what Armidale-based environmental activist Carmel Flint said about the bill he's just introduced to Parliament (it's aiming to protect water resources from coal seam gas exploration - something dear to Carmel's own heart - but she's called it 'a toothless trigger')

3. Interviewing former PLC student Fiona Simson, who in July became the first woman to head the NSW Farmers Association (largely on the strength of her campaigning against CSG exploration and its effects on food production) for a profile in our next glossy Seasons magazine

I reckon that sounds like an interesting day's work!

Compassionate Bastard

'Crushing lives, with compassion', a review of my friend Peter Mitchell's new book, can be found under Features - 2011, on the right.