Australian Stories
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Bagpipes over the Arboretum drift up to the hill
This poem was inspired by a visit to Canberra’s arboretum. It is a beautiful gift to the city by visionary leaders who rather than opening up the land for development, wanted to create a public park open to all Canberrans and an arboretum, which then city then did not have. These forests, like almost all the people of Canberra, come from far away. Many are species that are endangered in the homelands. On any fine Canberra weekend the arboretum fills with walkers and families enjoying the beautiful scene. Autumn is particularly special as many of the individual forests put on their autumn colours. However this poem is not just a…
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Mary Gilmore – Nationality, a Response and a Little Ghost
Australian poet, Dame Mary Gilmore (1865-1962) was knighted for her services to literature and feted for her work. She was born in Goulburn and educated near Wagga Wagga. She became a teacher in 1883 and joined the ‘New Australia’ movement, a colonial settlement in Paraguay, inspired by social utopianism. Disillusioned and by then married, she returned with her husband and child to Australia in 1902. She began writing for the Australian Worker from 1908, contributing on social and economic issues. In 1938 she was appointed a Dame. During her life she published both poetry and prose in numerous works. Her war related poetry enhanced her fame, including the patriotic poem,…
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Juliet is dead! In world first, Australian team films lost historical Romeo scene.
Press Release: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has long entranced audiences worldwide, but what if there’s more to the story? In a groundbreaking first, an Australian team unveils a powerful scene from Matteo Bandello’s overlooked original Italian version, Romeo and Giulietta, which Shakespeare adapted. “Even though Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, most people don’t know it’s an Italian story,” explains Italian-Australian author Michael Curtotti, who recently unveiled a fresh English translation of Matteo Bandello’s narrative. “It’s like appreciating Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings without acknowledging JRR Tolkien. Within Bandello’s rendition lies a trove of narrative richness that was left on the cutting room floor.” Led by director Rhianna…
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Luke Whitington: an Australian poet with an Italian heart
Luke Whitington lives in Sydney, but twenty years of his life were spent in Italy. Those years have left an indelible longing in his life which has been expressed in his extraordinary poetry which returns again and again to his experience of Italy. As a young man he chose a path less travelled: leaving a career in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to undertake language studies at the University of Perugia in Umbria. His adventure continued to unfold as he became a successful entrepreneur. Working with Italian partners he restored heritage buildings in the countryside of Umbria. His journey was to take him to Ireland (where he began…
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Dante under the Southern Cross: Australian Reflections on the 700th Anniversary of the Passing of Dante Alighieri
Does Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet who died more than 700 years ago, really have anything to do with gum trees and koala bears? It’s that kind of question that drew together Australian Dante Alighieri Societies to talk about Dante, in a series of presentations around Australia which stretched from Perth to Brisbane. Despite the fact that Dante never knew of Australia’s existence, he did think about us in a way. He wondered what the stars might look like under southern skies, and he put four stars he imagined above our heads. Did he know about the Southern Cross? Some think, maybe he somehow he found out about it. Maybe…
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Clara and Hyde Dunn – the Baha’i Faith Comes to Australia
On 10 April 1920, when Clara and Hyde Dunn arrived in Sydney, Australia was, to most of the world, a far-away place. To the bulk of Australia’s people it was a new nation seeking to unfold an egalitarian future that would be free of the many oppressions of the old world. Phrases like “fair go, mate” – though not so common nowadays – still capture something deep in the Australian ethos and sense of identity. It was to be a new society in which people could live a life of dignity, of freedom and of peace. In many ways this vision was a beautiful one. It was not always pursued.…
