The Passage of Seasons Book Launch at the Drill Hall Studio, Townsville

‘The Passage of Seasons’ Book Launch took place last Friday evening (18 November) at the Drill Hall Studio in North Ward, Townsville. Colwyn Campbell was joined by family and friends from all over North Queensland and beyond to celebrate the launch. Peter Cooke provided a splendid introduction and opening speech which is reproduced in full below (with permission).

We’re here tonight to launch a book in which long time friends Colwyn Campbell and Di Lucas generously share with us their experiences and thoughts generated by their deeply shared passion for the natural world. 

Through the pages of “The Passage of the Seasons” we are privileged to join the life journeys of Di in the savannah of the NT’s Top End and Colwyn in the cloud forest of Paluma.  

This is a book of many parts. It is a nature book, but a very special nature book in which people, particularly the authors’ families and friends, are centrally placed in the landscapes which inspire their conversations.  

Alongside scientific observations and descriptions are embedded the feelings and experiences of the observers as the seasons turn month by month ….. whether against the background of wild nature or in the cultivated nature of their home gardens. 

The letter-writing form of the book is also special and increasingly rare in the digital age. The inventor of email, Shiva Ayadurai, observes that texting, SMS, chat or Twitter have destroyed letter writing. In this not-so-brave new world, wise and elegant wordsmithing has been largely replaced by the five-second video grab headline or 140-characterd micro-blogging. 

The establishment of a postal service in England in 1606 allowed anyone with price of a stamp to communicate with anyone with an address. 

Women were quick to take advantage of the improved logistic advantages and the creation of a private space for two people to converse across slow time and far distant space. 

Linguists credit women writers of the 17th and 18th centuries with inventing a more personal, private and introspective form of letter writing, using informal styles that were conversational and spontaneous, more like speech and just as lively, vibrant and at times as playful as speech, while addressing subjects from the mundane to the profound. 

Di and Colwyn have built on that tradition of style and The Passage of Seasons confirms it still works just fine in the 21stcentury. 

Another ancestral influence and inspiration for Passage of the Seasons was the emergence of the genre of nature diaries, a genre not exclusively female but one which continues to resonate strongly amongst biophile women writers and their audiences.

Both Colwyn and Di acknowledge the strong inspiration and influence of the English woman writer Edith Blackwell Holden, who fashioned her Nature Notes for 1906 as a model for her students’ work while teaching art at the Solihull School for girls in England.

Edith Holden’s collection of seasonal observations, poetry, and pictures of birds, plants, and insects wasn’t even considered for publication when it was composed and it wasn’t until 1977 that her nature notes were finally published and became a world best seller under the title The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. 

Other seminal sources of inspiration acknowledged by Di and Colwyn include 

  • Earth, fire, air and water, an exchange of letters between two women artists Anne Dangars and Grace Crowley, edited by Helen Topliss. 
  • Densey Cline’s formidable catalogue of nature books, especially the Garden Jungle
  • Jackie French’s ‘Seasons of content‘
  • ’The 3,000 Mile Garden’, conversations between Leslie Land and Roger Phillips focused on their gardens on different continents 
  • And finally ‘A Gardener’s Log’ and other books by Edna Walling which Di’s mother passed to her.

As well as these shared European influences, Di brings to The Passage of Seasons perspectives on nature and human relationships drawn from decades of interactions and friendships with the indigenous people of Western Arnhem Land. 

For Colwyn, Pen Pal friendships with contemporaries in the US and the UK helped make her into a self-confessed life-long compulsive letter writer. 

In the mid-20th century school children were encouraged to engage with pen friends in other countries. 

Some of these formally encouraged pen-friendships were very long lasting. 

In 2018 the record for a pen friendship was between Ruth Magee from Canada and Beryl Richmond in the UK who at that time had corresponded for 78 years and 160 days. They did manage to meet but only twice and only briefly. 

For Di, going off to boarding school at 10 going on 11 ramped up a regular pattern of letter writing. Di and her dad exchanged letters on a weekly basis. Mum, she says, was just too busy in her garden and keeping house. 

The conception and gestation of Seasons began back in Darwin some years after Colwyn and Di were introduced in Darwin in 2001 by a mutual friend, Leonie Norrington, at the launch of Leonie’s Tropical Food Gardens”, a book which Colwyn illustrated.  

They found they shared lifelong interests in gardening, writing and art. They got to know one another better as Diane often called in at Colwyn’s husband’s book exchange in rural Darwin.  Diane at that time was part-time teaching and already writing books for children.   

Colwyn says: “I was rapt when Diane told me about a book that was germinating in her mind and asked if I would illustrate it.” 

And so began their collaboration with Waterlilies, their first book together and self-published in 2007. 

It was a great learning curve, says Colwyn and they were thrilled when Waterlilies received a “Notable Book” award.  It has since had four reprints.   This book, along with three others, are on the recommended reading list for Indigenous literacy and they have three other books in the pipeline, also for children.

So began five or six years of letter writing that has culminated in our being here tonight to launch The Passage of Seasons — a literary journey during which personal nature diaries have been folded in with intimate stories of family and friends, initally in private correspondence between Di and Colwyn across a great distance. 

What the authors are sharing now is a sensory feast for all, from Colwyn’s lovingly created and charming illustrations to their mutual keen written observations and commentary on the sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touches of nature that await those who open their hearts and minds to the call of the wild. 

As Colwyn says “what we hoped to achieve was something that would take the reader away from everyday worries to a peaceful mindset, not too taxing, requiring no serious level of concentration but rather to be conducive to contemplation of the natural world around us all”.

The Passage of Seasons achieves all those goals and is a magnificent celebration of nature, of friendship and lives well lived. Enjoy and share. 

Text by Peter Cooke. Photos by Michele Bird and Juanita Poletto.

Monsters Inc.

The annual Monsters and Mayhem Social was held at the Community Hall last Saturday night (12 November). Just under 20 people joined in the fun, many embracing the theme of the night with gusto. As always there was an amazing array of food to enjoy, including some very special ‘finger food’. A good time and lots of laughs was the order of the evening. Every picture tells a story……!

Reminder: Passage of Seasons Book Launch in Townsville & Paluma

A reminder that Colwyn Campbell will launch her new book, Passage of Seasons this coming week in Townsville and at Paluma. The official book launch takes place on Friday 18 November at 6 pm at the Drill Hall Studio in North Ward, Townsville. Everyone is welcome to attend. Paluma’s very own Peter Cooke will be speaking at the launch. For further details please see the flyer in our previous post on 8 November.

If you can’t make it on Friday night, Colwyn will hold a second launch for her Paluma family and friends at the Rainforest Inn on Saturday 19 November at 1 pm. Again, all are welcome to attend.

Reminder: Community Social this Saturday 12 November

Halloween might be over for 2022, but all the really creepy people will be out and about this Saturday night 12th November for the annual ‘Monsters and Mayhem on the Mountain’ Social at the Community Hall.

All the usual ‘Paluma Protocols’ will apply.

  1. Start time is 6.30 pm.
  2. Bring a plate of food to share – anything and everything goes.
  3. Bar will be open for low-cost beverages.
  4. Sense of community spirit and good humour are essential.

Come as you are, or come dressed to the theme as your favourite horror story. Everyone is welcome and let’s face it……some of us won’t even have to dress up!

Paluma Garden Competition – Judging on 14 November 2022

The 26th Annual Paluma Garden Competition will again be sponsored by Bunnings in 2022. On Monday 14th November, the judges will be accompanied by a Paluma resident whilst on your property to view your garden. It is run on the basis that all properties are entered unless you email Lynn Hyland (lhyland@optusnet.com.au) by Saturday 12th November to advise that you do not wish to participate in the garden competition. The winners will be announced at the Tropical BBQ to be held at the Community Hall on Saturday 10th December.

Paluma Mountain Market

The 2nd October Paluma Mountain Market was very successful with eleven stallholders including the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade’s Book Stall and the Community Cake Stall. The latter was a sell out and raised some record funding for the PDCA. Many thanks to all who cooked and donated cakes and baked goods and to Charlie Allen who managed the stall most efficiently. We were very thankful for the donated pineapples which sold fast under Jill’s watchful eye and was most enjoyable on the BBQ too. The ‘Coffee Man’ aka Colin was kept busy too.

The Sausage Sizzle did very well with Don Battersby and Lynda Radbone handling the super sausages and Les handling the till. We sold 144 sausages to hungry patrons with the ‘super-size’ version complete with onion, coleslaw and/or pipeapple proving very tasty and very popular.

We were lucky to have had a cool but dry day and it was noticeable how many family groups were present – the playground was kept busy ! Our advertising on the Bruce Highway, Bundock Street and on Bamford Lane was seen by many, plus the wider coverage through Facebook by Jill and advertising at the Rollingstone Pineapple Festival and Market all helped to swell the visitor numbers.

A grand little market for such a small community- well done all.

Text by Les and Lynn Hyland

Call For Book Stall Donations

This is a call out for book donations for a fundraising stall for the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade.

Paluma Rural Fire Brigade will again be hosting a book stall at the Paluma Community Market this weekend (Sunday 2nd October) to raise funds for the Brigade. 

If you or your friends, neighbours or family have some well-loved books that could go to a new home, please drop them into 56 Mt Spec Rd or give Peter Cooke a call on 0428 744 874. 

Just imagine what you could do with all that emptied space……………perhaps room for some new books??????

Many thanks 

Sonya Bryce, Secretary / Treasurer, Paluma Rural Fire Brigade

September Social Gatherings

Last Saturday (17th September) the social gatherings at Paluma Village included a morning tea at the Rainforest Inn to celebrate Violet’s birthday, followed by a Community Social at the Hall on Saturday evening. The theme on Saturday night was International Night, with a lot of dinky-di Aussies in attendance. Here’s a few photographs of the events.

Reminder: Community Social on Saturday Night

This is a timely reminder that there is a Community Social at the Hall this Saturday Night 17 September at 6.30 pm.

The usual rules apply for Community Socials, being:-

  1. There are no rules
  2. Please bring a plate to share – sweet, savoury, hot, cold or luke-warm
  3. The Bar will be open for cheap drinks
  4. The theme is International Night

Community Socials are a great place to relax, unwind and catch up with your neighbours (and have a great meal!).