Promoting New England writing

Chatting to a friend this week, I mentioned that I had become a board member of The New England Writers' Centre. I also said that one of the two immediate projects that I had taken on was concerned with the promotion of New England writers and writing. Are there many, I was asked?

Feeling slightly stroppy, I asked my friend to name a few Australian writers. As I had hoped, three of the four named had New England connections.

Back in September, I posed the question Should we have a festival of New England writing? My idea then was an annual event that might promote New England writers and writing to a wider audience and that might grow into a major event like Byron Bay. That remains my dream, but there are a few intermediate steps first.

One is to grow the New England Writers' Centre cash flow to support the promotion of New England writing in the broad sense, as well as the capacity to seed fund a major annual event. For reasons implicit in my last post, The forgetting of Newcastle, there is little point in looking for NSW Government funding. It is a little hard to explain to Sydney based officials why they should fund an activity whose key aim is to promote the existence of traditions independent of Sydney or indeed NSW!

This need not be the case, of course, if NSW Government policy was based on a recognition of diversity. However, it is hard to plan and fund in a world where mind sets require centralised uniform, integrating approaches with key performance indicators directly linked to those uniform approaches. What do you do when someone asks for money based on the explicit assumption that those centralised approaches are wrong, that alternative paths should be followed? It all becomes just too hard. This is not a criticism of those involved, simply an observation about the way systems work.

To overcome this problem I have set a target of raising at least $100,000 in donations over the next few months with a key focus on the New England diaspora. Why $100,000? This would give the NEWC the minimum cash required to operate for twelve months without any form of Government subsidies and allow it to promote New England writers and writing in addition to its existing activities.

A number of issues have to be worked through before such a campaign can be launched. At this point, I am simply giving advance notice. Expect more in due course.    

The forgetting of Newcastle

I have been working my way through a discussion paper entitled Framing the Future: Developing and arts and cultural policy for NSW. I will no doubt comment on the whole document in due course. Here I want to comment on one element, the theme entitled Arts and Culture for, by and across the whole of NSW.  The introduction states:

The location of arts and audiences has a strong influence on content, participation, delivery and engagement in culture.

NSW localities have different cultures, facilities and opportunities. It is important to ensure that opportunities to create and experience are spread across the State to ensure all contribute to and benefit from a rich cultural life. Locally relevant approaches are required to support arts and culture in different regions.

To amplify this theme, the specific geographic locations covered are:

• Regional NSW
• Sydney, Western Sydney and Greater Metropolitan Sydney.

Sydney, Western Sydney and Greater Metropolitan Sydney are treated as three separate entities. And, what, you may ask, is Greater Metropolitan Sydney? Why Newcastle and the Central Coast. It may also include Blue Mountains, but that's not clear.

Now what, you may ask is proposed.

The proposed goal for this theme is:

Sydney is an acknowledged cultural leader in the Asia-Pacific region, drawing on the unique
offerings of the CBD and the broader Sydney region.

Two questions are set for consideration:

• What is required to make Sydney the acknowledged cultural leader in the Asia Pacific?
• How can the NSW Government best work with councils in the CBD and greater
  Sydney in creating a rich cultural environment across the whole of the Sydney region?

These are the proposed directions:

Enhance the cultural identity and year round programming across Sydney with a coordinated
year round program of events and integrated promotions, and integrate major events, festivals, cultural programming into the NSW Government brand strategy

Enhance value, access and encourage repeat attendance at arts and cultural venues in Sydney
by proposals to:
— Investigate development of a Sydney Culture Pass to encourage visitation to Sydney’s arts,
museums and cultural sites
— Investigate and improve transport to key sites on Sydney’s arts and cultural ribbon
— Investigate ways to increase participation of children in State Cultural Institutions’ programming.

Co-promotion, shared programming and coordination between key organisations in Sydney CBD, Western Sydney and Greater Sydney

Strategic partnerships by the three tiers of government for priority localities to consolidate
investment of resources

MMMM. What can I say? Well, consider this to begin with:

• There is no recognition of the separate cultural identities of Newcastle or the Central Coast
• There is no recognition of Newcastle's role as a cultural centre for surrounding areas and beyond. Indeed, the boundaries effectively truncate Newcastle from the rest of the Hunter.
• There is no recognition that Newcastle is actually in competition with Sydney, is striving to further develop its own very distinct cultural identity and needs integration with Sydney as an outrider like it needs a hole in the head.

See what I mean?

We love South Grafton

For those on Facebook, Ursh Tunks has started a new Facebook page called "We love South Grafton". The drawing shows the building that was Earle Page's private hospital.

Ursh describes her purpose in this way:

I figure that we need to band together to promote our beautiful little heritage listed village and the township of South Grafton. That doesn't detract from being part of the Clarence Valley Community it merely allows us to celebrate the beauty, sense of community, ingenuity and strength of character of those on our side of the mighty Clarence.

That makes a lot of sense to me, for South Grafton's own history and character has become a little submerged. Expect a little of South Grafton's history from time to time.

A Robinson service car on the Dorrigo mountain road

This photograph comes from the Bellingen and Urunga Museums. It shows the Robinson service car going down the Dorrigo mountain.

It is historically significant for two reasons.

First, it shows the state of that mountain road in the early days of motor transport. Prior to that bullock drays crawled down that stretch.

Secondly, it is another example of the transport services offered by the Robinsons, an entrepreneurial New England family who had so much impact on New England transport and well beyond.  

Remembering Hunter Street

This photo came from Sean.

I do remember Hunter Street, although I am far too young for this photo.

Growing up, Newcastle was the North's big city. When I first went there from Armidale, I felt that it was such a big place!

Of course in population terms Newcastle is still a big place, But is somehow seems to have shrunk, to have lost its core identity. The suburbs stretch for miles, but the city center is flat.

Of course, this has happened in other places. I was in Armidale last weekend, and Beardy Street was almost deserted, squeezed by the shopping centers on each side. But, like Armidale, Newcastle has shrunk in public consciousness. This photo reminds us of when Newcastle was actually a big place.  

A morning at NERAM - Flora, Cobcroft and Badham's Observing the Everyday

The New England Regional Art Museum (Facebook page) is one of Armidale's premier tourist attractions, home (among other things) to the Hinton and Coventry collections of Australian art. It had been some time since my last visit, and I was keen to see the new exhibitions. I wasn't disappointed. 

The first and showcase exhibition comes from the Art Gallery of Ballarat.  

Called Capturing Flora: passion for the exotick,  this exhibition of  350 original prints and drawings covers Australian botanical art from 1700 to 1900.

The official exhibition description  suggests that it will will take visitors through a historical journey of how Australia’s amazing and diverse flora have been recorded, interpreted and popularised by botanical artists from William Dampier and the early explorers to the present day.

That's true enough, but in doing so it also highlights the fascination that people found in what, to them, seemed the exotic at a time of great fascination in Europe with nature and the natural environment. Within twenty years of the settlement at Botany Bay, Australian plants were being cultivated in a number of European countries.

This first exhibition is very good and I would recommend it, but it was the next two exhibitions that really caught my eye.

The first is Echoes in the Hedgerow by New England born artist photographer Robert Cobcroft. Cobcroft was born in Inverell in 1960 and lived in Armidale until completing his high school education in 1977. After moving to Queensland in 1988, he attended the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University in Brisbane, graduating with an associate diploma of arts in applied photography in 1991. Since then he has established a name as an emerging artist with exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand.

The pioneers of the New England Tablelands brought with them the notion of planting out "New England" as a replica of the English countryside. Cobcoft's landscapes explores the effect created by combining the Australian bush with more than 150 years of planting European trees and shrubs , the imagery translated as a nostalgic, homogenous binding of 19th century ideas together with modern photo technology. Further comments follow the illustration.

This is not a big exhibition, but Cobcroft's work really resonated with me because I grew up in the world he presents. Copies of the works are for sale at $600 for the small, $1,200 for the large. I wish I had the money!

The third exhibition is Herbert Badham's Observing the Everyday. Herbert Badham was a realist painter of social urban life, and renowned for his scenes of Sydney. The exhibition concentrates on the everyday in Sydney mainly during the 1930s.

Painted in 1937, this first painting by Badham is commonly known as Girl at a piano. Digging around, I discovered that the girl is actually Badham's daughter. 

This is quite a large exhibition centred on Badham paintings in the Hinton collection, supplemented by works by works in state regional galleries and private collections, including a small number of works by other artists that fit the theme.

The paintings are organised thematically to show different aspects of Sydney life - the beach, the buildings, scenes of day to day life. We really enjoyed it, but decided to take a break in the middle to have lunch at NERAM Harvest.

This was actually as funny as a circus. Outside in the rain, the men were trying to erect a marque to provide cover for Sunday's BBQ breakfast. "its like watching monkeys using tools for the first time", commented our waitress. "How many men does it take to erect a marque? Four, with one woman supervising."

We had a New England pale ale before lunch, followed by a rather nice why worry sparkling cuvee brut. To maintain the local theme, I had lamb salad. Fortified, it was time to return to the exhibition. 

This next Badham painting comes from 1933 and is called simply Hyde Park. It will be instantly familiar to anyone who knows Sydney. It captures the day scene rather well.

We went round the paintings again, and then started selecting our favourites, Each had to select the top three.

My companion selected Joshua Smith's Peeling Vegetables (1939), Badham's Grocer's Shop (1943)  and Elioth Gruner's The Beach (1918).  I chose Hyde Park, Girl at a piano and an Unk White piece, Dad.

Finally, we left. It had been a satisfying visit.

The exhibitions will be on until 2 February 2014. If you get a chance, do visit. I don't think that you will be disappointed. 

Maps show the administrative simplicity of New England self-government

One of the common objections raised to those of us who want self-government for the broader New England is administrative complexity. Wouldn't the creation of a new state structure be complicated? Well, no, and to illustrate here are two maps.

The first map shows the distribution of land services boundaries in the North. The Hunter, North West, Northern Tablelands and North Coast Districts cover most of the traditional new state territory.

The next mao shows the health and human services boundaries, Again, the same broad pattern, in this case with three divisions, Hunter New England, Mid North Coast and Northern NSW. Most if not all of the administrative divisions display the same pattern, a pattern dictated by geography.

All this makes self government relatively easy to achieve in administrative terms, although there would be adjustments at the southern and western boundary edges, All that is required is the re-grouping of existing administrative units.

If he boundaries already reflect geography, does this weaken the new state case/ Not at all, Under the present system, most of those units finally headquarter in Sydney. Each of them is run as isolated entities within central frameworks dictated by NSW. They do interact, but only through head office. Despite what is sometimes called localisation, their decision making power is very limited, nor is there any mechanism for addressing common Northern concerns. From a Northern perspective, fragmentation rules.

The next time someone says how hard it would be in administrative terms to break up the NSW system say no, the existing administrative units whether in health or education or land management already reflect the basic geography of New England.

We want to reform the system by regrouping all the existing and often varying administrative units within New England together so that they can work more effectively together in meeting New England needs.From the viewpoint of the ordinary public servant in New England, their basic job won't change.  What will change is their ability to work with colleagues across regions, to do new things in as simpler world.

If you don't think that that's attractive, have a chat to any of the local staff trying to cope in the world of the NSW mega-departments, trying to deal with roles and systems created far away! Self-government would give us an opportunity to simplify things, to focus, to do their jobs more easily.       

Update on Resuming Posting

At the end of September in Resuming posting I accepted that this had been a sadly neglected blog. I also said that I would be bringing up back posts; I have been doing that slowly with more to go. I haven't  publicised them. They are a bit of a rag bag lot. That will improve!

I am about to pass a milestone on this blog, 100,000 visitors. Expect a small celebration when I do.After 1,198 posts I think that I deserve champagne!

Aborigines, Greens and coal seam gas

I have referred before to the gas wars raging across New England.

Over two years ago, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC), the peak body representing Aboriginal land councils in NSW, decided to become involved in resources exploration as a way of generating long term income and job opportunities for Aboriginal people. As part of its plans, NSWALC has applied for prospecting and exploration permits that, if granted, would make it the largest holder of coal seam gas exploration acreage in NSW.

According to a story in today's Australian Financial Review by Angela Macdonald-Smith (Aboriginal council takes on greens, farmers over gas), NSWALC CEO Geoff Scott has come out with a swinging attack on the green movement for refusing to negotiate in good faith. He also accused the Lock the Gate Alliance led by Drew Hutton and other anti coal seam gas groups of ignoring the Aboriginal community's need for economic development.

:Hutton was out there saying that we should be noble and grow vegetables"  Mr Scott said. "Thanks for your advice! Its not noble having people whose sewerage systems don't work. It's not noble having people live on the dole all their life".

"We want something better and we don't want to rely on government. That's not sustainable. It's benevolence."  Mr Scott went on to attack the O'Farrell government's restrictions on coals seam gas development for driving up costs without improving protection of the environment.

The Greens were not impressed. Dawn Walker, the Green's spokesperson for the Tweed Valley region, said that its opposition was to coal seam gas in general and who owned the license was irrelevant. "The Greens have a no-CSG policy. We don't believe that it is a safe industry. It is not a suitable industry for Australia."

Clearly, the twain will never meet in this case.

Postscript

For those like me who get confused about aspects of the coal seam gas debate, Rod Holland had quite a useful post on his Northern Rivers Geology blog, Being tight with loose terminology?. Rod has promised to write more explanatory material.

Even the church couldn't escape political infighting

This History Revisited column is the start of a short series on a major figure in the history of New England's Roman Catholic Church in the second half of the nineteenth century.