Joy McKean, Slim Dusty and Wiradjuri Survival Legacies

Slim Dusty and Joy McKean came together through their shared passion for country music and their love of taking their show on the road. Their marriage of more than fifty years is celebrated as the most successful partnership in the history of Australian music. “I’ve been there (and back again)” by Joy McKean is a book about her life with Slim Dusty.
Presented in the style of a “coffee table book”, “I’ve been there” is part storytelling, part photo album, part songbook. It’s a lovely book to leaf through, and the stories of their life on the road together, from 1954 onwards, are interesting and engaging. They travelled all over Australia, and in the book, Joy says of the early days “Our old caravan was short on home comforts but we could make do like plenty of other people, and we were our own bosses….. a fact that pleased Slim even more than it did me. I think it was the big deciding factor in us continuing the touring life. That’s why I agree with a line in one of Slim’s songs where he says, ‘I always say the old days were the best damn days of all.’ He was referring to the hard days before we had motels and cars and bitumen roads; big sound systems and stage bands; planes and tour managers. I enjoyed the easier side of touring in later years, but, like Slim, I think the exciting adventure of being out there among the little towns and the big, being able to talk to people after the show every night, and living all over this land and being part of it, was the best of all.”

“Survival Legacies” by Peter Kabaila is another excellent book. It details stories of survival of Aboriginal people in the urbanised south-eastern part of Australia and presents them in a historical framework drawn from Aboriginal elders, mothers, stockmen, storytellers, politicians, tour guides, law-breakers and law-makers.
“In this book I've tried to tell stories of adaptation and survival in Aboriginal communities of south-eastern Australia,” author Peter Kabaila said. “I was attracted to visiting and recording southeast Australian Aboriginal settlements, particularly in the Wiradjuri and neighbouring regions of New South Wales, rather than seeking out distant communities, because this is where I live. Many of the stories here are highly personal accounts; about discrimination, family, poverty, community and re-settlement. Details of survival are the most important themes in life, and because such families are largely forgotten, these accounts are an important record of Aboriginal life.” This book combines the three Wiradjuri Places field books, which have been long out of print, with additional interviews, maps and discussion. The 600 page book includes an Aboriginal family name index and a place name index, as well as 370 photos and illustrations.

These two books, and many more, are available from Gilgandra Shire Library. The Library is open from Monday to Friday, from 10am to 12.30 and from 1.30pm to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 10am to 12 noon. To see what books the Library has, check out our catalogue at http://nwls.spydus.com. Happy reading!

Vote for our State book- Australia's Biggest Book Group

Did you know that next year is Australia’s National Year of Reading? One of the nationwide projects planned for 2012 is Australia’s biggest book group, where people from across the nation all read the same book. As with any book group, the difficulty is “which book do we choose?” In the end, the organisers decided not to choose just one book, but eight books, one for every state and territory of Australia. Margaret Allen, chair of the National Year of Reading founders and State Librarian of WA, explained, “For 2012, we’re creating a collection of books which, read together, describe the Australian experience. We’re hoping that thousands of readers will take a journey around Australia through the pages of these eight books and come out of it with a deeper understanding of what it means to be Australian.”
The National Year of Reading founders brought together an independent panel of readers to choose a shortlist of books for each state, and now they have invited everyone to vote for their favourite. The shortlist for NSW is: “Torn apart” by Peter Corris, “Lilian’s story” by Kate Grenville, “Sydney Harbour: a history” by Ian Hoskins, “The idea of Home” by John Hughes, “The Harp in the South” by Ruth Park and “Bereft” by Chris Womersley. Until 6 January 2012, you can vote online by going to www.abc.net.au/yearofreading or by completing a voting slip at the Library.
The winning list will be announced at the launch of the Year of Reading on 14 February at the National Library. After that, we will be able to register as members of “Our Story”, a nationwide reading group, and discuss the chosen books. This is just the first of many plans for the National Year of Reading, and we are looking forward to celebrating our love of reading on a very big scale in 2012. Happy reading!

Bob the Builder Story Time

The RTA roadworks at the back of the Library have provided interesting viewing for many little ones over the last few weeks, so this week our Story Time will have a “Bob the Builder” theme. Come along and join us at 10.30am on Thursday 24th November for stories, activities and fun. Story Time is for babies, toddlers, under 5s and their parents or carers. Story Time is free, but we ask you to book in so that we have enough materials ready. You can book (even on Thursday morning) by phoning 6817 8877, or by emailing library@gilgandra.nsw.gov.au.

This will be our last Story Time for 2011, but we will begin again in February. Story Time is held on the fourth Thursday of the month at 10.30am, and usually takes about 45 minutes.