Arts

A good place to start reading Farm is at the back. That may sound counterintuitive but by taking a look at the extensive bibliography you’ll quickly see how intensely researched the book is which adds weight to the arguments and questions it presents. While Farm is a memoir that chronicles the journey of Nicola Harvey and her husband after they leave their city lives to farm cattle in rural New Zealand, it is far more than that.

Get Rhythm is an all-family band from Melbourne, starting with the lead singers Mark and Joanne Caligiuri who are married in real life and the singers band include; sons Chris on bass, Lucas on drums and cousin Adam on lead guitar. They have travelled all over Australia and have spent years recreating the authentic Johnny Cash sound that was very distinctive to the man in black.

Chris Oldfield. A medal reflecting 60 years of incredible service has been awarded to our distinguished CFS member and author, Rex Hall. Since the launch of his successful book, Forty Flaming Years, in 2007, Mr Hall has penned three more. Mr Hall, one of Naracoorte’s favourite icons, was also a major force behind the town’s SA Volunteer Fire Fighters Museum.

Nancy Whittaker. Don’t miss visiting the David Moore exhibition at the Cascade Art Gallery in Fountain Street, from now until 13 November ... Red dots abound as the works are so popular and covetable. David Moore is a delightful interview subject, erudite and somewhat self-effacing, given his long and dedicated artistic career, which started with a teacher training course at Hawthorn Tech (now Swinburne).

Kirstin Nicholson. Ros Dwyer likes to think of herself as a social historian. She has been collecting clothes, accessories, memorabilia and ephemera for longer than she realises – and it’s all on display for you to soak in the memories alongside Ros. The Cohuna Art and Craft Gallery has opened its latest exhibition, ‘One Woman’s Collection’ featuring a portion of Ros’s collection.

It’s just a kilometre or two off the New England Highway at East Greenmount and easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there, but Steele Rudd Memorial Park is a must visit attraction for locals and tourists. Arthur Hoey Davis, better known by his pen name of Steele Rudd has certainly left a legacy, not just for the our local area but for the whole nation as his fictional work ‘On Our Selection’ has helped shape Australian culture.

Time traveller  provides a glimpse into Murray Walker’s vast output of collage and assemblage sculpture over the past 40 years. Born in Ballarat in 1937, Walker has worked in diverse media including painting, printmaking, ceramics and tapestry design. ...with limited access to a studio, he began creating collages to diarise his travels.

Following the success of her recent Queensland tours, British singer-songwriter Emily Maguire is touring community halls in northern NSW in November/December 2022. A contemporary folk artist whose songs have been described as 'music for the soul' (Maverick Magazine), Emily has released six albums and toured the UK extensively with American legends Don McLean, Dr Hook and Eric Bibb.

Forty years ago, south eastern Australia was in the middle of a prolonged drought and facing a perilous bushfire season. A new e-book by retired Victorian forester, Peter McHugh, provides a detailed account of the 1982-83 bushfire season from a new perspective ... It was a long and hectic fire season for the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) which attended 878 fires on State forests and National Parks totalling 486,030 ha, which was well above the 11-year average of 141,000 ha.

The Outback Arts region gains another valuable cultural asset today as the Standing Stories Sculpture Walk in Bourke is opened to the public through the release of the brochure for the self-guided tour ... The project, which has seen 8 sculptures installed at the Back of Bourke Exhibition Centre (in Bourke) has been over 5 years in development.

The debut of the film was shown at the Community dinner. A Story that was narrated by Murray Butcher which had been passed on by his Nanna, Elsie Jones. Filmed by Aureliano Ramella, a regular visitor to Wilcannia from Switzerland.

Lismore Theatre Company’s Count Dracula is urging Lismore people to give blood. “While the doors of Lismore’s Red Cross Lifeblood are closed, donors need to fly down to Ballina to donate,” said Count Dracula. “But we will be back here in December to take your blood.”

The Alexandrina Council owned Paddle Steamer, PS Oscar W, is a major drawcard for locals and tourists to our region and will soon feature in its very own short film series following the amazing slipping and maintenance journey of our Friends of the Oscar W volunteer group. The PS Oscar W has just undergone its biennial slipping and maintenance to inspect and restore the historic paddle steamer and is a fantastic example of regenerative heritage in action.

Alba Brockie. The Paterson Street Hub shared the Beanie Love with Tanya Hattingh from the Alice Springs Beanie Festival leading workshops at the Barkly Regional Arts, Tennant Creek Primary School and the Hub itself, in May ... The theme for 2022 was ‘Stitching Hearts ‘and beanie makers were encouraged to depict scenes that made their heart happy.

Year 7 student Francis Walls was thrilled when his photograph of the family dog (known simply as ‘Pup’) won second prize at last week’s Royal Melbourne Show. The action shot - of Pup springing into action to fetch a stick - is a ripper. Believe it or not, it was taken on his Mum’s phone, not on an expensive camera. Now that’s talent!    

As well as the Craft & Fine Food Spectacular, Pittsworth is hosting an exhibition of paintings by Cliff Bauer titled A Time for Change, this weekend. The focus of this exhibition will be Mr Bauer’s love and appreciation for the Australian landscape and his desire for its preservation.

The Brightsiders artists Steve Falco and Jordan Bruce were here in February but returned to Brisbane while it rained…and rained…and rained ... Steve and   Jordan are working on the eastern side of the mural, drawing and painting a farmer and his dog in a field of sunflowers.

This amazing photo was taken by Corie Ross of Long Neck Farm in Goomburra. “Two red bellied black snakes fighting for mating rights. A pretty rare sight but we got to enjoy it for nearly 20 minutes.” Corie said.

District Council of Cleve

Samuel Davis. Music is a family business in Cape York. And for Black Image Band’s Vince Harrigan, it all started in the backyard playing for aunties, uncles and cousins ... This week, the group were one of two Cape-based acts to perform at Savannah in the Round festival in Mareeba featuring stellar acts including the Waifs, King Stingray, Shannon Noll and more.

During this year as I have been promoting my novel, Maestro of Madness, I have been asked so many times why I turned to writing fictional novels at my advanced age ... Eddie Philipson is the main protagonist who was diagnosed with PTSD when he was 44 and the storyline picks up with his battle with the insidious disorder ... I was fortunate enough to have good knowledge with PTSD as I have the dreaded disorder as a Vietnam Vet and so was able to adapt some of the experiences I have had in learning to manage PTSD.