To paraphrase Flaubert one’s paintings etc are never finished, only abandoned. The following is a chronological list of significant art works produced in a lifetime:

59 Burlington Street Crows Nest (1995 – present)

2012, in this my 70th year the initial focus was on producing a second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid and bringing together my New Collected Poems (with index and composite notes, plus all my new poems since the publication of Anthology (2002)).

Paintings commenced (2012) in my studio at Crows Nest:

2012, a square-format Rainforest Painting, tentatively called ‘Blue Harmonies’ (of rainforest animals and plants, including flowering orchids, with Mount Warning in the background), was started in November, inspired by a visit to the Tweed River Art Gallery (in Murwillumbah).

2012, ‘Egyptian Lady with Lotus Buds’, turned into a dot painting. Retained.

2012, ‘Nude and the Moon’, composite adaptation from Godfrey Miller and Modigliani, turned into a dot painting. Retained.

2012, adjusted the book cover in the hand in ‘The Mullumbimby Kid I’, large painting (portrait format), on producing a second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid, using a detail of the larger painting (of the boy in the landscape) as the cover design (like the cover design on the old packet of Uncle Toby’s Rolled Oats, with the boy kissing the girl, a smaller version of this design carried on his back).

2012, ‘Annie and Fox’, a study for a larger painting of my publishing friend Bruce Welch’s daughter Annie  playing her violin with their dog ‘Fox’ sitting on the lounge chair listening. Proposed gift for the family.

2012, ‘Girl with Violin’, larger version of the above. Retained.

2012, ‘The Tree Of Life’, a larger more ambitious composite dot painting, incorporating the design of Gustav Kilmt’s ‘Tree of Life’ and ‘my best synthesis of of all my earlier versions of ‘Perception and Magnitude’ and related themes. The overall composition, started on 17 January 2012, has taken six months to properly come together (working with acrylic paints). The first oil paint dots were applied on the 1 July 2012 (with carbon tax most probably non-applicable).

*  *  *

2011, the highlight of this year was being a featured writer at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival and having a joint painting exhibition at Artarmon Galleries with Bruce Herps. The first half of the year was spent polishing a range of paintings for this exhibition.

Paintings commenced (2011) in my studio at Crows Nest:

2011 – 2012, ‘Frangipanis’, square painting, turned into a dot painting. Retained.

2011 -2012, ‘Dot portrait’, study for larger painting. Retained.

2011 – 2012 Large Dot Portrait’. Retained.

2011 ‘Miss 1974′, nude, dot painting. Retained.

2011-12 ‘Circular Quay III’, large night-time (earlier aborted) version of this painting (with fireworks behind the Dinosaur Harbour Bridge and the Opera House as plates draining in the sink), turned into a dot painting. Retained.

2011 2012, ‘Blue Woman’, Balinese woman (after Arthur Fleishmann), turned into a dot painting. Retained.

2011 -2012, ‘Two Women’ (‘Girlfriends), two Balinese women (after Fleishmann), turned into a dot painting. Retained.

*  *  *

2010, on our way to Canberra in January to see the Exhibition from the Musee D’Orsay, I was inspired to do a painting of the old Anglican Church at Berrima (which became my ‘Church at Berrima’), which went on to win the first prize (Medal of Distinction at the RAS Annual Spring (Painting) Exhibition)

Paintings commenced (2010) in my studio at Crows Nest:

2010, ‘Church at Berrima’, in Van Gogh style, after his ‘Church at Auvers’, with a Colonial lady on the pathway instead of a peasant woman as in the Van Gogh painting. Medal of Distinction, 2010 RAS Spring Show. Retained by Artarmon Galleries.

2010, ‘The Mullumbimby Kid II’, a ‘brother’ portrait with clasped hands, after the style of ‘My Brother Jim’. Retained.

2010, ‘Anthology: A Collection of Flowers’, landscape portrait with books and flowers and clasped hands (as above). Retained.

2010 – 2012, ‘Bombs Away’, a painting of religious and cultural symbols falling from the sun to earth (after the style of the original cover concept for an abandoned novel of the same name). Turned into a dot painting. Retained.

2010, ‘Modigliani nudes’, two copies of a Modigliani nude, one with tattoos of small animals. Retained.

*  *  *

2009, another significant year. Following the knock back from North Sydney Council for a painting studio on top of the garage, I purchased a one-room apartment in Crows Nest to act as a painting studio, available from the middle of the year.

Student paintings (2009), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘life painting’, teacher Leyla Spencer.

First Term

‘Natasha’, reclining pose, commenced 3 February 2009. Retained.

‘Adrienne’, red dress, red painting, commenced 24 February 2009. Retained.

‘Ai V’, seating pose in yellow tones (with her name written in Japnnese in painting), commenced 17 March 2009. Retained.

‘Ai VI’, a second version of this painting (square format) in  blues and orange with persimmons as a feature in the lower left hand side was finished on 7 April 2009  (and hung at the RAS in June 2009 under the title ‘Fruits of Love’). Retained.

Second Term

‘Jenny’, long -format painting, commenced 28 April 2009.

‘Adrienne’, one day quickie (19 May 2005). Painted over.

‘Sarah’, two week pose, commenced 26 May 2009.

”Ai VII’, seated pose, commenced 9 June 2009 (one week only), unfinished, broken by Murwillumbah High School 50-year reunion, after which I left art classes to concentrate on painting full time in my studio.

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home/in studio (2009)

2009 – 2012, ‘Mullumbimby Dreaming’, square format, the first serious painting commenced in the new studio.

2009, ‘Henry Lawson’, painting of Lawson statue in the Sydney Domain. RAS Ballot, 2010.

2009, ‘Beach Girl’, Manly Beach, from photo in The Melancholy Dane (painted over American girl, Stacey, sitting on a chair). Given to Anne Butt.

2009, Large Portrait with study with bookcase behind. Retained.

2009, smaller version of above. Retained.

2009, ‘Chincogan’, Mullumbimby landscape of Chincogan. Given to my sister Cathy on her 60th birthday.

*  *  *

2008, a significant year, in which I was elected as an ‘Exhibiting Member’ of the Royal Art Society of New South Wales, and won the ‘Engine Room Prize’ at the Student Exhibition at the end of the year. Following my election as ‘Exhibiting Member’ I had plans drawn up for a painting studio on top of our garage in the back yard at Crows Nest (objected to by two neighbours) and knocked back by North Shore Council at their last meeting at end of the year.

Student paintings (2008), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘life painting’, teacher Leyla Spencer.

First Term

‘Monica’, reclining nude, commenced 29 January 2008. Retained.

‘Sarah’, reclining, commenced 19 February, 2008. Painted over.

‘Ai I’ (pronounced ‘I’), Japanese girl, half-standing half-seated pose, commenced 4 March 2008. Did a copy (stencil) of this painting to work on during the second week, and it won the Engine Room Prize at the Student Exhibition at the end of the year. The first version of this painting (‘Ai II’)was developed later. I also started a profile of this pose  (‘Ai III’) as well (on 18 March 2008 – 2011).

‘Ole’, seated pose, commenced 25 March 2008.

Second Term

‘Jenny’, back on, acrylics, commenced 22 April 2008. Painted over, second painting of ”Monica’ (27 May 2008). Second painting of Jenny (oils) standing, commence3d 6 May 2008.

‘Monica’, seated pose with hand on foot, commenced 13 May 2008. Retained. Second painting (from the other side of the room) commenced 27 May 2008.

‘Edwina’, ‘flatter’ finish inspired by visit to Japanese exhibition at the Art Gallery, commenced 10 June 2008.

Third Term

Missed two weeks overseas.

‘Sarah’, back on, commenced 29 June 2008.

‘Rita IX’, seated pose, clothed, wearing a red top, commenced 5 July 2008.

‘Juliette’, clothed, one week only (2 September 2008), in which I had painted her to look like Henry Lawson (as I was very stressed at the time of Jim’s final illness).

Missed time.

Fourth Term

‘Zan’, one day portrait, 7 October 2008. Painted over, ‘Irish Oak’ (‘Heather on the Hill’).

‘Ole’,one day acrylic (14 October 2008), followed by a one day oil painting (21 October 2008).

‘Natasha’, seated nude, commenced 18 November 2008.

‘Ai IV’, nude standing (showed her earlier portrait hanging downstairs) , commenced 25 November 2008.

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home (2008)

2008, ‘Heather on the Hill’, painting of an Irish Oak from a photograph taken on our Irish holiday of a gnarled old  tree at Ladies’ View. Retained by Artarmon Galleries.

2008, ‘Hand and Mind’, larger version, after the photograpy by Rowan Fotheringham. Retained.

2008, ‘Hand and Mind’, smaller version, thin portrait format with dark background. Retained.

2008, ‘Jim’s Trees’, painting of the two gum trees that grew outside Jim’s place at Chair Valley Bay North. Retained.

2008 – 2011, ‘Song of Lebanon’, painting of my poem of the same name built up from a series of composite images (sister painting of ‘The Green Line’). Retained.

2008, ‘Nevermore’, copy of the Gauguin nude as seen in London.

*  *  *

Student paintings (2007), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘life painting’, teacher Leyla Spencer:

First Term

‘Meridith’, reclining in a blue dress, commenced 30 January 2007. Retained.

‘John’, pointillist painting in raw colours, commenced 20 February 2007. Painted over, ‘Honey I’ (8 May 2007).

‘Cecily’, large brush treatment, did in one sitting (13 March 2007). Second painting in Gauguin style commenced 20 March 2007).

Second Term

‘Honey I’, only one sitting (8 May 2007), on my return from the UK. Turned into a dot painting (2012). A second version of this painting was executed, ‘Honey II’, as provided for the RAS Ballot (2012).

‘Katrina’, young honey blonde, seated pose, commenced 15 May 2007. A second version of the same pose (as painted from the other side of the room) was completed in the one session (29 May 2007).

‘Tara’, blonde girl,one week only (5 June 2007). Painted over.

‘Grace III’, clothed, quick drawing with charcoal and wash-like application of paint, commenced 12 June 2007.

‘Sarah’, one week portrait, 26 June 2007. Destroyed.

Third Term

‘Mandy’, well proportioned painting, commenced 17 July 2007. Retained.

‘Sarah’, semi reclining pose, commenced 28 August 2007. Painted over.

‘Lia’, young girl in a blue top and ochre pants, commenced 4 July 2007.

Fourth Term

‘Margaret’, commenced 9 October 2007.

‘Rita VIII’, quickie in green and pink.

‘Ole’ (‘Ollie’), commenced 30 October 2007.

‘Natasha’, commenced 20 November 2007. Retained.

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home (2007):

2007, second portrait of ‘My Brother Jim’. Given to Anne Onslow.

2007, second portrait of ‘Rachel’. Retained.

2007 – 2012, ‘Poet at Point’, family group of myself, Cheryl and Rachel (and others) at Mrs Macquaries Point (after the style of  ‘The Bathers’ in the National Gallery, London). Retained.

2007, ‘Icarus’, small Icarus (in St Leonard’s Park). Retained.

2007 – 1012, ‘Large Icarus’ (‘The God Patricle’ (2012)), with electron shells and Homonculus. Retained.

*  *  *

Student paintings (2006), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘life painting’, teacher Leyla Spencer:

First Term

‘Cherie’, woman with dark hair, painting of her back, commenced 31 January 2006, (2006 – 2011). Retained.

‘Mia IV’, back view, with her dog ‘Petal’, commenced 21 February 2006. Commendation at Student Exhibition. Retained.

‘David’, Anglo-Indian, commenced 21 March 2006.

Second Term

‘Rita V’, clothed and wearing a little hat, commenced 24 April 2006 (plus a smaller ‘Rita VI’, nude, in the same pose).

‘Adrienne’, finished 6 June 2006, having missed some time when my mother died.

‘Jemima’, young girl with auburn hair, commenced 13 June 2006.

Third Term

‘Elizabeth’, commenced 18 July 2006. Painted over.

‘Rita VII’, with a basked of fruit, commenced 8 August 2006 (plus pencil drawing of Rita during this session).

‘Kate IV’, standing pose, one week only, missed a week with my mother’s ashes up north (12 September 2006).

‘Cecily’, naked on top with blue trousers, reclining in a ‘Matisse’ style. Painted in the one session with wet rags on a white canvas (19 September 2006). Not a bad painting but painted over later one.

Fourth Term

‘Meridith’, young girl with dark hair in a provocative pose, commenced 17 October 2006.Retained.

‘Adrienne’, commenced 24 October 2006. Painted over.

‘Grace II’, clothed, commenced 7 November 2006. Retained.

‘Jacqueline III’, in sinuous lying pose, commenced 28 November 2006. Retained.

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home (2006):

2006, Jenni Mitchell painted my portrait (early March) in Melbourne, as part of her ‘Portraits of Australian Poets’ series. Hanging in my study.

2006, ‘The Rose I’, after Elizabeth McAlpine.

2006, ‘Norah Jones’, from a photographs.

2006, ‘Angophoras‘, at Berry’s Island, after a visit with Paul and Susan Roberts. Held by Artarmon Galleries.

2006, ‘Rachel I”, first portrait of Rachel in back yard at Crows Nest (with Japanese lantern as a feature). Retained.

2006, started a painting of my mother in a Mullumbimby back lane (the background adapted from a painting by Karen Wynn-Moylan). Given to my sister Helen on her 60th birthday.

*  *  *

2005, after an incredible creative burst over the last two years, my aim from here on in was to paint less, but hopefully better paintings.

Student paintings (2005), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘life painting’, teacher Leyla Spencer:

First Term

‘Kerry’, seated nude, commenced 1 February, gave to a tradesman at our house one day who had admired her.

‘Cecily III’, commenced 22 February.

‘Mot’, an old stout reclining lady, dressed. One day session (15 March 2005), painted over.

‘Adrienne’, painting of her back, commenced 22 March 2005). Retained.

Second Term

‘Rita III’, reclining pose, commenced 26 April 2005. Retained.

‘Mia II’, blonde girl, ‘nude seated pose (having painted her clothed in Judy’s class) with checks in the background, commenced 17 May 2005.

”Mia III’, commenced second nude painting of Mia in the same pose (24 May 2005), without the checks in the background.

‘Kerry’, for one week only, 7 June 2005.

‘Adrienne II’, dark background painting with overlapping lighter tones, commenced 14 June 2005.

Third Term

‘Michaela’, buxom red head, commenced 19 July 2005.

‘Elizabeth’, clothed (three weeks as Michaela not available) commenced 26 July 2005.

‘Michaela’, second session on earlier portrait, finished 16 August 2005.

‘Rita IV’, acrylic, two weeks, commenced 23 August 2005.

‘Stacy’, curves and straight lines painting, commenced 6 September 2005.

Fourth Term

‘Tania’, commenced 11 October 2005.

‘Margaret’, commenced 1 November 2005.

Second portrait of ‘Margaret’, commenced 15 November 2005.

‘Michaela’, more ambitious painting, larger format wit a ‘Matisse’ background, commenced 22 November 2005. Painted over for second portrait of ‘My Brother Jim’ (2007). Given to Anne Onslow after Jim had died.

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home (2005):

2005, ‘Leyla II”, second portrait of Leyla Spencer (in grey dress and dark coat), painted on weekend workshop, 17 April 2005. Unfinished.

2005, finished ‘Girl with Frangipani’, from Lord Howe Island drawings, and input from Leyla. Over-painted.

2005, portrait format, larger, more ambitious ‘Mullumbimby Kid’, with the child in a Mullumbimby landscape, and hands holding up mirror and copy of The Mullumbimby Kid, 2006 – 2011). Part of this painting (containing the child) was used for the cover of the second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (2012), necessitating an upgrade of the cover of the book held up in the painting (2012).

2005, painted over ‘Poetic Genesis’, creating a large self portrait comprised of overlapping glazes of different colours with all my books spines down the right hand side.

2005, second larger ambitious less-cluttered  ‘Mullumbimby Pastoral’, (2005 – 2011)

2005, ‘Paul and Susan Roberts’, after the style of Modigliani. Given to Paul and Sue.

2005, ‘Secret Garden III’ (‘Cat with Clivias‘, painted over ‘Rita’).

*  *  *

Student paintings (2004), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘portraiture’, teacher Judy Pennefather:

First Term

‘Jasmine’, young blonde in (sitting) yoga pose, commenced 28 January 2004. Painted over (Sister Kathleen, 21 April 2004).

‘Sandy’, lady with yellow hair. Painted in one day (25 February 2004) with orange and black background. Retained.

‘Man in Blue Singlet’, finished 17 March 2004.

‘Jacqueline’, girl with long blonde dreadlocks sitting in a chair. Finished 31 March 2004. Retained.

Second Term

‘Sister Kathleen’, one day only when model did not turn up (21 April 2004). Painted over ‘Jasmine’ and gave to Sister Kathleen.

‘Benedicta’, black African lady, stylized painting, commenced 28 April 2004.

‘Rita I’, nude, painting of her back (painted over portrait of David sitting on a chair), commenced 12 May 2004. Painted over, ‘Secret Garden III’ (‘Cat with Clivias’).

‘Joe’, painting of Joe Penn (RAS) with baseball cap, finished 9 June 2004.

‘Kerry’, girl in orange dress with red hair, finished 23 June 2004.

Third Term

‘Donna’, black African lady (from London) with a black top, commenced 14 July 2004.

‘Donna’, one day painting of Donna (28 July 2004), better than the one before.

”Juliette’, old lady in role of ‘Ophelia’, commenced 4 August 2004 (the only subject for a painting I hadn’t completed the year before). Once more I was not inspired.

‘Luke’, painting of our dentist classmate as our model (Rita) had not turned up, completed in one session (17 August 2004). Gifted to him on the day.

‘Alex’, painting of a young man, commenced 8 August 2004.

Fourth Term

‘Ruth’, painted in one session 20 October 2004.

‘Zelman Friedman’, painting of older man, two portraits, finished 3 November 2004. Both painted over, one used for Kate (24 November 2004).

‘Kate I’, with shawl draped over a  shoulder, exposing a breast. Finished 24 November 2004.

‘Mia’, a portrait over two weeks, finished 8 December 2004, followed by a luncheon for the retirement of Judy Pennefather.

*  *  *

More student paintings (2004), Lavender Bay Gallery, ‘life painting’, teacher Leyla Spencer:

First Term

‘Vanessa’, nude in early ‘Picasso’ style with orange and purple , commenced 27 January 2004. Retained.

‘Margaret’, large lady with red hair, commenced 24 February 2004. Painted over

‘David’, completed 22 March 2004. Painted over.

‘Stacey’, American lady, reclining nude, commenced 30 March 2004.

Second Term

‘Stacey’, as above, continued for three weeks. Retained.

‘Nubian Princess’, nude portrait of Benedicta, black African lady sitting on chair, commenced 11 May 2004.Over the four weeks of this pose I developed an elaborate and more ambitious Egyptian background. This painting was sold at the student exhibition at the end of the year.

‘Cecily’, a one day study painted without lines on a day when Benedicta’s daughter was sick (18 May 2004). Painted over.

‘Benedicta II’, a second, smaller painting of Benedicta with a yellow background (1 June 2004).

‘Cecily II’, second painting of Cecily (with orange frangipanis), commenced 8 June 2004.

Third Term

‘Rita II’, sitting in a chair with yellow background, with lilies painted in later on, commenced 13 July 2004. Retained.

‘Jacqueline’, (had painted her reclining in a chair in Judy’s class) a standing pose, with Cymbidium introduced in right hand side, commenced 3 August 2004. Retained.

‘Jacqueline II’, second painting of Jacqueline, same pose, but from the other side of the room, commenced 17 August 2004. Retained.

‘Tania’, art teacher at another venue, with a scarf around her head a feature of ivy leaves, commenced 31 August 2004. Retained.

Fourth Term

‘Samantha’, reclining, dark-haired girl, commenced 5 October 2004. Retained.

‘Lyn’, composition in browns of a young girl with brown skin, completed in the one sitting on 2 November 2004. This painting was done by covering the whole surface with a brown ‘background” painted over a lighter shade, and rubbing back with cloth to expose the highlights. The potential of this painting really excited me. Retained.

‘Kate II’, a second painting of Kate (having painted her before in Judy’s class), blonde woman in sitting pose, commenced 9 November 2004 (with a Margaret Preston lino-cut added to this composition later one). Retained.

‘John’, painting in blue-greens and yellows, commenced 23 November 2004. Painted over.

‘Kate III’, third painting of Kate lying back with one arm back over her head, commenced 7 December 2004. Accidentally damaged in my new studio (with a tear in the canvas).

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home (2004):

2004, ‘Self-portait of Poet’(with pile of books on an adjacent desk’, and later addition of orchid flower), commenced in March.

2004, ‘Mullumbimby Orchids’, square format. Painted over (‘Lunch on the Grass II (2004)’).

2004, ‘Lunch on the Grass II’ (‘Dejeuner II’), square format. Retained by Artarmon Galleries.

2004 – 2011, ‘Shirley Hazzard’, young and old in the one painting (2004 – 2011). Retained.

2004 – 2011), ‘Poetry of Place’, painting derived from an etching of the Sydney Gardens used on the cover of The Poetry of Place.

2004, ‘Rainforest Poet’ (‘Contemplation in a Rainforest’), from a photograph of myself when young in a thoughtful post up against a large fig tree (as published in The Mullumbimby Kid). Retained.

2004, ‘Portrait of my Brother Jim I’, first portrait of my brother with barramundi and beer with the young Jim looking over his shoulder and a portrait of our father in the top left hand side. Given to Jim and Anne, then replaced with a  second portrait (2007). I have retained the original.

2004, ‘Self-portrait’ (with Collected Poems and Chincogan in the background and ‘botanic verses pattern in the sky’. Retained.

2004, larger ambitious self-portrait (based on above) with plough and weeds in lower left hand side and portrait of our father in top left hand side. Painted over with ‘Poet at the Point’, family group at Mrs Macquaries Point (2007 – 2012).

2004, Large ‘Self-portrait’, dot painting, within a spiral galaxy of stars, with a daemon muse holding herself up upon a pile of published books.

*  *  *

2003, this my first year of retirement was a very productive year. I threw myself enthusiastically into learning to paint, attending classes at the Lavender Bay Gallery (run by the Royal Art Society of NSW), and turned the front upstairs room into a painting studio. A large number of paintings were commenced in 2003 (many of these were worked on for many years as my technical proficiency improved). After our kitchen had been renovated I turned the front room upstairs (with a northern aspect and good light) into a painting studio, and purchased a CD player and painted to music. As well as attending classes at Lavender Bay, my friend Robin Norling and his partner Jocelyn Maugham (at the Bakery (Art) Gallery, Patonga) gave me critical feedback and tuition over the next few years. This was the year I purchased the Paul Pulati inside/outside painting, looking out of his house at Quarrobolong towards the Wattigan Mountains.

Student paintings (2003), Lavender Bay Gallery,  ‘portraiture’, teacher Judy Pennefather:

First Term

‘Nude with Green Eyes’ (with a red background), my first painting in retirement, commenced 5 February 2003 (three weeks). Retained.

‘Mary Anne’, petite young lady in a seated pose, commenced 26 February (painted over later on).

‘Jeanette’, knitting lady, commenced 12 March 2003, painted over (3 December 2003) in anticipation of last painting session of the year, portrait of Leyla Spencer, 10 December 2003).

‘Harold’, negro with blue-green shirt, commenced 2 April 2003. Retained.

Second Term

‘Claudia’, lady with blonde hair, commenced 30 April2003.

‘Opehlia’, old lady with plastic flowers, commenced 21 May 2003. Never finished. Painted over, ‘Man with Green Cap’ (25 June 2003).

‘Back of a Man’, commenced 4 June 2003. Painted over, ‘Marina’ (3 September 2003)

‘Man with Green Cap and Sunnies’, commenced 25 June 2003.

Third Term

‘Ricarda’, Germanic lady in sequins, commenced 23 July 2003. Retained.

‘Miles’, young Afro-American (performance poet) reading Moby Dick, commenced 13 August 2003. Painted over.

‘Marina’, dark-haired girl in red dress, commenced 3 September 2003. Painted over.

‘Joshua’, young man with a saxophone, commenced 17 September 2003. Painted over.

Fourth Term

‘David”, young male, sitting on a chair, commenced 15 October 2003. Painted over, Rita, female nude, back view (12 May 2004), itself painted over to become the third in my Secret Garden series, ‘Cat in Clivias‘.

‘Stacy’, American female, nude, sitting on chair in ‘Christine Keeler’ pose, commenced 5 November 2003. Painted over, became ‘Beach Girl’.

‘Madeleine’, young female, nude, in ‘Olympia’ pose on lounge chair, commenced 19 November 2003. Painted over, ‘Edwina’ (24 June 2008).

‘Leyla (Spencer)’, art teacher, commenced 10 December 2003. One week only. Retained, and liked her personality so much I resolved to enroll in her classes the following year as well.

*  *  *

Additional paintings commenced at home (2003):

2003, ‘Secret Garden I’, inside/outside painting looking out at my front garden at Crows Nest, inspired by discussions at Quorrobolong with Paul Pulati.

2003, ‘The Green Line’, a ‘word’ painting from my poem ‘Song of Lebanon’, with the last words of both stanzas straddling a ‘Green Line’ with blood splattered all about.

2003, ‘Dragon’s Blood Tree’ (thematically linked to early painting at Teachers’ College shown to Wal Placing), adapted from the drawing by Elizabeth McAlpine (for the cover of The Dragon Tree), but too symmetrical in the bottom half, so introduced a Paul Pulati-type mountain skyline behind the tree.

2003, ‘Iris’, naked girl with iris flowers, the first of a potential series of ‘Girl with Flowers’ paintings. Retained by Artarmon Galleries.

2003, ‘The Red Book’, nude on a lounge chair reading a book, originally conceived as another  ‘Nude with Frangipani’. The flower (behind the lounge chair) was later changed to a Bird of Paradise.

2003, ‘Pumpkin Girl’, painting of Lucian Michalski’s ‘Pumpkin Girl’ concrete statue in a bed of nasturtiums (with flowers drawn from the Herb Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney).

2003, ‘Since I Desired the Secret Heart’, self-portrait (from Rowan Fotheringham’s photograph on the cover of Anthology), with an extract of my poem ‘Since I desired the secret heart …’ across the painting, plus aspects of my life (Chincogan, sugar cane, Coolamon tree, orchid, Mrs Macquarie’s Point, Eureka flag and the Opera House).

2003, ‘Poetic Genesis: The Girl with Orange Hair’, large painting, landscape format, a rehash of ‘Perception and Magnitude’ with a Dragon’s Blood ‘Tree of Life’ and a central couple (Cheryl and I)  with book covers radiating from my mind, and many of the earlier elements. Commenced April 2003. Painted over in 2005.

2003,’Lunch on the Grass I’, landscape format, my ‘Dejeuner sur L’Herbe’ (after Manet) in St Leonards Park, after the drawing commissioned (by Elizabeth McAlpine) in Banyan. This painting was too wide to be hung in the North Shore Art Prize so I later painted a more complex version in Square format (2004).

2003, ‘The Secret Garden II’, portrait format, painting of my front garden at Crows Nest from the balcony (inspired by a ‘balcony ‘painting seen at the Bonnard Exhibition at Canberra in May of that year). Cheryl with a green watering can was later painted in (February 2004), as a balancing of the composition and a scale object.

2003, ‘Paul Pulati Portrait’ (A Portrait of the Artist in his Habitat), from a photograph of him in a colourful shirt (designed by his daughter Sienna), plus some sketches done at a time staying over at his place (when they were pulling up the floor for our new kitchen). Paul did not like the short hair (as taken from the photograph) as he felt it made him look too old, so a painted in longer hair at some later stage.

2003, ‘Mullumbimby Dreaming I’, large painting, landscape format, originally inspired by a photogaph in Sydney Morning Herald (25 June 2003) of ‘Landscape at Krumah’ by Egon Schiele. My uncle Jim (Smith) had died and I did a series of sketches of Mullumbimby buildings (banks, churches, courthouse etc) when I went up to his funeral (on 16 July 2003). This first of my large Mullumbimby series of paintings was probably too cluttered, with all sorts of symbols thrown into the mix (set in the year c. 1955), and over-painted and simplified over several years.

2003, ‘Parrot Trap’, portrait format, another Mullumbimby painting with orchids in the foreground and a pair of parrots in the middle part of the composition, around a cob of corn set in a tree branch with attached fishing-line snares, with a simplified landscape behind.

2003, ‘Chincogan Grid Painting’, portrait format, grid painting of Chincogan from different angles (from sketches done in July 2003), with internal ‘fire’ elements, and female breasts, and ‘inverted dachshund bitch’. This painting was unfinished and damaged at one stage.

2003, ‘Portrait of young Cheryl Lillium with Liliums’, portrait format.

2003, ‘John Carey Tiger Poem’ (commenced 30 July), portrait of John  Carey with part of his ‘Tiger Poem’ in the background (with thematic links back to ‘The Green Line’).

2003, ‘Portrait of Phil Spence in his Laboratory’, as part of his orchid breeding program, started September. Given to him and hung at is mother’s place.

2003, ‘Stardust Kiss’, in Homage to Klimt, commenced December (later painted over in the style of  ‘Life is a Veil of Soul-making’, turned into a dot painting (2011)).

2003, ‘Girlfriends’, in Homage to Klimt, commenced December, and turned into a dot painting (2012).

2003, ‘Modigliani Nude”, portrait format, commenced December, soon after meeting up with my brother Jim.

2003, ‘Circular Quay II, square format, commenced in December.

*  *  *

2002, Susan Roberts produced a painting of a ‘Literary Nude’ for me as a 60th birthday present.

2002, continued with a series of paintings in the lead-up to my retirement (in 2003):

2002, Self-portrait (from Paul Pulati photograph) with covers of some of my books in background.

2002, ‘The Mountain and I” (‘The Village and I’), a Mullumbimby painting based on my 1973 lino cut, with the face of a child in the clouds looking down over the mountain (Chincogan) and the village.

2002, ‘Earth Mother’, an extension of the above painting with a female head painted into the mountain (Chincogan) and the adjacent hills becoming breasts, with a female cleft in the landscape of the foreground.

2002, ‘Orchid I’, a centrally-located orchid bloom arising from a testicular underground ‘tuber’ (thus the derivation of the very word), with the flowers morphing into dancing naked ladies (common name for the Oncidium genus), from an earlier sketched concept developed some years before.

2002, ‘Circular Quay I’, a happy  painting of Circular Quay (Sydney) featuring a Kentosaurus (picket fence Stegosaurus) as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the ‘Toaster’ and a pile of plates draining on the sink as the Opera House, two yellow ducks representing Charlie Rosman’s ferries, some balloons in the air, and lollies in bottles for North Sydney, surrounded by ‘all the smarties on the North Shore”. Alex Fisher’s store at East Wardell had boiled lollies stored in large glass jars. In my mind I’d always seen Sydney as a kind of lolly or cookie jar, and place of ‘opportunity’ (turned into a dot painting in 2012). A square version of the painting at night (with fireworks behind the dinosaur) was later produced, and a much larger dot painted version.

*  *  *

2001, ‘The Pool II’, I had returned to painting in the lead-up to my retirement (having spent time talking to Paul Pulati and Paul and Susan Roberts), working with water-based oil paints in my study. My first painting of this new era was of two girl swimming in a rainforest pool (a revisiting of an earlier theme), used as the cover for Cedar House.

*  *  *

1996, had my portrait painted by Judy Cassab.

*  *  *

1995, on moving to Crows Nest the ‘Perception and Magnitude’ painting (that had been nailed to the ceiling of our garage at Longueville) was broken up, with only the Homonculus, the half-painted section of Cheryl and I, and the sun fragments being retained.

60 Kenneth Street Longueville (1976- 1995)

1984, Robin Norling painted ‘Flowering of an Author’, oil painting, as an Archibald submission (on the publication of my second book, Liberty, Egality, Fraternity!), hung in the Salon des Refusees. My third book, The Dragon Tree (1985), was added at a later date. Over the years Cheryl had complained about my piles of paintings stacked around the house and the laundry, resulting in a mass burning of old and unfinished works (at a time not yet specifically established)

*  *  *

1982, produced my ‘self-portrait at 40 years’, a pencil drawing (published in the first edition of The Mullumbimby Kid p. 254), and used by Elizabeth McAlpine to produce the illustration used in some of my poetry books.

*  *  *

1981, having commenced work at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney in 1980 I met Elizabeth McAlpine in our new Gardens Shop (in 1981), and commissioned her to  my ‘Banyan’ cover illustration, and all the subsequent illustrations used in my subsequent books of poems (up to Asteroid Belt, (2002)).

1981, I commissioned Rowan Fotheringham (whom I’d met at the Zoo when he was an Education Officer over there) to take the photographs for the projected new Guide to the Gardens I was editing (or what became known as the ‘Blue Book’, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (1982)). Rowan went on to take photographs for Discovering the Domain and became a friend.

*  *  *

1977, met Robin Norling, Senior Education Officer at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and had special previews and Guided Tours of all new displays at the Art Gallery (as part of our Museum Group). Not long after this I started another rainforest painting on a newly plastered wall in our house at Longueville, unfinished, and removed when the extensions were done in 11980

1977, went on a fully-paid tour of selected Museums and Art Galleries in America, Canada, London (England), and Leningrad (St Petersberg) and Moscow, including a whole week at a conference in the Hermitage Art Gallery.

*  *  *

1976, moved to Longueville on the birth of our daughter Rachel and did not paint  for the next twenty years, as my time and energies were totally subsumed by work and family. During this time my ‘Perception and Magnitude’ was nailed to the ceiling of our garage. I did however manage to juggle time to write my books. A separate list of books published over thirty years since 1982 may be seen on this Website. A more detailed list of my publishing activities may be seen in the Chronology and Notes of New Collected Poems (Kardoorair Press, Armidale, 2012, copies expected by August of this year (2012)), While working at the Museum I had the opportunity to go to Museum and Art Gallery Conferences and art-related lectures and exhibitions in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth, and attended art-related lectures, and visit Museums and Art Galleries in all these places.

‘Loretto’, 8/4 McDougall Street Kirribilli (1972 – 1976)

1975, James Richmond Wilson, child of my first marriage was accidentally hit and killed(2o January)  by a car at Redland Bay. Cheryl moved in to live with me. I tried to ease my grief by throwing myself into work (with the very successful Dinosaur Appeal), and poetry, and edited and re-typed the third significant draft of my novel in just six months (before the days of Personal Computers). Cheryl and I married (September 1975) and raised three children.

1975, produced my simplified ‘Banyan’ lino-cut as projected cover for my first book of poems (replaced by a more detailed commissioned drawing by Elizabeth McAlpine, 1982).

1975, met Paul Pulati, leather-craftsman, musician and artist, who was working at the Drop-In Center at the Museum and we became friends. Some years later he built a stucco house/studio at Quorrobolong (in the Hunter Valley), which became a bolt-hole of sorts from the city life, where I sometimes escaped to dream and talk about art and literature (until 2005, when he went to live in London with his new wife Anne, see www.pulati.co.uk/paul/ and www.pulati.co.uk/anne/).

*  *  *

1974, commenced a mural on my bedroom wall (in February) of a Pan in a forest, A.D. Hope’s sonnet to Baudelaire, a flock of shitting ducks flying into a black moon, and seven naked dwarfs (with erections) carrying a naked ‘Coal Black’ (as a ‘Snow White’ reversal).

1974, drew a baboon (looking a little like my friend Warren Wigram) contemplating a naked woman on the living room wall (after the French artist Tremois, from an illustrated book of poetry called The Book of Love).

1974, when visiting my friend Andrew Bray at his boat building site near the old North Sydney gasworks he introduced me to a ‘mad pot-smoking artist’ called Brett Whiteley, who had a studio just up the hill adjacent to Andrew’s boat, who invited me up to inspect his developing works (as described in The Melancholy Dane, pp. 255- 256).

1974, soon after the Whiteley meeting I met Cheryl Lillian, who came to the flat one day with a small tin of red paint, so I could adjust the hair colour of the woman in my large ‘Perception’ painting. I drew her lying on the floor, to make her the girl in this painting and roughed her in, but never finished at the time.  My recent ‘brush with genius’ (in the Whiteley studio) had left me slightly stunned. How could I possibly compete with that as a ‘Sunday Painter’, which was effectively what I was, holding down a demanding full time job? That was the time I virtually gave up any prospect of ever becoming a painter, and shifted focus seriously to my verse. This particular drawing of Cheryl was later to be incorporated into another work when I seriously started painting again, called ‘Poetic Genesis: The Girl with Orange Hair’ (2003)).

*  *  *

1973, changed the working title of ‘Atoms to Andromeda’ to ‘Perception and Magnitude’, and it was essentially finished at the end of the year.

1973, started my second series of lino-cuts (with better quality lino mounted on five ply blocks). My ‘Chincogan’ linocut was used for the cover of the first edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (as this design was later to be  incorporated into a couple of Mullumbimby paintings).

1973, drew my second naked angel flying round the (naked) light bulb on the ceiling of my bedroom ( as included in The Melancholy Dane).

1973, drew a monkey contemplating a skull (from a sculpture at Glenn Hunt’s place), used on a T-shirt for the Museum Education Group.

1973, made progress on my redrafted novel.

*  *  *

Later in 1972 I purchased a two bedroom unit at Kirribilli and left the dump at Florence Street, about the same time I commenced work at The Australian Museum (in College Street in the city), and my life improved considerably after that.

1972, commenced ‘Atoms to Andromeda’ (later changed to ‘Perception and Magnitude’, 1973), my most ambitious oil painting to date, on a very large piece of primed Masonite mounted in the lounge room of my flat, inspired by the conversation in the Uralla pub (as outlined in The Melancholy Dane, pp. 236 – 240, with photos of various stages of its development in The Melancholy Dane). This was my ‘life’ painting, of a couple making love under  a ‘tree of life, with an Homonculus thrusting as a spirit child from the couple towards to right hand side, an eagle in the tree, pollution for factories and bombs raining down. The painting developed and softened over time, with the couple being observed by a brush-tailed phascogale looking over a log, and surrounded by all the orders of magnitude from the atomic world through to the curvature of the earth and a spiral galaxy in the far top left hand side in distant space, and later I’d painted a ‘female eunuch’ sun in the top right hand side.

1972, two ‘Banyan’ editions of 8 October and 8 November produced.

1972, purchased both a ‘primitive’ (more angular) and a ‘classical’ Madonna from Lucian(now in the internal courtyard at Crows Nest). Lucian gave me a cast of the Jesus wall hanging which I mounted above the fireplace at Kirribilli (now on the ground floor wall near the stairs at Crows Nest), and a happy fat Slavic man being led by his dick by a naked fat Polynesian woman (now in our garden at Crows Nest).

12 Florence Street Cremorne (1972)

This was certainly my ‘garret phase’, after my marriage failed, during which time I started to write the exceedingly first rough draft of my first novel, under the working title of ‘The Car’ (which went on the become Liberty, Egality Fraternity!). During this time I also wrote ‘An Easter Story’, after an experience with Margaret Mitchell in the main pub at Uralla, met up with musician and writer Bill Pryor, and drastically culled ‘Banyan’, and worked on the Sonnet form (inspired on re-reading the Sonnets of Shakespeare) .

1972, modeled a clay head and shoulders of a young girl at Lucian’s place, hollowed it out and let it dry (but did not have it fired, as I fired Lucian’s clay head of Margaret in the kiln at Epping Boys High School), and gave it to Bill Pryor. At the same time as this Lucian produced his wall hanging of Jesus, using my face as a basic template (with a bump in the nose from the accident in a hokey match as a student at Armidale).

45 Rockvale Road Armidale (1969 – 1971)

Here in the Poet’s House (so-dubbed by Gwen Kelly, colleague in the English Department at the College who went on to become a friend), I commenced to plant the Armidale Botanic Gardens on both sides of a little creek beside our chapel-like house, set well back from the road. The soil was terrible and a large percentage on my trees died after I left the property (in 1972), but enough survived to give the garden a basic structure of now mature trees. As part of the house design a small attic had been added on top of the kitchen, accessed by a ladder on the side of the hallway wall from the higher split-level, to act as a painting studio. Unfortunately it was too cramped an area in which to work, and without adequate insulation (because of budget constraints) it was freezing in winter and boiling hot in summer. The poetry still flowed in moments of still grace in busy days, as poetry was something I could more easily carry around in my head (without having to set up a palate etc. and clean up all the mess at the end).

1971, my fifth edition of ‘Banyan’ (24 January 1971) had been divided into three sub-sections, Grass Green Days, Petal, and Banyan. By the sixth edition (30 September), the work has been considerably reduced and culled.

1971, I had produced a line drawing, ‘Life is Line’ (Life is Ephemeral) as a bookplate for Barry Richardson, who also worked as a colleague in the English Department at the College. The drawing consisted of three books, a candle, and a skull, with an ivy on the outside lower half. The three books I had chosen were the Bible, The Oxford Dictionary, and Darwin’s Origin of the Species.

1971, commenced a painting (in acrylics) of three young girls dancing in a rainforest on our bedroom wall (unfinished after the marriage bust-up and painted over).

1971, when Margaret left I drew two naked angels on the bedroom ceiling flying round the light.

*  *  *

1970, picked up the sculptured heads of Margaret and I from Lucian. I retained my concrete bust (currently under a bench of my orchid house at Crows Nest). The concrete bust of Margaret was destroyed after a disagreement with Margaret (on the phone) in 1996, when we lived at Crows Nest, as recorded in my poem ‘Meditation on a Concrete Bust’. The clay original of the Margaret bust had not been destroyed in an unfired state (as intimated in Liberty Egality, Fraternity!), but fired in a kiln when I worked at Epping Boys High School (early in 1972), and hidden as per clues left in Anthology and New Collected Poems (as a form of literary detective quest, to be claimed by the first person who may wish to do so, which will be then recorded on this Website).

1970, constructed my abstract concrete statue (pushed into bird wire stretched around a metal scaffolding held in a concrete block) in the front garden at Rockvale Road, inspired my Lucian Michalski (with a photo in The Melancholy Dane, p. 208). This rather distinctive sculpture, reflecting the lines of the house and adjacent gum tree, remained for many years, to be subsequently destroyed by the second lot of people who bought the house (who did not appear to recognize its artistic merit).

1970, produced other (smaller) sculptures on the other side of the creek, including my abstract pine tree, consisting of a twisted rusted metal form with protruding iron ‘needles’ (some pointed and some square at the ends) set in a square concrete block.

1970, this was the year in which the first ‘collection’ of my poems was typed out. The second edition (23 March 1970) had been called ‘Banyan’. The third edition followed (28 May 1970), with the fourth completed (30 July 1970).

1970, started three paintings, ‘To Catch a Greasy Pig’ (from a drawing of Margaret and her sister copied from a photograph at their home), a ‘Margaret at Lord Howe with Hibiscus’, and a Modigliani nude. All abandoned.

1970, started a portrait of Tim Boutsis and cigarette, with our orange hessian curtains behind him and a small Lord Howe Island banyan in a terra cotta pot. Burnt at Longueville. I’m really sorry now as it had the potential to be a good painting. A pencil drawing of the original composition has been retained.

1970, ‘Land of the Animunculi’, a story for children, initially started as a joint effort with Margaret (and later developed by me in Sydney). First draft finished August 1970 (second edition 14 October 1971).

1970, James Richmond Wilson born 20 November 1970.

*  *  *

1969, finished my sculpture of Margaret (with her hands on her head) from the camphor laurel stump. It was not very good and was burnt in a bonfire at Rockvale Road with a whole pile of other material on my our first separation.

1969, ‘Frangipani’, oil painting on primed Masonite of the naked head and torso of a woman with a frangipani in her hair. Hung for a while (as part of a creative staff initiative) in the College Staff Room (as part of the Howard Hinton collection). This painting was still hanging when Queen Elizabeth II came into this very room (but she didn’t stop in front of it to have a special look). Lost.

1969, ‘Prelude’, oil painting. Retained but lost in subsequent moves sometime.

1969, ‘Chincogan’  (Mullumbimby), oil painting, destroyed, but prelude to the later ‘Chincogan’ lino-cut (1973).

1969, Wooden Sculpture II of a pregnant praying woman, carved from part of the stem of a large conifer that grew in front of the Catholic Church, started in the absence of Margaret. Although rather ‘clunky’ it was exhibited as part of the Armidale Art Show of that year, and swapped for a sculpture by Bill Boon (an intense, religious student at the College at the time) called ‘Geovanna’ (inspired by Joan Pavan), a wooden abstract ‘female’carving from a piece of pine wood with a couple of strategically placed knotholes. Retained. Currently in the back room of our house at Crows Nest.

1969, ‘Dichotomy of Love’, oil painting, unfinished and ultimately discarded.

1969, Lucian Michalski did some drawings of Margaret (one of them in The Melancholy Dane), in preparation for doing her sculptured head and bust (in clay, later to be cast in a high grade cement).

Lievesley Farm, Filtration Plant Road Armidale (1968)

This, my first year of marriage and first year as lecturer at Armidale Teachers’ College was an incredibly busy year, and totally unproductive (as far as painting was concerned without anywhere to work), but a serious year of poetry. I also enrolled in Philosophy I (at UNE) where I met John Norris Davies (painter), who became a friend. We met at the Bowling Club on a Friday night to discuss art and literature.

1968, series of pencil drawings form Lord Howe Island.

1968, series of pencil drawings of Margaret, including one entitled ‘Margaret Pounce and Little Pounce (our cat)’. Retained.

1968, started my first series of lino-cuts, projected to illustrate my first book of Poems (now entitled ‘Banyan’),some of which I have retained. Mabbs George, invisiting Armidale at the time had said it was ‘a very country think to do’. Unfortunately this process was not as effective as I’d hoped because the lino had small bubbles in its surface, and did not print so well.

1968, Lucian Michalski worked on a cast concrete sculpture of my head, taken from a clay mannikin which he destroyed.

1968, commenced my own sculptured bust of Margaret (with her hands on her head), carved from a camphor laurel log collected from the property her father share-farmed at Terranorra, near Tweed Heads.

C-107 Phillip Baxter College, University of New South Wales (1966 – 1967)

During this time I lived on UNSW Campus in a room with a working bench and a small balcony (the numbering system of the various rooms was subsequently changed).

1967, early that year I went in search of a piece of Masonite (on which to paint) with a neighbour, Alan Cronk, to the Tweed Heads West rubbish dump, where I found a discarded photograph of a young man with his beautiful bride, c. 1900 (which became the genesis of my first ‘adult’ poem, ‘A Photo on a Council Tip’). Our landscape-painting expedition was a dismal failure,as if I’d expected perfection far too soon. My discarded work was left behind, and nailed unsigned to a handy tree (showing at least that I had the artistic temperament).

1967, ‘Margaret Mermaid’ (on rocks at Greenmount Headland near a pandanas palm), oil on primed Masonite. Destroyed.

1967, ‘Reflection in an Enchanted Forest’, oil on primed Masonite of a boy and girl in a rainforest. Destroyed.

1967, ‘Sunday Afternoon’, oil on primed Masonite, lovers in an Armidale landscape. Destroyed.

1967, ‘Portrait of Margaret’, oil on primed Masonite. Interesting colours. Retained.

1967, ‘Spring”(unfinished)

1967, Second portrait of Margaret, oils on primed Masonite. Destroyed.

1967, ‘What Do You Think II?’ (unfinished)

1967, ‘Life is a Veil of Soul Making’, oil on primed Masonite, on miss-understanding a quote from Keats (ie ‘veil’ instead of ‘vale’), from having read The Painted Veil by W.S.Maugham. This was a painting of a kissing couple floating in space, with a foetus floating in space as well and attached (externally) to the female with an umbilical cord as an astronaut to a space station. Destroyed, but a draft of this work had been retained, and it was ‘redone’ as a dot painting over a copy of a Klimt ‘Kiss’ painting, and entitled ‘Stardust Kiss’ (2003).

1967, produced a whole series of Harmonographs, using twin pendulums after discussions with Donald Macintyre (see photo of my machine in The Melancholy Dane), one of which was later used as the cover for Cosmos Seven (1989).

1967, I also attended Life Classes as an evening student (with Mabbs George) at Randwick Technical College (series of drawings retained) but have to give them up as the year progressed as I was overwhelmed with Chemistry Practical Classes and part time work.1966, ‘Girl in a Forest’, oils (painted over ‘The Chess Player’), of a girl (inspired by a holiday romance with Patricia Dolan) in a forest setting built up from a pattern of squares (in the style of a similar painting that had been shown to me by J.A.S. Sutherland at Armidale Teachers’ College). Retained.

*  *  *

1966, ‘Kiss Me’, a series of drawings/paintings after Patricia Dolan, and the walled garden/archway being constructed at Phillip Baxter College at the time. Some drawings retained.

1966, ‘The Flower that has Bloomed Forever Dies’, a collage of a ground orchid found in the Blue Mountains (in 1962) and an in-scripted poem (in code) from Omar Khayyam (reflecting on my doomed relationship with Patricia Dolan, because of the great religious divide). This painting was sold to Professor and Mabbs George (Physics Department, UNSW). I bought it back in 1968, as I could hardly bear to part with it, to burn it later at Longueville.

1966, ‘The Pool I’, inspired by my meeting with Margaret Macintyre, and a short story by W.S.Maugham (of the same name). This painting, which I considered to be too stark, was later destroyed, but was the prototype of my cover for Cedar House (‘The Pool II’, 2002).

1966, ‘Forms Falling Off Into Space’, a direct take from Casimir Malevitch (with memories of drawings of planes dropping bombs drawn in primary school). I had been studying the History of Fine Arts as a humanities subject towards my science degree (High Distinction). This design (with acknowledgements) was ultimately used as the cover for my Poetic Handbook, Falling Up Into Verse (1989).

1966, ‘Enigma of the City’, oil on primed Masonite of topless girl with oval in the middle of her form. Misplaced during a subsequent move.

1966, purchased a sheaf of Baudelaire translations from and old hippy in the Sydney Domain for 30 cents (having read that Picasso like reading Baudelaire, and even though I’d studied French at school this work had been inaccessible to me). Worked on these poems (in the style of Robert Lowell ‘Imitations’ for more than 30 years.

1/18 Churchill Crescent Cammeray (1965)

1965, ‘Egyptian Theme’, oils on primed Masonite. A more ambitious painting of dancers and musicians from ancient Egypt, copied from a painting from a ‘Life’ series. This painting was later cut up, except for a central octagonal section which I retained.

1965, ‘Self-association with Nature in a Forest of Pine Trees’, multi-coloured futuristic oil painting (inspired by Godfrey Miller’s ‘Nude and the Moon’) on primed Masonite of a woman with a third eye, surrounded with concentric circles cut with lines radiating out from her third eye, and a pine tree (Deodar) in the central background, adapted from one growing in a churchyard at Neutral Bay. Destroyed.

1965 was not a productive year for painting, as I was being consumed with long hours spent in second year chemistry practical classes, as par of my on-going part time studies. In 1965 however, while visiting a friend of my surfing mate Warren Wigram, I met up with Lucian Bruno Michalski, Polish sculptor, who went on to become a friend and important creative mentor in my life (as outlined in The Melancholy Dane).

276 Sydney Road Balgowlah (1962 – 1964)

At the so-called Balgowlah Hilton (owned by Hylton Mace, a teaching colleague, flatmate and friend) I lived in a room at the back of the garage. From 1963 I was tutored by Geoff Tyndall, art teacher at The Forest High School where I worked, who gave me lessons of colour theory and composition.

1964, ‘Water Carrier’, oil painting on primed Masonite of of a nude with a water container on her head in a desert setting, more of an exercise in the human female form (retained as a sample painting of that time).

1964, ‘Girl with Flowers’, oils applied with a palate knife onto primed Masonite as an exercise for Geoff Tyndall in green-purple harmonies (adapted from a drawing from life classes). This was a breakthrough painting and I would have loved to push these ideas further at the time, but I was into my second year of part-time studies (at night) at the University of New South Wales on four nights a week and Saturday mornings), on top of a full-time teaching load. The bottom section of this painting was later cut off, as it had been rejected from an art show as being too explicit at the time.

1964, ‘Green-eyed Girl’, oil on treated paper, of a girl with green eyes and dark hair. Lost.

1964, ‘Convent Garden’, oils. This was a moody painting of a child with a limp (with echoes of my Wilson great grandfather and cousin Lorraine (Rippon), and a metaphor of an AS childhood) clutching an orange ball (that jumped out of the canvas), while being excluded from play by two other children in a walled garden near an almost plastic tree. When Geoff Tyndall saw this painting he exclaimed, ‘A bloody Convent Garden’, thus the name. This painting was sold to someone in the Psychology Department (UNSW) at the College art exhibition c. 1967. An image of this painting (along with part of ‘Girl with Flowers’, ‘Water Carrier’, ‘In Search of Truth’, and ‘Green-eyed Girl’) may be seen on p. 52 of The Melancholy Dane.

1964, ‘What do you Think?’, a futuristic oil painting on primed Masonite of a girl in a space suit with pointy breasts, near a tower,with a tree growing through a hole in the raised footpath. This painting was later cut up and only the tower retained (to be burnt at Longueville).

1964, oil painting of Dendrobium arundle (yellow with a red lip, grown by Hermon Slade at Manly) in a glass of red wine with a smoking cigarette in a glass ash tray nearby (with memories of taking Toni Tyndall to a ball). Lost.

1964, ‘Two Faces and the Rain’, oil painting of an Asian girl looking at her reflection in a window (from a photograph I’d seen somewhere), an image of which may be seen in The Melancholy Dane. This painting was given to Heather Piper (a student at The Forest High School where I taught) on hearing her play the piano.

1964, ‘Topless Swimsuits’ (on Manly beach), oil on Masonite. Destroyed.

1964, ‘Two Harlequins’, oil, after Picasso. Lost.

1964, ‘Lord Howe Island Self-portrait’, oil, with self lying on the sand with Lord Howe landscape in the background. Showed this painting to my friend Geoff Webster’s uncle, Geoffrey Keith Townsend (who taught at the RAS). He was quite grumpy on the day and critical of the foreground so I destroyed this painting, retaining only my hat with a red hibiscus flower in it lying in the sand, and sent it to Anne Higgins in Geelong.

1963, following advice from Geoff Tyndall I started to do a number of studies of faces, feet and hands, and some studies of muscles and underlying bone structure, and went with Geoff to my first life drawing classes on the corner of Oxford and College Streets in the city. Met Paul and Susan Roberts at work. Susan had studied Art at College and gave me some pointers and encouraged me to paint.

1963, my sixth oil painting, ‘In Search of Truth’ (dubbed ‘The Brothels are Closed’ by my flat mate Tony foster), was adapted from a kitsch print of two boys in a fishing village in my aunty Lexi’s place at Coffs Harbour, placing the boys in a Surry Hills-type city slum environment. In hindsight this was an almost psychic painting, as my brother Jim had lived in Surry Hills and had been looking for me at that time. This was a good painting, sold to Joe Cassidy (Phillip Baxter College) at an art exhibition held at the combined Colleges (University of New South Wales) c. 1967. A drawing of this painting had been retained, as published in The Melancholy Dane and the second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid.

1963, my seventh oil painting was called ‘Orange Blues’ (or ‘Gidgit’) painted at Balgowlah on the night of my 21st birthday (I hadn’t told my flat mates I was turning twenty one, so as not to put them under any sense of obligation). It was a painting in orange-blues, of a Manly surfer girl with her board leaning up against a Norfolk Island Pine (retained for many years and burnt at Longueville). From here on in I am not so sure of the order in which the following paintings were executed, apart from the year.

1962, my fifth oil painting, ‘Expectations’ , in Renoir-esque style (before I came under Geoff Tyndall’s influence) was another dark-eyed young woman with a hat with flowers in it, and essentially far too white, and later destroyed. Also did a pencil drawing of Anne Butt, entitled ‘My First Beach Girl’.

32 Margaret Street Tweed Heads

1962, completed my fourth oil painting in January before receiving my teaching appointment, a self portrait in College track suit on treated paper (retained), as published in The Mullumbimby Kid (also see RAS Website).

Room 51, C.B. Newling House, Taylor Street, Armidale (1961 -1962)

1961, at Armidale Teachers’ College I took Art (Mixed Media) and an Elective with Wal Placing in 1961 (Distinction).

Pottery: A number of pieces of pottery were made that year, including a cup later given to Anne Butt. The rest were destroyed.

Sculpture:  Tired seated scout (abstract in clay/destroyed)

Peanuts (the dog) and Charlie Brown (both done in clay with fired coloured glazes). Photographs of these may be seen in The Mullumbimby Kid. Charlie now lives in  my orchid house at Crows Nest. The dog was accidentally broken and thrown away.

Easter Island Head (carved from plaster of Paris block, with a photograph in Armidale Teachers’ College Anthology, 1961). Destroyed.

‘Mermaid’ with long snout (clay with fired coloured glazes). This started off as a head of my flat mate Jack Hill which was then squeezed and twisted out of shape). This may be seen in the top LHS of the photo of my sister Helen and I in front of my orchid house at Tweed Heads (The Mullumbimby Kid). It was buried in a deep drain that ran along the fence line (on the canal side) of our house when I dismantled the orchid house in the 1970s.

Human skull (clay with fired white glaze). This was thrown into the small dam (south west of the garage) at Mrs Nickson’s place, Filtration Plant Road (later Arundle Street) Armidale, c.1968.

Head of Artie Smart, our Education Lecturer (done from sketches done in class). Given to him when I was a lecturing with him  Armidale Teachers’ College, c. 1968.

Negro head with separate long body (clay with fired black glaze), with photograph in The Mullumbimby Kid. The body was accidentally broken and thrown away. The head resided in my orchid house at Crows Nest.

Wooden back scratcher (carved from a willow stem down by the creek, avoiding indoctrination sessions at a weekend Christian camp, having gone there to be close to a dark-eyed young lady I was keen to accidentally bump into,who pledged her life to Jesus that weekend and not to me). The bent fingers later broke (because of the grain in the wood), but I have retained the handle (somewhere in a box of tricks).

Drawings: Drawing of the dark-eyed young lady (inspired by Derain), as published in the Armidale Teachers’ College Anthology, 1961, and in The Mullumbimby Kid.

Paintings: Painting of the silhouette of some African plant (Dracaena or Aloe or the like) against a steep hill with a sunset behind (lost). I had shown this to Wal Placing one time when he was in his garden, who lived opposite our student accommodation (of Newling House), along with my back scratcher. He said the painting was too cliche and the colours a little too muddy, but he liked the back scratcher, and would I like a cup of coffee (and this was the start of a life-long friendship). Wal Placing was part-Danish. My great grandfather had been Danish, and Wal was the first Danish person I had met to that stage in my life.

(My first College) Watercolour, of the close row of pine trees near the archery range in the playing fields down behind the College (lost).

(My second College) Watrcolour, of the row of poplar trees south of Newling House on the way to the railway line where I shot and skinned rabbits.

‘Still Life I’. My first (ever) oil painting, of Catoniasters and daisy-like flowers and pine needles. It was love at first sight, to squeeze the buttery paint from the tube and apply it to canvas paper. A fragment of this painting has been retained (see RAS Website).

My second oil painting (ever), on a piece of primed Masonite, ‘The Chess Player’, with an extreme perspective of chess pieces on a checkered board in front of a girl’s face (inspired by a game of chess with Helen Placing). I can still remember the sense of excitement at conceiving and executing this work. Unfortunately it did not turn out quite as wonderful as I would have expected, so I later painted over it (with ‘Girl in a Forest’).

My third oil painting (ever), and attempted portrait of my sister Catherine (done in the holidays on the back of ‘Still Life I’, with rather horrible yellowish skin (as no one had ever told me how to mix skin tones at that stage). Part of this painting has been retained on the verso of the above fragment.

32 Margaret Street Tweed Heads (1959)

1959, unfinished landscape of the Tweed River at Murwillumbah.

37 Argyle Street Mullumbimby (1948 – 1958)

1957, won the Senior Dust Cover for a book design, of a painting of Huck Finn with his hut on a raft floating down the Mississippi River (painting lost). In retrospect this was virtually a dry-run for designing books in later life.

1955, a series of paintings from this year salvaged from my exercise books for history, including a caveman painting a bison on a wall, a man attacking game with a hand-held stone axe,castle and bridge fighting, Greek soldiers, and Queen Boadicea with flaming red hair and swords extending from the axle of her chariot. another painting from this period (saved by my great aunty Nina Shore at Grafton), was of a medieval knight in his coat of mail, and a vase of flowers on the table of the kitchen of our house in Argyle Street. About this time (1955) I won 10/- (one dollar) in a colouring-in/drawing competition being conducted by The Courier Mail, in Brisbane (drawing lost).

1954, I had repeated 6th class (primary school) in 1954, and purchased a box of water colours with crab money  (for 8/- (8Oc)),and sat up the back of the class and painted virtually all year: of Chincogan (including the time of the famous black outline), old fashioned sailing ships, aeroplanes (including my beloved Spitfire), and views from aeroplanes dropping bombs (the war baby had been heavily influenced by Newsreel images of bombs dropping down from planes), and going to Lismore in the bus on the back roads to see the young Queen, and my (profile) portrait of the Queen (with her orb and scepter and crown, as placed in the window overlooking our neighbour Mary Anne Tulk’s place), and many onters, now all lost. My only surviving painting of this period was my ‘Optomistic Boat’, as painted in Helen Alidine’s autograph book others (instead of a childish ditty), given to me in 2010. As a child I’d had dreams of being an artist/painter when I grew up, but Art was not available as a subject for boys when I went to High School (in 1955).

Pacific Highway, East Wardell (pre-1947)

Pre -1947, childhood drawings (pre-school) on the farm (including a series of war drawings, pre-1945) as retained by my Wilson grandmother (including army ducks and jeeps on a rough zigzagging road (Pacific Highway) outside our house, a cat with earthquake/grave, a car and a plane with bombs falling into another hole in the ground, and a squadron of double winger aircraft (with perspective, RAS Webbsite) coming from the airport at Evans Head towards the farm), as published in The Mullumbimby Kid.

c. 1954, two paintings done at East Wardell (also kept by my Wilson grandmother), one of a European setting with boats near some steps, the other a copy of a painting on the wall at East Wardell (of a sailing boat in what was probably Milford Sound, New Zealand), painted by a local artist called Leeson, and won in a raffle.

The Incredible Story of Francis (Frank) Nelson (aka ‘Oliver Bainbridge’): an Unacknowledged Casualty of the Death of Empire

Frank Nelson, born 1877 at Smith’s Flat (Upper Copmanhurst), via Grafton, New South Wales, was the son of the pioneering bush schoolmaster, Andrew St Clare Nelson (who’d been a naval cadet at one stage on the same ship as the future English King, and claimed descent from Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton).

Tiring of life in the slow lane, and perhaps with a sense of ‘Nelson’ entitlement, young Frank stole money from the South Grafton Post Office where he’d been employed. He spent a year in Grafton Gaol as a result of this, after which he was thrown out of home for ‘disgracing the Nelson name’, when he called himself ‘Oliver Bainbridge’.

Under his new identity this unknown colonial proceeded to make a name for himself as explorer, writer, orator, ‘anthropologist’, and spy for Empire in London and America, and mixed in the exalted circles of the royalty of old Europe, and had an audience with the English King (Bertie, or Edward VII, who his father had been shipmates with), and with the American President, Woodrow Wilson.

My great aunty Nina Shore (nee Neale) had told me these tall tales as a child. I seriously started to research this material way back in 1968. Having ‘lived by the word’ Frank was reputed to have been ‘taken out’ by the IRA, aged only forty five, in Sydney, in 1922, at the beginning of the Irish Civil War, and was buried in a pauper’s grave in Rookwood Cemetery.

Earlier version of this developing work (with research assistance from my half-Nelson cousin, Sister Mary Joseph (Patricia Wightley)), were published in Australian Folklore (University of New England).

After forty five years of accumulating information (the same number of years Frank lived on earth), we have now published (Woodbine Press, 2013) this work in book form (pp. 124 + 10 (prelims) + 10 (unnumbered) pages of additional photographs), which may be purchased through Woodbine Press ($A25.00 plus postage,please contact by email, postage rates for Australia, $3.00, New Zealand, $10.00,  UK and USA, $25.00).

New Collected Poems 1952 – 2012

My New Collected Poems 1952 – 2012, representing 60 years of application to the craft of verse,  has now been posted as a ‘PDF’ (this paragraph) of this Website (along with my New Selected Poems (Woodbine Press, 2010) ‘New Collected Poems’ in PDF . Please feel free to view or download this file and share and circulate it, but please do not sell it.

This work (pp. 684 + 50 (prelims) = 734), with significant new poems since the publication of Anthology (2002) and an Introduction and Epilogue by Professor John Ryan, University of New England, is dedicated to Gwen Kelly. Sadly Gwen did not live to see the finished book. It was cleared from Port Botany on 23 August 2012, the day of her funeral service in Armidale.

Printed copies may be purchased through Woodbine Press ($22.00 plus postage, please contact by email) or Kardoorair Press. Sadly because of the weight of this book (coming in at just over 1kgm) the postage rates are high, and for this reason it has been posted for free viewing/downloading.

Cedar House

Cedar House is another river story, an Australian Wuthering Heights about environment and aboriginal dispossession (see notes at the back of book showing extensive research), that came out before The Secret River. Cedar House was reviewed very favourably by Susan Mason and J.S. Ryan in Australian Folklore, No 17 (2002), under the title, ‘If You Were a Carpenter and I Were a Lady’.

This book was in press at the time of the September 11 (2001) attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. In a white heat I added a segment (adapted from an abandoned manuscript called ‘Bombs Away’) following on from the millennium madness sequences (pp. 214 – 216), making it one of the first novels in the world to mention this shattering event.

Please feel free to view or download this file and share and circulate it, but please do not sell it. Printed copies may be purchased through Woodbine Press (please contact by email).

Mullumbimby Kid

I have now published a second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (2012) with additional material obtained since the discovery of my brother Jim. Please feel free to view or download this file and share and circulate it, but please do not sell it.

Printed copies may be purchased through Woodbine Press (please contact by email).

Exhibitions

Images of some of my Mullumbimby paintings are also displayed here. Inquires for possible purchase of any of my paintings should be directed to Artarmon Galleries, Sydney.

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2013, Oliver Bainbridge – Lord Nelson’s Great Grandson?, was mentioned in the Newsletter of the Clarence River Historical Society, Issue 132, 27 March, p. 8

2013, Oliver Bainbridge- Lord Nelson’s Great Grandson? (with research assistance by Patricia Wightley) was published (Woodbine Press) in 2013

2012, Helen Hawkes, The Northern Star, Saturday 8 December, Relax:Read/Watch/Listen, p. 39, ‘A Must Read: Collected Work from a Lifetime’ (re New Collected Poems), and a reference to my Website.

2012, Robyn Gray, Secretary Mullumbimby High School Ex-Students Association (electronic) Newsletter for December, mention of New Collected Poems.

2012, The Gardens, Journal of the Foundation & Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Issue 95 (Summer 2012- 2013), mention of New Collected Poems.

2012, Blackwall Bugle, Issue 21 (for December), mention of my Wardell visit and tree planting, with reference to New Collected Poems and details for this Website.

2012, my dot painting of ‘Balinise Woman’ (after Arthur Fleishmann) was hung in an exhibition ‘The Figure in Focus’ (16 November – 8 December) at Artarmon Galleries Sydney (along with Ann Cape, Robert Hannaford, Jocelyn Maughan, Godfrey Millar, Robin Norling, Wendy Sharp and others).

2012, read at Live Poets, New Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore, on the evening of 14 November.

2012, interview on ‘Mornings’ with Joanne Shoebridge (about New Collected Poems and The Mullumbimby Kid) on 2NR (ABC Radio Lismore), on 14 November.

2012, interview with Tony Bennett (about poetry) played on 2NVR, Nambucca Valley (Community) Radio, 13 November.

2012, Education, 29 October, Reviews 33, ‘In brief: a Lifetime of Poetry’, with cover of New Collected Poems and reference to PDF posting on Website.

2012, Live Poets, Don Bank, North Sydney, 24 October, launch of New Collected Poems by Danny Gardner and Tony Bennett.

2012, The Byron Shire Echo, Vol 27, Issue 20, 23 October, mention of New Collected Poems on ‘Backlash’, p. 56.

2012, Kate Crawford, Mosman Daily, 18 October (News 28), a mention of projected launch of New Collected Poems at Live Poets, Don Bank, North Sydney (24 October).

2012, Kate Crawford, Mosman Daily, 13 September, ‘Poet’s Craft: A Constant Companion’, a feature article on New Collected Poems with a photo of myself with the Modigliani nude (not used as the time of the Artarmon Galleries Exhibition).

2012, PDF of New Collected Poems posted for free download (in the Poetry section of this Website).

2012, New Collected Poems (Kardoorair Press), with and Introduction and Epilogue by Professor John Ryan, published in 2012

2012, PDF of Cedar House posted for free download on this Website.

2012, PDF of second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid posted for free download on this Website.

2012, good mention of second edition The Mullumbimby Kid, with cover, in Education, 28 May 2012

2012, sniffy notification of second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid, with cover, in Sydney Morning Herald, In Short, 19/20 May 2012

2012, Blackwall Bugle (e-newsletter of Wardell Historical Society), Issue 18, mention of second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (with cover illustration)

2012, Mullumbimby High School Ex-students Association, mention of second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid in their e-newsletter, with cover photo, May 2012

2012  The Byron Shire Echo, 3 April 2012, mention of electronic second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid on Backlash (their back page)

2012, second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (Woodbine Press)published in 1012

2011   An exhibition with Bruce Herps at the Artarmon Galleries, July/August

2011   Featured as a ‘Writer for 2011′  at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival, 5 -7 August

2011  Jenny Dell, re Byron Bay Writers Festival, The Northern Star, 23 August 2011

2011  The unveiling of renovated Charles Dickens ‘ Statue on his birthday (7 February 2011)  in Centennial Park Sydney, was related to my book, The Wishing Tree. Gaenor Vallack, a volunteer at the NSW Library (and Member of The Dickens Society) was leafing through The Wishing Tree and came across a photograph of the Dickens Statue, removed in 1972 because of decapitation, which started a chain of events that resulted in the old statue (with a new head) being returned to Centennial Park

2011    Martin Stevenson, review of New Selected Poems, The Examiner (Launceston) 15 January 2011, p. 37

2010    Caroline Glen, electronic review of New Selected Poems, Gold Coast Writers Association (2010)

2010     New Selected Poems (Woodbine Press), dedicated ‘to Cheryl Lillian, sheet anchor, goad and ballast’, was published in October 2010. It was turned into an electronic format (and posted for free download as PDF on this Website) in early 2011

2010    Won the ‘Medal of Distinction’ (first prize for my painting ‘Church at Berrima’) at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales Spring (Painting) Exhibition, September 2010

2009    Guest Reader at Pottsville Writers Group, 21 November 2009

2009    Met with Mullumbimby Writers Group, 15 June 2009

2009    Readings at Mullumbimby High School (organized by Librarian Janice Edwards), 16 June 2009

2009    Daan Spijer, review of Banyan, The Botanic Verses, and My Brother Jim in The Australian Writer (Newsletter of FAW Victoria), March-May 2009

2009    Fay Knight, ‘Star story led to a brother’ (relating to My Brother Jim), The Northern Star, ‘Weekender’, 28 February 2009

2009    My Brother Jim, February 2009, was (also) dedicated ‘to Edwin James (Jim) Onslow/Wilson, 1939 – 2008′

2008    Jim died (of prostate cancer), 12 September 2008

2008    John Ryan, ‘Poems, Plants and Post-modern Australian Men and Women: or ‘The Boy form the Bush’ in Sydney Town’ (relating to The Melancholy Dane), Australian Folklore No. 23, 2008, pp. 59 – 70

2007    Peter Pierce, Non-Fiction review of The Melancholy Dane (as part of a large batch of books), Westerly, Vol. 52, November 2007

2006    Guest Reader (with Geoff Page and Iggy McGovern (Irish poet)) at the 35^th Montsalvat Poetry Festival, 10 December 2006

2006    The Melancholy Dane, September 2006, was dedicated ‘to my brother Jim’

2006    Nikki Barrowclough, ‘Edwin Wilson & ‘Jim’ Onslow’, interview for the ‘Two of Us’ with reference to The Mullumbimby Kid, ‘Good Weekend’, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 August, 2006

2006    My mother died 18 May 2006 at Mullumbimby

2006    Christine McNeill, ‘Edwin returns to his Garden of Eden’, on talk to the Bryon District Orchid Society (having been a child member in the 1950s), with reference to The Mullumbimby Kid, Byron Shire News, 13 March 2006

2006    Spoke to Byron and District Orchid Society on the Latouria breeding project with Phil Spence (having been a child member of this society in the 1950s), 13 March 2006

2006    Posed for Jenni Mitchell for a portrait (as part of her ‘Poets of Australia’ series of portraits) at Eltham, Victoria, 2/3 March 2006

2005    Guest Reader at ‘Dangerously Poetic’ (Bangalow), 12 March 2005

2005    Guest Reader at Canberra (organized by Geoff Page), 2 March 2005

2005    ‘The prickly problems growing in our parks’, article derived from the Poetry of Place, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 February 2005

2004    Poetry of Place, launched Maiden Theatre (RBG) by Hon. Bob Debus, Minister for Environment and Attorney General, 14 October 2004. This book was (also) dedicated to Kathleen Wall, 1915 – 2003′

2004    John Millett, review of Collected Poems, Five Bells, Vol. 11, No. 4, Spring, 2004

2004    New York based Sharon Olinka, positive review of Collected Poems, as published (electronically) in Australian Poetry Book Reviews, March 2004

2004    Guest Reader (with Norma Balzer, and my brother Jim came along for the experience), ‘Lismore Live Poets’, Rous Hotel, 18 February 2004

2003    Discovered by my half brother, Edwin James (‘Jim’) Wilson/McGuire/Onslow (Jim Onslow), following the publication of my piece (in The Northern Star, 1 November 2003) on the centenary of our father’s birth, 1 November 2003

2003    Read at ‘Writers at the Rail’ (Byron Bay), 2 November 2003

2003    Guest Reader at ‘Molly Blooms’ (Victorian FAW, Melbourne), 29 September 2003

2003    Steve Evans, sniffy review of Collected Poems for Online Network Review of Books, Perth, Australian Public Intellectual Network, August/September 2003, in which he failed to grasp the subtle message of my ‘Binary Poem’. For once in my life I had a chance to respond to criticism, and posted a reply while my blood was still hot.

2003    Guest Reader at ‘Live Poets’ (North Sydney), 27 August 2003

2003    Listed as Senior Poet in ‘Silver’/Winter edition of Five Bells, Vol. 10 No. 3, 2003

2003    Read at ‘Closet Poets’ (Canberra), 10 May

2003    Guest Reader at ‘Friendly Street Poets’ (Adelaide), 6 May. Kathleen Wall died at the precise time I was having lunch at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, on my way back from Adelaide

2003    Guest Reader at ‘Poetry at the Pub’ (Newcastle), 21 April 2003

2003    Guest Reader at ‘Poets at the Parakeet’ (Katoomba, organized by Denis Kevans), 10 March 2003

2003    Joe Weston, ‘Wide ranging poetry collection’, review of Collected Poems in Education, 17 February 2003

2003    Peter Bernhardt, article on my ‘botanic poetry’ in ‘The Last Word’, in London-based Plant Talk 31, January 2003

2003    ‘Gardens’ historian, poet &storyteller retires’, with mention to recent books, RBG News, 30 January 2003

2002    ‘The Botanic Verses on sale now’, relating to Collected Poems, RBG News, 25 November 2002

2002    ‘Déjeuner sur L’Herbe’ (or ‘Lunch on the Grass’), advertised luncheon and readings from Collected Poems, 16 November 2002

2002, ‘Wilson collects his poems’, reference to John Ryan’s Lismore launch (at Southern Cross Co-op bookshop) of Collected Poems, Byron Shire Echo, 5 November 2002

2002    ‘A poet’s plant paradise’, article on retirement and reference to proposed ‘Déjeuner sur L’Herbe’ (Lunch on the Grass), a luncheon and reading from Collected Poems at Lion Gate Lodge (on 16 November), North Shore Times, 1 November 2002. Other references to luncheon and reading appeared in The Gardens (Friends of the Gardens), p. 6, Spring 2002, and What’s on in the Gardens Spring 2002, the Daily Telegraph, ‘Homes’, 9 November 2002, p. 4, and Domain 3 ‘Events’, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 November 2002

2002    Collected Poems, launched Moore Room (RBG) by Anne Deverson (on my 60th birthday), 27 October 2002. This book was dedicated ‘to Gwen Kelly, colleague and friend who assisted me at a critical stage in my pathway towards verse’

2002    John Ryan, Introduction to Collected Poems (used in reduced format in New Selected Poems)

2002    Joe Weston, ‘Poetic prose sparkles in this yarn’, review of Cedar House in Education, 2 September 2002, p. 24

2002    Asteroid Belt, June 2002, was dedicated ‘to Elizabeth McAlpine, who graced my early books of verse with her delicate pencil drawings’

2002    Edwin Wilson, ‘Mullum Dreaming: Life of a Young Poet’, as posted electronically on Thylazine: Australian Arts and Literature on Landscape and Animals, 2002

2002    Susan Mason and John Ryan, review of Cedar House – ‘If You Were a Carpenter and I Were a Lady’, Australian Folklore (University of New England), No 17, 2002

2002    An Australian Wuthering Heights? – review of Cedar House in RBG News, 14 February 2002

2002    ‘Shades of Bronte on the north coast’, and article on Cedar House, Byron Shire Echo, 8 January 2002

2001    Cedar House, came off the presses November 2001. This book was dedicated ‘to Kathleen Wall OAM, renaissance lady, mentor, critic, feminist and friend, who assisted with the re-education of the not-so-young-Edwin, and made me far less of a chanvinist’

2001    Review of The Mullumbimby Kid, Richmond River Historical Society Bulletin, Vol 12, No. 178, September 2001

2001    Mention of The Mullumbimby Kid, in Book Reviews, Outback Magazine, Issue 17, June/July 2001

2001    ‘Poet’s pilgrimage to old stamping ground’, story about the Armidale connection with my books, on the occasion of my launch of Lionel Gilbert’s biography of J.H. Maiden, The Little Giant, Armidale Express, 26 April 2001

2001    Read thematically appropriate ‘Phaius Orchid’ at my Armidale launch of Lionel Gilbert’s biography of J.H. Maiden, The Little Giant, 12 April 2001

2001    Mark O’Connor, ‘This portrait of ‘poet as a child’ almost as grim as Les Murray’s’, review of The Mullumbimby Kid and Cosmos Seven, The Canberra Times, 17 February, 2001

2000    Joe Weston, ‘Memories of Armidale last centruy’, review of The Mullumbimby Kid, Education, 11 December 2000

2000    James Cockington, ‘Tall Stories’ (stories of important Sydney trees), reference to the Coolibah Tree, royal Botanic Gardens (from The Wishing Tree), Weekend 6, Metropolitan, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 November 2000

2000    ‘Child poet’, review/article on The Mullumbimby Kid, The Daily Examiner (Grafton), 13 November 2000

2000    Michael McDonald, ‘Memoirs of a Mullum kid’, review of The Mullumbimby Kid, Byron Shire Echo, 24 October 2000

2000    Elvira Sprogis, mention of The Mullumbimby Kid, Books, The Newcastle Herald, 21 October 2000

2000    ‘The Mullumbimby Kid’, review of The Mullumbimby Kid, RBG News, 27 September 2000

2000    Jennifer Somerville, ‘Edwin’s poetic journey’, feature review of The Mullumbimby Kid (with photograph and insert) in Saturday Review, The Northern Star (Lismore), 23 September 2000

2000    The Mullumbimby Kid, whose working title had been ‘The Orchid Boy’, was launched in the Education Classroom (RBG) by Kathleen Wall, 18 August 2000. This book was dedicated ‘to ‘Tidge’, Edwin James (‘Tidge’) Wilson, 1903 – 1942′

1999    Bettina Cummins, review of Cosmos Seven, Writers Voice, No. 164, June – July 1999, p. 17

1999    Wendy Wilkins, review of Cosmos Seven, this Month in Books, Muse (The Australian Museum Society) April – May 1999

1999    ‘Poet latest addition to school’s wall of fame’ (with photo of Wal Wardman, old English teacher), on being inducted into Mullumbimby High School’s Hall of Fame, Saturday Star (Lismore), 29 February 1999

1999    Induction as fifth member into the Mullumbimby High School ‘Hall of Fame’, where I gave a talk on Chincogan, ‘Muse and Mountain of a Mullumbimby childhood’, 22 February 1999

1999    Bruce Copping, ‘Illuminations of ourselves’, review of Cosmos Seven, The Newcastle Herald, 30 January 1999

1998    Wayne Crawford, ‘Ideal chance to feast on quality poetry’, review of Cosmos Seven (and some other books), Sunday Mercury (Tasmania), 6 December 1998

1998    Hamesh Wyatt, ‘Wry, haunting, amusing poems with plenty of grit’, review of Cosmos Seven (and three other books), Otago Daily Times (New Zealand), 4 November 1998

1998    Lecture and readings at National Women’s Register Group, Maiden Theatre, Royal Botanic Gardens, 24 October 1998

1998    Jennifer Somerville, ‘Homecoming for poet’, on the publication of Cosmos Seven (with photograph) and a projected reading at Mullumbimby High School (1 September 1998), The Northern Star (Lismore), 1 September 1998

1998    Reading at Mullumbimby High School, 1 September 1998

1998    Joe Weston, ‘Radiant Harmonic Verse’, review of Cosmos Seven in Education (Journal of the New South Wales Teachers’ Federation), 31 August, 1998

1998    Hetty Cislowski, ‘Well Read’, review of Cosmos Seven, Inform (New South Wales Department of Education), 26 August 1998, p. 19

1998    Ben Smailes, ‘The perfect read for a rainy day’, review of Cosmos Seven, The Daily Examiner (Grafton), 14 August, 1998

1998    Sue Hicks, ‘Getting in touch with the nature of things – cultivating a WAR of words’, review of Cosmos Seven (with photograph and insert), ‘in Style’, Mosman Daily, 13 August 1998

1998    Endorsement of Cosmos Seven, RBG News, 10 August 1998

1998    Guest Reader at ‘Live Poets’ for the launch of Cosmos Seven, at Don Bank by Shirley Colless, Deputy Lord Mayor North Sydney, 24 June 1998. This book was (also) dedicated to Dick Edwards, pig-farmer, philosopher, printer, publisher, poet, mentor, friend, and silent partner Woodbine Press before the electronic age’

1997    Linda Conn, ‘A Mature Reflection’, review of Chaos Theory, Biblionews (University of Sydney), December 1997, pp. 168-9

1997    Poetry Walks (for Botanic Verses) in the Gardens, 28 October 1997

1997    Bettina Cummins, review of Chaos Theory, Free Xpres Sion, October 1997, p. 18

1997    David Kelly, mention of Chaos Theory with ‘illustration’ of ‘No-Yes Crystallography’ poem, The Book Page, Five Bells (Poets Union), July 1997, p.12

1997    ‘Chaos, compost, creativity, and the craft of verse’, talk to Friends of the Gardens, 15 July 1997

1997, Joe Weston, ‘Poetry in motion’, review of Chaos Theory, Education, 21 April 1997

1997    ‘The botanic nurses’, talk to the Colonial Science Club, 14 April 1997

1997    Cathy Bajelis, ‘A theory crops up with words’, review of Chaos Theory (with photograph), North Shore Times, 11 April 1997

1997    Chaos Theory, dedicated ‘to my reader’ (in the form of a poem), came off the presses in April 2007

1996    Posed for a portrait by Judy Cassab (in Danish flag T-shirt, a detail of which was used for the cover of The Melancholy Dane), 1996

1995    Meg Stewart, ‘Where magic is carved in stone’, article about creativity in the Gardens with reference to my poetry and The Wishing Tree, Sydney Morning Herald, 29 December 1995

1995    Taped first batch of readings of poems to be used on ‘The Science Show’, Radio National, 12 May 1995

1994    Graham Croker, ‘No curses on botanic verses poems’, review of The Botanic Verses, UNIKEN (University of NSW), 4 November 1994

1994    Taped interview and reading with Sophia Hendel, (Paddington) community Access Radio (projected to go to air in early February), 21 January 1994

1994    John Ryan, review of The Botanic Verses, New England Review, No. 2 1993/4

1994    Phil Brown, ‘Not Enraging, Stirring’, review of The Botanic Verses and one other book, Australian Book Review, No. 157, December/January 1993/4

1993    Guest Reader (with David Malouf and Rhyll McMaster), ‘Writers in the Park” (Harold Park Hotel), 5 October 1993

1993    Guest Reader (with Mark O’Connor), ‘Environmental Poets in the Park’, Gardens Restaurant, 26 September 1993

1993   The Botanic Verses, dedicated ‘for the Banyan Trees at East Wardell’, was launched in Maiden Theatre (RBG) by Professor Carrick Chambers,  with advertised Rainforest (Poetry) Walks in the Gardens, 20 August 1993

1993    ‘botanic verses’, reference to poetry walks in the Gardens in association with the launch of The Botanic Verses, Arts Section, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 1993

1993    Evan Jones, review of The Wishing Tree, The Australian Garden Journal, August/September 1993

1993    Chris Betteridge, review of The Wishing Tree, Australian Garden History Journal, Vol 5, No. 1, July/August 1993

1993    ‘Gardens’ forgotten statues find a place to rest in pieces’, feature article (with photographs) on statues in the Gardens (from The Wishing Tree), Sydney Morning Herald, 5 March 1993

1992    John Ryan, review of The Rose Garden, New England Review, 1992

1992    Kathleen Wall, review of The Rose Garden, The Australian Garden Journal, December 1992

1992    Robert Boden, ‘ACT’s botanic links with Sydney’, expansive review of The Wishing Tree (with photograph), The Canberra Times, 30 December 1992

1992    Susan Parsons, ‘An old wishing tree remembered’, mention of The Wishing Tree, The Canberra Times, 13 December 1992

1992    Pamela Jane, ‘books to suit the festive season’, mention of The Wishing Tree, Home, Sun Herald, 6 December 1992

1992    Leo Schofield, review of The Wishing Tree in ‘Leo at Large’, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 December 1992

1992    ‘Wishing Tree Walks’ in the Gardens, Events, Telegraph Mirror, 4 December 1992

1992    Geraldine O’Brien, ‘Gardens’ hidden charms exposed’, feature article (with photograph) to mark the launch of The Wishing Tree the day before by Frank Sartor, Lord Mayor of Sydney, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 December 1992

1992    The Wishing Tree launched in Maiden Theatre (RBG) by Frank Sator, Lord Mayor of Sydney, 30 November 1992. Ths book was dedicated ‘to Tony (Antoinette) Jeans, for many hours spent following up lelalds and footnotes, and for her continuity is a sea of interrruptions’

1992    Advertisement for ‘Wishing Tree Walks’ in the Gardens, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 November 1992

1992    Pamela Polglase, ‘Wishing Tree Walks’ in the Gardens (in association with the launch of The Wishing Tree), Garden Style, Manly Daily, 26 November 1992

1992    Valerie Swane, mention of ‘Wishing Tree Walks’, Sunday Telegraph, 22 November 1992

1992    ‘Spring fever hits Sydney’, photo of Botanic Gardens ‘worker’ Ed Wilson under peach tree in blossom, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 August 1992

1992    Readings at Nutcote, 17 January 1992 (on occasion of May Gibbs’ birthday)

1991    Tony Scanlon, review of Songs of the Forest, Northern Perspective (Northern Territory), Vol. 14, No. 1, 1991

1991    Read-in for ‘Nutcote’, Maiden Pavilion, Royal Botanic Gardens, 1 November 1991

1991    David Kelly, review of The Rose Garden and Falling Up IntoVerse, OZMuze, Vol. 1, No. 13, October 1991

1991    Martin Langford, review of The Rose Garden, Muse News (Newsletter of the Poets Union of NSW, University of Sydney), 4 October 1991

1991    The Rose Garden launched at Country Kitchen, Mullumbimby, with Byron Poets, 2 July 1991. This book was dedicated ‘to my critics’ (in the form of a poem)

1991    Jennifer Somerville, ‘Poetry comes to life’, an article relating to the Mullumbimby launch of The Rose Garden (2 July 1991), The Northern Star, 29 June 1991

1991    Review of Songs of the Forest, Adelaide Botanic Gardens Friends Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 2, April – May 1991

1991    Readings from Songs of the Forest to Friends of the Gardens, Maiden Theatre, 21 February 1991

1991    Guest reader at L’Orangerie (precursor of Live Poets) after the publication of Songs of the Forest

1991    Readings (of ‘Rainforest’ and ‘Thunalgunaldin’) on live radio in Gardens Restaurant with Sirocco, ABC –FM, Songs and Stories of Australia, 17 January, 1991

1990    Shirley Stackhouse, ‘Reading to the rescue’, to help save May Gibbs’ home, ‘Nutcote’, with reference to Songs of the Forest, Gardening, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 October 1990

1990    ‘Reading for Nutcote’ (to help save the gumnut home), reading in Gardens with Alex Buzo, Robin Williams, Shirley Stackhouse, Marion and Neil Shand, Short Black, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 1990

1990    Dan Byrnes, review of Songs of the Forest, Education, 24 October 1990

1990    Readings at Quorrobolong, met Pytor Patrushur and gave Peter Minter a lift home, 23 August 1990

1990    Tim North, mention of Songs of the Forest, ‘Reviews in Brief’, Garden Journal, June/July 1990

1990    Wal Upton, review of Songs of the Forest, Book Review, Australian Orchid Review, June 1990

1990    Susan Parsons, ‘Of loomed blooms, Tut’s tomb’, mention of Songs of the Forest (‘Tut’s tomb’) and ‘flowers of the Loom’ walks in the Gardens, The Canberra Times, 11 May 1990

1990    Roland Robinson, positive review of Songs of the Forest, The Newcastle Herald, 21 April 1990

1990    Peter Pierce, ‘Wide-ranging themes in our recent poetry’, review of Songs of the Forest (along with five other publications). Pierce did not like my ‘Kangaroo’ poem (when the poets Roland Robinson and Mark O’Connor – in a typed 1983 review for radio – had seen its merit), The Canberra Times, 30 June 1990

1990    Pamela Jane, ‘Averse to rape of the forest’, review of Songs of the Forest, Sun Herald 18 March 1990

1990    Michael McDonald, review of Songs of the Forest, Byron Shire Echo, March 1990

1990    Songs of the Forest launched in the Gardens with advertised Rainforest (Poetry) Walks (plus inspection of the new glasshouse being built),  3 and 4 March 1990. This book was dedicated ‘to ‘Mac’, Miss K.M. McIllrath, Banora Point’ (orchid grower and mentor)

1990    Bettina Cummins, review of Falling Up Into Verse, Writers Voice (FAW NSW Bulletin 109), February/March 1990

1990    Pamela Polglase, ‘A walk in the rainforest’, mention of rainforest walks and poetry readings and inspection of new Arc Glasshouse (under construction) in association with the launch of Songs of the Forest, The Manly Daily, 1 March 1990

1990    ‘Love affair with things botanical’, article about Songs of the Forest (with photograph of Kathleen McIllrath, to whom the book was dedicated), Tweed Gold Coast Daily (Murwillumbah), 21 February 1990

1990    John Ryan, ‘The Survival of a Poet from Down Under’, review of Falling Up Into Verse, Education, 12 February 1990

1989    Bev Roberts, review of Falling Up Into Verse, Australian Book Review, No. 113, August 1989

1989    Falling Up Into Verse launched with featured reading at the Poets Union, 19 May 1989. This book was dedicated ‘to Dick Edwards, pig-farmer, philosopher, printer, publisher and poet’

1989    Yasuko Claremont, article on Australian poets published in Japanese source in Japanese (received 28 April 1989), with photos of Henry Lawson, Les Murray, and myself under the banyan tree at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (with reference to a Sydney poet)

1997    Letter to Editor re Statues of Seasons in the Royal Botanic Gardens, with reference to The Wishing Tree, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 November 1997

1987    Denis Kevans, review of Wild Tamarind, Education, 26 October 1987

1987    ‘The Story of the Domain’, reference to Discovering the Domain, Manly Daily 16 October 1987

1987    Dan Byrnes, review of Wild Tamarind, Education, 14 September 1987

1987    Mention of Wild Tamarind, Australian Book Review, No. 94, September 1987

1987    John Ryan, review of Wild Tamarind, UNE Convocation Bulletin and Alumni News, August 1987

1987    Featured Reader at Poets Union, Neighborhood Centre, Newtown (with Pam Brown and Thomas Shapcott), 7 August 1987

1987    Review of Wild Tamarind, Byron Shire Echo, April 1987

1987    Mention of The Dragon Tree, Australian Book Review, February/March 1987

1987    Judith White, ‘Pat and the Wild Tamarind’, mention and endorsement of Wild Tamarind, and reference to its launch by Pat O’Shane in the Gardens Restaurant, Sun Herald, 22 March 1987

1987    Spoke to Phillip Adams about Wild Tamarind, Radio 2UE, on morning of its launch, 18 March 1987

1987    Wild Tamarind (no dedication) was launched by Pat O’Shane in the Gardens Restaurant, 18 March 1987

1987    Taped reading of ‘The Garden’  (Poem), for Steve Rapley, Radio National, c January 1987

1986    Letter to Editor about extending the Harbour Tunnel, with reference to Discovering the Domain, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 December 1986

1986    Tim North, review of Discovering the Domain, Garden Journal, December 1986

1986    Jane Burgess, review of Discovering the Domain, Heritage Conservation News, Vol. 4. No. 1, 1986

1986    John Ryan, reference to Banyan, The Dragon Tree, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, and Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, UNE Convocation Bulletin and Alumni News, October 1986, pp. 35 – 38

1986    ‘Read, walk and discover the Domain’, reference to free guided ‘Domain’ walks to be offered in the week after the launch of Discovering the Domain by Lady Rowland, wife of the Governor of NSW (25 August), North Shore Times, 27 August 1986

1986    Additional mentions of ‘Domain’ walks (to be offered after the launch of Discovering the Domain), Sun Herald ‘Dates to Remember’, 24 August 1986, and Daily Telegraph, 24 August 1986

1986    Bettina Cummins, review of The Dragon Tree, FAW Bulletin, No. 88, August 1986

1986    Discovering the Domain (no dedication) was launched by Lady Roland (wife of the Governor of NSW) in a marquee at Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, 25 August 1986

1986    Featured reader at Voice Prints, Performance Space at 199 Cleveland Road Redfern, 13 July 1986

1986    Read in Open Section at ‘Writers in the Park’ at Glebe, 6 May 1986

1986    Conducted workshop and readings, ‘Poetry in the Bush’, Quorrobolong, April 1986

1986    John Ryan, ‘A Modern James Joyce or Henry Lawson for NE’, feature review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity! in The Armidale Express, 18 April, 1986, p 2

1986    Keith Russell, ‘More than a cultural afterflow’ (some Recent Australian Poetry), review of The Dragon Tree (and other books), Quadrant, January/February 1986

1985    Barbara Aylott, ‘Champagne Breakfast with a Dragon’, on the launch of The Dragon Tree, FAW Newsletter by Bettina Cummins, December 1985

1985    ‘Special tree for a grave’, review of The Dragon Tree, The Northern Star, 7 December 1985

1985    Denis Kevans, review of The Dragon Tree, Education, 2 December 1985, p. 22

1985    ‘Mountain’ artist illustrates book of verse’, Wentworth Falls Feature, about illustrations by Elizabeth McAlpine in Banyan (with an illustration from the book), photocopy sent to me by Elizabeth McAlpine (Wentworth Falls), 1985 (of unknown source and date)

1985    Pamela Jane, review of The Dragon Tree (with art work of cover), Sun Herald, 3 November 1985

1985    The Dragon Tree launched with a champagne breakfast under the Dragon’s Blood Tree, Lower Garden, followed by a ‘real’ launch in the reconstituted ‘Liberty’ boat at Mrs Macquaries Point, 28 September 1985. This book was dedicated ‘for the Dragon Tree, Lower Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney’

1985    John Broomhall, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, Education, 9 July 1985

1985    Jennifer Somerville, ‘Geography puzzle in first novel’, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, Northern Star, 6 July 1985

1985    Frances McInherny, ‘Hypocrisy in Australia’, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, Australian Book Review, June 1985

1985    Andrew Bray, ‘Model Yachts from Foam’, an article on construction of the self-steering sailing ship used to launch Liberty, Egality, Fraternity from a hired ferry at Sydney Heads (Brian Mundy had retrieved the boat near the edge of the continental shelf and returned it to be ‘recycled’ for the launch of The Dragon Tree from Mrs Macquaries Point), The Cruising Skipper, No. 12, 1985,  p. 94

1985    Dan Byrnes, review of The Dragon Tree, Northern Magazine (Tamworth), week commencing 18 May 1986

1985    ‘Unknown puts down his pen for the road’, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, The Macleay Argus (Kempsey), 23 March 1985

1985    Bettina Cummins, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, and Barbara Aylott, ‘A Genuine book Launch’ (on the ‘real’ launch of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity in a self-steering model sailing boat at Sydney Heads), FAW Newsletter, 1985

1984?  M.A. Smith, LinQ, vol.14, No. 2, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity

1984    ‘…ten about the Bush’, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, Adelaide Advertiser, 17 November 1984

1984    Dan Byrnes, Showcase ‘It just had to be written’, review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity, The Northern Daily Leader, 6 November 1984

1984    David Myers, ‘Warning: keep an eye on the blood pressure’, a put down review of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity in The Age, (?) November 1984

1984    A ‘real’ launch of  Liberty, Egality, Fraternity in a painted self-steering model sailing boat from a hired ferry at Sydney Heads, 15 September 1984, featured on Channel Ten evening news, 15 Setpember 1984. This book was dedicated to James Joseph Wilson (my grandfather) and James Richmond Wilson (my first child)

1984    Gwen King, ‘Visit to North Shore by Poet, Edwin Wilson’, FAW Newsletter, 1984

1984    Reading of  ‘Man on the Ten Dollar Note’ at Henry Lawson’s statue in the Domain, as part of a reading of Lawson’s poems on the occasion of his birthday, with John Derum and Chrissie Shaw, April 1984

c 1984 Read all of my book Banyan (in two sessions) for Ryde (Community) Radio, 2 RRR c 1984

1984    Andrew Bray, ‘Stanzas from Banyan Lost In Sydney Harbour’, about the launch of Banyan in a small boat from Mrs Macquaries Point, Shorelines, Australian Boating, February 1984

1984    Ban Byrnes, ‘Author knows poetry has no gender’, review of Banyan, Northern Daily Leader, 22 January 1984

1984    Dan Byrnes, feature on Banyan, with reference to the publication of ‘The Cherry Tree’, Northern Daily Leader, November 1970, Northern Daily Leader, 21 January 1984

1983    Reading at the wake for Edwards & Shaw (read ‘Education Officer’s Lament’ and ‘Thunalgunaldin’) and Rod Shaw taped the proceedings, 2 December 1983

1983    Drawn from Life, exhibition catalogue of an exhibition of Australian floral art of the same name, 1983

1983    Mark O’Connor, typed review of Banyan (projected for radio?) received 1983 (outcome unknown)

1983    John Baxter, ‘New Garden Books’, review of Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Your Garden, November 1983

1983    Guy Weller, Bookbox, very good review of Banyan, Artlook, September 1983

1983    Jennifer Maiden, ‘The Poets are Biting … Edwin Wilson’s Banyan balances precariously but thrillingly between cynicism and sentiment, intellect and erudition (the poet is a public relations officer for the Botanic Gardens and the reader rarely forgets it)’, review of Banyan, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 August 1983

1983    Edwin Wilson Profile, Australian Horticulture, June 1983

1983    Michael Kindler, sniffy review of Banyan, Education 27 June 1983

1983    Review of Banyan, This Australia (Melbourne), Autumn 1983

1983    Barbara Giles (Mother I’m Rooted poet) , nasty dismissive review of Banyan, Booknotes, Australian Book Review, No. 50, May 1983

1983    Kerrie Kerans, ‘Mountain was gateway to world of poetry’, feature about Banyan, North Shore Times, 16 February 1983

1983    Tim North, review of Banyan, Garden Cuttings, Vol. 2, No. 4, January 1983

1983    Mention of Banyan in Ecologist’s Diary, 1983 (photocopy, details unknown)

1982    Mention of Banyan, FAW Bulletin, December 1982

1982    Maurice Kelly, ‘Local interest in poem book’, review of Banyan, Armidale Express, 24 December 1982

1982    Pamela Pollglase, ‘Just the presents for keen gardeners’, mention of Banyan, Manly Daily, 9 December 1982

1982    Mark Gallagher, Book Reviews, ‘botanical imagery in love of nature’, review of Banyan, The Northern Star, 14 November 1982

1982    Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (‘Blue Book’ or Guide to the Gardens), received 15 October 1982

1982    Banyan, launched in Gardens Restaurant, followed by ‘real’ launch at Mrs Macquaries Point, 15 October 1982. this book was dedicated ‘for Chinny’ (Chincogan, guardian mountain of a Mullumbimby childhood), unaware that Henry Kendall had dedicated his third and final book of poems was dedicated to a mountain too

1981    Construction and launch of papyrus boat, Ra III, into Sydney Harbour (at Mrs Macquaries Point) as the launch of a campaign to construct more display glasshouses at the Sydney Gardens, proceeded by a dance at the site of the Pyramid Glasshouse by students of Summer Hill OC School, and the procession through the gardens to transport a model of the Sun God Ra to the boat, prior to lanch, 11 April 1981 that received saturation coverage on evening TV news

1980    ‘New era starts for the Botanic Gardens’, interview with Director Lawrie Johnson, with mention of the appointment of a new officer, Edwin Wilson, whose job ‘is to organize programs, tours, displays and exhibitions, and … redeveloping the gardens along more thematic lines.’

1975    Photo of ‘Mr and Mrs Wilson’ at the Dinosaur Ball, Australian Museum, in the Social Pages, Sun Herald, 7 December 1975

1975    James Richmond Wilson, aged four years and two months,  accidently hit and killed by a motor car at Redland Bay, Queensland, 20 January 1975. Threw myself into my writing and my work to help ease the pain. Oversaw construction of  the ‘Stegomobile’ (cut out hanging model of a Stegasourus) at the Australian Museum, at the start of the Dinosaurathon, the selling of ‘shares’ in dinosaurs to purchase replica dinosaurs from America, featured (as a photograph) in The Australian Encyclopaedia, The Grollier Society of Australia, Fourth Edition, 1983, construction started 6 May 1975. The Dinosaur Appeal attracted considerable publicity, including a mention in Education and The Financial Review, and I spoke on the Super Flying Fun Show (TV), and sang our ‘Dinosaur Song’ (with others)  on ABC radio

1975    Ian Moffitt, Perspective, ”Verse reversal’, an outing of my literary hoax, on ‘Eileen’ Wilson having been published in Mother I’m Rooted, the Australian, 20 March 1975

1975    ‘Boy killed’, less than one column inch reference to the accidental death of James Wilson, Redland Bay, on 20 January, Queensland, Brisbane Courier Mail, 22 January 1975, resulting in my throwing myself into the manuscript of Liberty, Egality, Fraternity!

1970    Read ‘Homage to a Mountain’ at Tony Bennett’s ‘Poetry Club’ when lecturing at Armidale Teachers’ College (c. 1970). Tony later published my Collected Poems through his Kardoorair Press (2002)

1968    Planted two Lord Howe Island banyan trees at East Wardell, between the northern tip of Cabbage Tree Island and Meaney’s Lane, between the river and the road. The northern-most tree (‘Ed’s tree’, with a brass plaque several metres up its trunk) was planted opposite the fibro cottage where I spent my first five years (where the original pioneer homestead had been built). The southern tree was christened ‘Jim’s tree’ in 2004 (on our trip up north).

1967    Part of Art Exhibition Goldstein Hall, when at Phillip Baxter College, University of New South Wales (sold three paintings)

Books / Published Articles / Poems / Papers / other Publications

2013, Oliver Bainbridge – Lord Nelson Great Grandson?, Woodbine Press, pp. 124 = 10 prelims + ten additional pages of photographs, ISBN 978 0 949557 32 2 (paperback).

2012, New Collected Poems, Kardoorair Press Armidale with Introduction and Epilogue by John Ryan, University of New England, 2012, pp. 686 + 50 prelims, ISBN 978 0 908244 84 3 (hardback).

2012  Second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (with new material obtained on finding my brother in 2003 and cover detail of one of my Mullumbimby Paintings), Woodbine Press, pp. 288, ISBN 978 0 949557 30 8 (hardcover, posted on the Internet 2012)

2012  Gumnut News, No. 78, April 2012, reprint of ‘Gumnut City’ poem (to May Gibbs on her birthday)

2012  ‘Waratah’ poem, Caleyi, January/February 2012, electronic Newsletter of Northern Beaches Group of Australian Plant Society

2011  Featured in and assisted with the production of a book on Guiding in the Gardens, entitled A Walk in the Gardens: 30 years of volunteer guiding in the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney

2010    New Selected Poems: A Collection of Flowers 1967 – 2009, Woodbine Press, pp. 288, ISBN 978 0 949557 31 5 (paperback, posted on the Internet as a PDF in 2011)

2009    ‘Poetry and Art: An Evolutionary Biologist’s Take on Selection Pressures in the Arts’, Five Bells, autumn/winter 2009

2009    My Brother Jim (poems), Woodbine Press, pp. 93, ISBN  978 0 949557 23 0 (paperback)

2006    ‘The Making of Mount Annan’, Edwin Wilson and Barbara Briggs, Australian Garden History, Vol 18 No 2, Sept/Oct 2006 (a longer version of this, ‘Birth of a Garden: Mount Annan Botanic Garden, near Campbelltown, south-west of Sydney’, was posted on the website of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (October 2006)

2008    Repeat of ‘A Stroll in the Gardens’, Poetica, Radio National, 26 January 2008

2006    The Melancholy Dane: A Portrait of the Poet as a Young Man, Memoirs, Book Two, Woodbine Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0 949557 21 8 (folded flap)

2006    Edwin Wilson and ‘Jim’ Onslow Interview, Nikki Barrowclough, ‘Two ofUs’, Good Weekend, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 August 2006

2006    ‘A New Direction with Dendrobium Hybrids’ (Phil Spence and Edwin Wilson), Australian Orchid Review, February/March 2006

2006 ‘Autumn in Canberra at the Bonnard, 2003’ (Poem), included in Light On Don Bank, 15 years of Live Poets, Live Poets, edited by Sue Hicks and Danny Gardner

2005    Related to Lord Nelson? An article on Andrew St Clare Nelson and his purported links to Hortio Nelson The Nelson Yearbook

2005    ‘A Walk in the Gardens’ (poetry of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney and Domain, adapted from article in Australian Folklore No. 15), ‘Poetica’, ABC Radio National, 3 December 2005

2004    Poetry of Place: Royal Botanic Gardens, Statues, Memorials, and Literary References, to the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney and Domain, Botanic Gardens Trust, pp. 208, ISBN 0 9756708 0 8, (Substantially revised edition of The Wishing Tree) (folded flap)

2004    ‘Charlestown’ (Poem), as published electronically by Sharon Olinka in BigCityLit, ‘The Other Half: Rich vs. Poor’, 2004

2003    ‘In Memory of a Father’, article on the centenary of Tidge Wilson’s birth, The Northern Star, 1 November 2003

2003    ‘Strangler Fig’ (Poem), and ‘Put out to Grass’ (Poem), both read (in the context of small presses) on Poetica, Radio National, 10 May 2003

2003    Obituary Kathleen Wall, Botanist and friend (1915 – 2003), Sydney Morning Herald, 2 June 2003

2002    Anthology: Collected Poems 1967 – 2002, Kardoorair Press, pp. 590, ISBN 0 908244 50 9 (folded flap)

2002    Asteroid Belt (poems), Woodbine Press, pp. 124, ISBN 0 949557 20 X (paperback)

2002    ‘The Batanic Garden’ (The Mel and Ed Show), Play for RBG Twilight Walks, a conversation between a stupid bat (Eric, played by Steve Paul) and an Ibis (Fatima, played by Debbie Lennis) – written by Edwin Wilson, with dialogue assistance from Melissa Hamilton, performed as  Live Theatre in Gardens, January 2002

2002    ‘Chincogan: Muse and Mountain of a     Mullumbimby Childhood’,  Australian Folklore, Uni New England, March 2002

2002    ‘Mullum Dreaming: Life of a Young Poet’ (growing up in Mullumbimby), Thylazine No 5 (Coral Hull),    (Electronic Publishing, March 2002)

2002    Armidale book launch of Lionel Gilbert’s The Little Giant: The Life and Work of Joseph Henry Maiden, 1858 – 1925, published in the Armidale and District Historical Society Journal No. 45

2002    ‘Cats’ (Poem, Baudelaire Imitation) The Mosman Daily, 1 July 2002

2002    ‘Reflecting the city’s rites of passage’ Abstracted from The Wishing Tree (with promotion of ‘Lunch on the Grass’poetry reading at Lion Gate Lodge in association with my Collected Poems), Friends of the Gardens, The Gardens, No 54, Spring 2002

2002    ‘The Orange and the Green’ (Poem) included in ABC Radio National’s ‘Orange’ Segment, ‘Poetica’, 25 May 2002

2002    ‘Bushranger’s Grave’ (Poem), included in Sunlines, edited by  Anne Fairbairn

2001    Cedar House (an Australian ‘Wuthering Heights’ – a Gothic novel about environment, identity and aboriginality), Woodbine Press, pp. 226, ISBN          0 949557 16 6  (paperback)

2001    Ten years’ Live: Ironic, Satiric, Sardonic Humorous Verse, Live Poets, edited by Sue Hicks and Danny Gardner  (two poems included)

2001    Reprint of the Songs of the Forest Introduction, Vegan Voice, No. 5, March-May 2001

2001    ‘Green lungs of the Inner West’ on the plantings of Charles Moore (Director of Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney) at Callan Park, Friends of the Gardens, The Gardens, 2001

2000    Letter to Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Private Schools Weaken Public System’, 21 November 2000

2000    The Mullumbimby Kid: A Portrait of the Poet as a Child, Memoirs, Book One, (working title ‘The Orchid Boy’),Woodbine Press, pp. 256, ISBN  0 949557 18 8 (hardcover)

2000    ‘The Poetry of Place: Poetic foci in the Sydney Gardens and Domain’, Australian Folklore, No. 15, Uni New England, October 2000

2000    ‘Judy’s Chair’ (poem and photograph), a used in the University of NSW Senior Australian Schools English Competition, 2000

2001    Published in Ten Years Live, Live Poets, Edited by Sue Hicks and Danny Gardner, 2001

1999    Proceedings of International People-Plant Symposium, 12 – 22 July 1998, towards a new millennium of people-plant relationships, from talk entitled ‘Zen and the Art of  Orchid Culture’, UTS Sydney

1999    Inducted into the Mullumbimby High School ‘Hall of Fame’ as their fifth member, 22 February 1999

1999    ‘A point to remember’, article on Mrs Macquaries Point, The Gardens, Summer 1998 – 1999

1988    Cosmos Seven (a selection of poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine), Woodbine Press, pp.176, ISBN  0 949557 14 5  (hardcover)

1998    ‘Judy’s Chair’ (Poem)  , Sydney Morning Herald, 14 February 1998

1998    ‘Oliver Bainbridge: an unacknowledged casualty of the death of empire’, joint paper with Sister Mary Joseph (Patricia Wightley) (following on from earlier joint paper in Australian Folklore. No 11, 1996 about his father, Andrew St Clare Nelson and the Nelson connection), Australian Folklore No 13, Uni New England, September 1998

1998    Obituary Dick Edwards, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August 1998 (written but not acknowledged as such in article)

1998    In Memorium, Eric (Dick) Edwards, Poet, Printer, Publisher (1916 – 1998), Five Bells, September 1998

1998    ‘A passion for the epiphyte transferred: the genesis of Woodbine Press’ (article on the establishment of Woodbine Press), Biblionews, 319^th Issue, Vol. 23, No. 3, Uni of Sydney, September 1998

1997    Chaos Theory (poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine), Woodbine Press, pp. 88, ISBN  0 949577 13  7 (paperback)

1997    ‘Rose Garden Pavilion: One Hundred Years’, article on the centenary of the Rose Garden Pavilion, The Gardens, winter 1997, p. 9

1997    ‘From the Barn on the Hill to Edwards & Shaw’ (article on the publication of the above book), Biblionews, 313^th Issue, Vol. 22, No. 1, Uni of Sydney, March 1977

1997    ‘Guiding in the Gardens: the need for a creative approach’, a joint paper with Kathleen Wall on Case Studies in Volunteering, as presented at the VMCI Guides Conference in Bathurst, 1996

1996    ‘Lord Nelson’s Daughter: and her possible descendants in northern New South Wales’ joint paper with Sister Mary Joseph (Patricia Wightley), Australian Folklore, No 11, Uni. Of New England, July 1996

1996    From the Barn on the Hill to Edwards & Shaw (a limited edition of 350 deluxe copies of a book on the publishers Edwards & Shaw by Harry Stein, Pot Still Press for the State Library NSW Press). Harry Stein died in 1994. I helped edit his manuscript, sought sponsorship, and steered the project through to publication

1996    ‘The Wishing Tree’ (an article on Colonial Plants), Australian Garden History, Vol. 8, No. 3 Nov/Dec 1996, pp. 8 – 10

1996    Included in Australian Poets And Their Works, Wilde, Hooton & Andrews, Oxford University Press, 1996

1995    ‘Wild Orchid’ (Poem), quoted by Peter Bernhardt at the front of an anticle ‘The Orchid that Wears a Hat’, The Sydney Review, September 1995

1995    ‘The Botanic Verses: and problems of sexual tolerance, 1789 to the present’ (with reference to the Eileen incident, Australian Folklore, Uni New England, No 10, July 1995

1995    Included in the second edition of Who’s Who of Australian Writers, W.D. Thorpe, 1995

1994    ‘Paradise Lost: Plant-lore on the far north coast of New South Wales’, Australian Folklore, Uni New England,  No 9, July 1994

1994    ‘Night-pollinated Flower’ (Poem), quoted by Peter Bernhardt at the front of an article ‘Sents and Sensibility’, The Sydney Review, September 1994

1994    Included in The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, Wilde, Hooton & Andrews, second edition, Oxford University Press, 1994

1993    The Botanic Verses (‘botanic’ verses and other poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine )  Rainforest Publishing pp. 98, ISBN  0 947134  077 (paperback)

1993    ‘Gumnut City’ (Poem), Nutcote News, No. 21, February 1993

1992    The Wishing Tree (Memorial Trees, Statues, Fountains etc in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Domain, and Centennial Perk, Sydney), Kangaroo Press, pp. 160, ISBN  0 96417 437 3 (hardcover)

1992    The Orchid Man: The Life, Work and Memoirs of the Rev. H.M.R. Rupp, 1872 – 1956, by Dr L.A. Gilbert, Kangaroo Press. Two of my orchid poems included in this publication

1992    Letter to editor about my 1974 poem ‘Blank Verse’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 October 1992

1991    The Rose Garden (poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine), Woodbine Press (with Edwards & Shaw), pp. 112, ISBN  0 949557 12 9 (paperback)

1991    Live Poets’ Society Litmus suit, Live Poets, edited by Sue Hicks (three poems published)

1991    Included in first Edition of Who’s Who of Australian Writers, W.D. Thorpe

1990    Songs of the Forest (Rainforest Poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine), Hale & Iremonger Pty Ltd, pp. 96, ISBN  0 86806 390 8 (paperback)

1990    ‘Red-shift’ (Poem), Poetry Australia, No. 128, Summer 1990

1990    ‘The Saga of Peter Hibbs’, a joint paper with Tom Richmond on our First Fleet ancestor Peter Hibbs, Hawkesbury River History: Governor Phillip,Exploration, and Early Settlement, Edited by Jocelyn Powell and Lorraine Banks, Dharug & Lower Hawkesbury Hist Society, 1990

1989    Falling up into Verse (a Poetic Handbook [Survival Manual] for Live poets, Aspiring Poets, and Students of  poetry, down Under), Woodbine Press (with Edwards & Shaw), pp. 138, ISBN  0 949557 10 2 (paperback)

1989    Helen Moody interview (with photographs) about Christian Dior sponsorship and nursery support for the Spring Festival, Australian Horticulture, August/September 1989

1989    ‘River Picnic’ (Poem, variant form published by John Millett as Guest Editor, Maryland Poetry Review, Fall/Winter 1989

1989    ‘Elegy to John Pearce, 1908 – 1989′ (Poem), Byron Shire Echo, 19 April 1989

1988    Reprint of Introduction to Songs of the Forest, Australian Orchid Review, Summer 1988

1988    ‘The Rose’ (Poem, published by Director Carrick Chambers in his Rose Garden Pamphlet, Royal Botanic Gardens, 1988

1987    Wild Tamarind (a Bicentennial Parable and Morality Tale), Woodbine Press (with Edwards & Shaw), pp. 167, ISBN  0 949557 09 0 (hardcover) 0 949557 08 0 (paperback)

1987    ‘The Garden’ (Poem, read on   ABC Radio Social History, Radio National,  with Steve Rapley, 1987

1987    ‘The Garden Palace: Its Rise and Fall’, Gardenscene, Graham & Sandra Ross, February 1987

1987    Royal Botanic Gardens Visitor Survey, commissioned and coordinated by me for the Gardens, executed and produced by the Department of Leisure/Tourism, Kuring-gai CAE, 1987

1987    ‘On fields from Gordon/to St. Ives’ (Poem), Lane Cove Soccer Club Newsletter, July 1987

1987    ‘Lane Cove Plaza, Tuesday Morning’ (Poem), Education, 20 July 1987

1986    Discovering the Domain (Edited, with research assistance by Shirley Colless), (a pictorial social history of the Sydney Domain), Hale & Iremonger Pty Ltd, pp. 64, ISBN 0 86806 258 8  (hardcover) 0 86806 359 6 (paperback)

1986    ‘Song of Lebanon’ (Poem),‘Northern Magazine’, supplement to Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth, 20 April 1986

1986    ‘The Garden’ (Poem), Garden Journal, Tim North, December 1986

1985    The Dragon Tree (poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine), Woodbine Press (with Edwards & Shaw), pp. 100, ISBN 0 949557 04 8  (hardcover) 0 949557 05 6  (paperback)

1985    ‘Song of Lebanon’ (Poem), Poet’s Corner, Northern Magazine (Tamworth), 20 April 1985

1984    Liberty, Egality, Fraternity! (a novel), Woodbine Press (with Edwards & Shaw), pp. 214, ISBN 0 949557 02 1 (hardcover) 0 949557 03 X (paperback)

1984    ‘First Contact’ (Poem), Christmas Literary Supplement, The Bulletin, 20 November 1984

1983    Drawn from Life: The Development of Botanical Illustration in Australia (Ed) (catalogue for an exhibition of the same name), Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, pp. 24 (paperback)

1983    Profile of Edwin Wilson, Australian Horticulture, June 1983

1983    ‘The Oldest Garden in Australia ‘, Australian Garden Journal, Tim  North, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1983, pp. 38 – 41

1983    Letter to Editor, Bulletin (about Australia’s flag, having seen the new Canadian flag in Canada), 15 March 1983

1982    ‘Le Déjeuner sur L’herbe’ (‘Lunch in Hyde Park’), (Poem), and ‘Solar Flight’ (Poem), Poetry Australia, No. 81, February, 1982

1982    Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (Ed), Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, pp. 72, ISBN 0 9500976 2 4 (paperback)

1982    Banyan (poems with pencil drawings by Elizabeth McAlpine), Edwards & Shaw for Woodbine Press, pp. 100, ISBN 0 949557 01 3 (hardcover) 0 949557 00 5 (paperback)

1982    ‘Thunalgunaldin’ (Poem), and ‘Death of a Mouse’ (Poem),        Poetry Australia, Nos. 84-5, August 1982

1982    ‘A Walk through Paradise’ (an article on the Sydney Gardens), Garden Cuttings, Vol. 1, No. 8, May 1982

1981    ‘New England Dieback’ (Poem), Poetry Australia, No. 76, February 1981

1981    ‘New England Dieback’ (Poem in variant form), Poetry Australia, No. 77, May 1981

1981    The Australian Museum Visitor, No 2, 1979 (study of two travelling exhibitions in the outer suburban areas of Sydney in 1979)

1981    ‘Rainforest’ (Poem), Rainforest Habitat, No. 81, 1981 reprint of earlier poem)

1980    ‘Monastery at Zagorsk’ (Poem), SCOPP (Saturday Club), Issues 8 & 9, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 & 3, 1980, Final Issue

1980    ‘Rainforest’ (Poem), Habitat Australia, Vol.8, No. 6, December 1980

1980    ‘Possible Directions in Public Relations and Community Programs at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney’, a list of all the programs instigated at the Gardens, where none of this type had existed before (Royal Botanic Gardens Library), 8 September 1980

1979    ‘Ancient Bouquet’ (Poem), Poetry Australia No. 70, May 1979

1979    ‘Moving Experiences: The Australian Museum’s Travelling Outer Urban Exhibitions’, Kalori (Museum Association of Australia), No 57, December 1979

1978    ‘Pressed Flower’ (Poem, became ‘Ancient Bouquet’), SCOPP (Saturday Club), Issue Four, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 1978

1978    ‘Desire Under the Stars’ (Poem, earlier form of ‘Banyan’), SCOPP (Saturday Club), Issue Five, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1978

1977    ‘The Australian Museum Dinosaur Appeal: Dead on Time’, Kalori (Magazine of the Museum Association of Australia), No 52,  March 1977

1976    ‘Banyan’, ‘Bushranger’s Grave’, and ‘The Butterfly’ (Poems), Poetry Australia, No. 60-61, 1976

1976    ‘Shall I Compare You to my Motor Car?’ (Poem), SCOPP (Saturday Club), Issue 16, Vol. 4, No. 4, Winter 1976 (received 22 December 1976)

1975    ‘Maiden-hair’ (Poem), (Saturday Club Book of Poetry), Issue ten, Vol. 3, No. ii, Jan 1975

1975    ‘Eileen’ (Poem, published under pseudonym of Eileen Wilson), Mother I’m Rooted (Anthology of Australian Women Poets), Outback Press, edited by Kate Jennings)

1975    ‘The Wave’ (Poem), Education, 20 March 1975

1975    ‘Bushranger’s Grave’ (Poem), Education, 2 July 1975

1975    ‘Hyacinth Orchid’ (Poem), Education, Vol. 56, No. 19, 5 November 1975 (poem in inferior form)

1974    ‘Reflection’ (Poem), Education, 4 December 1974

1972    ‘The Web of Life’ (after Darwin), (Poem, became ‘Death of a Butterfly’/’The Butterfly’), Education, 26 July 1972

1971    ‘Liquid Amber’ (Poem, became ‘Liquidambar’) and ‘Descent’ (Poem, incorporated into other poems), Makar (Uni Qld), Vol. 7, No.1, May 1971

1970    ‘Homage to a Mountain’ (Poem published when lecturing at Armidale Teachers’ College), Anthology (Armidale Teachers’ College), 1970

1970    ‘The Flowering Cherry’ (Poem, became ‘The Cherry Tree’), Northern Daily Leader, 21 November 1970

1961    ‘The Sinking Sun’ (Poem, published as a student at Armidale Teachers’ College), Anthology (Armidale Teachers’ College), 1961

NEW SELECTED POEMS

NEW COLLECTED POEMS: 1952 – 2012

about poetry
FALLING UP INTO VERSE
THE MULLUMBIMBY KID: A PORTRAIT OF THE POET AS A
CHILD
THE MELANCHOLY DANE: A PORTRAIT OF THE POET AS A
YOUNG MAN

second edition THE MULLUMBIMBY KID

prose
LIBERTY, EGALITY, FRATERNITY!
WILD TAMARIND
CEDAR HOUSE

social history
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS SYDNEY (ED.)
DISCOVERING THE DOMAIN (ED.)
THE WISHING TREE
POETRY OF PLACE: ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS SYDNEY

biography

OLIVER BAINBRIDGE – LORD NELSON’S GREAT GRANDSON?

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My on-going projects in retirement have been and still are my writing, my painting, and my Hanging Garden of Crows Nest (front and back).

Writing:  As far as my writing is concerned I have some irons in the fire still, but with the advent of iPads the future of the book is now under serious review. As a general rule I don’t like to talk too much about projects I am currently working on, so as not to jinx the process (for things most talked about are often lost).

Recent projects include production of a second edition of The Mullumbimby Kid (2012), including new material obtained since the discovery of my brother Jim (in 2003), the publication of my New Collected Poems (Kardoorair Press, Armidale, 2012), now ‘posted’, along with my New Selected Poems on the Internet. These three books may be viewed and/or downloaded for free and shared. Hard-copy editions may be purchased from Woodbine Press.

My latest publication (distributed through Woodbine Press)  is Oliver Bainbridge – Lord Nelson’s Great Grandson? (2013).

Painting:  I still try to paint every morning, working and re-working on small details. My longer-term aim is to try to paint fewer but hopefully better works.

Gardening:  My garden is small enough not to be a chore, and a place of reflection and of beauty, in which to observe nature ‘red of tooth and claw’. In recent years I have planted a number of different-coloured farangipanis, to serve as hosts for epiphytes, while cultivating a smaller orchid collection (including some of our Latouria hybrids) in the back yard.

I’d applied to study art at Mullumbimby High School (see my painting of ‘Queen Boadicea’ in my history book of 1955), to discover that art was only available for girls and ‘dummies’ in those days.

At Armidale Teachers’ College I obtained a Distinction in mixed media as an Art Elective subject. Here I received the one and only lesson on oil painting (see fragment of my first oil painting, entitled ‘Cotoneasters’). In Sydney I’d purchased my own starter set of oil paints, and was encouraged by Geoff Tyndall, art teacher at The Forest High, who took me to a couple of life drawing classes.

I painted consistently from the age of nineteen until my mid-twenties (see ‘Self-portrait’ 1961, and ‘Girl with Flowers’, 1964). At an exhibition in Phillip Baxter College (1967), I sold ‘In Search of Truth’ (to Joe Cassidy), ‘Convent Garden’ (to someone from the Psychology Department at the University), and my collage ‘The Flower that has Bloomed Forever Dies’ to Professor George, our College Warden (then bought my collage back). As part of my on-going science studies (University of New South Wales) I obtained a High Distinction in the Humanities subject, ‘History of Fine Arts’, with dreams of studying at the then ‘East Sydney Tech’ when I finished my degree.

Then I fell in love, ‘the whole catastrophe,’ as Zorba said, which sunk my plans. For life and study, work (and later family) intervened, closing out any aspirations I may have had to be a painter. In the interim I sublimated with word-pictures (or poems, without the need of having to set up a canvas and easel, and then clean up all the mess at the end).

In 2003, on my retirement from paid employment, I enrolled in painting classes at the Lavender Bay Gallery. In 2008, after an ‘apprenticeship’ of some six years I was elected as an Exhibiting Member of the Royal Art Society of New South Wales (having clocked up my 10,000 hours working on the craft, while still retaining a naïve style). My teachers were Judy Pennefather and Leyla Spencer. On-going tuition had been provided by my friend Robin Norling (whom I’d met professionally when he was working at the Art Gallery of New South Wales) and his painter-partner, Jocelyn Maughan.

In 2009 I set up an operating studio. In 2010 I won the Royal Art Society ‘Medal of Distinction’ for their 130^th Spring Exhibition (for my painting ‘Church at Berrima’).

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