6 June: Rosemary Cadden:
FACT AND FICTION INTERTWINE THE STORIES OF EXPLORER JOHN MCDOUALL STUART.
The Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart undertook six expeditions over four years to become the first European to travel through the centre of Australia and reach the Top End. His route was used for the Overland Telegraph Line and the original Ghan railway line.
Around 150 years later, journalist Rosemary Cadden, who comes from the same town in Scotland, followed his tracks taking four weeks. She took that solo road trip to better understand this country she now calls home. It led to another journey – eight years of reading newspaper articles, colonial reports, memoirs and academic research as she grappled with missing moments in history and misleading myths.
Her talk will take you on a journey that compares the expeditions of McDouall Stuart with her own experiences, to build a picture of what has happened to the land and the people who have lived along that route from Adelaide up through the centre to the Top End.
Rosemary Cadden has worked in Australia as a journalist, media adviser and PR consultant, with a special interest in environmental issues and history. Her creative non-fiction book McDouall Stuart Hitches a Ride was released at the beginning of 2024.
MONTHLY MEETINGS are held at BURNSIDE CITY UNITING CHURCH, Portrush Rd, TUSMORE
7.30 sharp. Supper after.