A voyage with my paintings

Over the years I have collected many pieces of art, both within Australia and overseas. Just as my books evoke memories, so too do the paintings and other art pieces that surround me. They take me to a place, a memory, a person …..

I have three paintings by the South Australian artist, Sylvia Preston. The first is one she painted of the pelicans at the Coorong.

This is so South Australian to me. While it is of the sea, with sea birds, the tones are those of a dry land. It reminds me that while we have water, it is a precious thing and we cannot always count on it. The tide is low, the rocks exposed, the birds are watchful.

One cannot help but look at all these pelicans and then think of Storm Boy. the story written by Colin Thiele that became a hit film. And that brings to mind other memories about Colin Thiele.

The day Colin Thiele died, hardly anyone noticed. He died on 4 September, 2006. The only mention of him was a small column on page 3 of the Melbourne “Age”. Here was this great Australian author who brought wonder and enchantment to our children through not only Storm Boy but also, Fire in the Stone, Uncle Gustav’s Ghost, Blue Fin /…

His book Sun on the Stubble was a text book for many a student. Who can forget the killing of the pig and the making of mettwurst!

And then there were the books for adults. His The Valley Between was loosly based on the Barossa Valley and its people. Having been born and lived in Eudunda at the edge of the Barossa, this was an area and a people well-known to Colin Thiele.

I remember the excitement of my aunts when the book first came out. They made a point of getting a copy and Aunt Elsa read it first. This was a short read. In the first chapter an Elsa died and from that point on my aunt didn’t consider the rest of the book worth reading.

But why wasn’t his death more noted? Why?

That’s easy. The same day Colin Thiele died, so did Steve Irwin – the crocodile hunter of television fame. The front pages and feature articles were all on Steve Irwin.

I know who left the greatest legacy for the literary world and recording of our Australian world – Colin Thiele. He visited my daughter’s school one day, and she still has the complete set of books he wrote on the various landscapes of South Australia – a real legacy.