Sara Hardy Writes

Michelle de Kretser and I became friends when I was a mature student at University of Melbourne back in the late 1980s. Michelle was my tutor and, perhaps because I was a mature student with a theatre background, she took a liking to me and I of course liked and admired her. This was about a decade before she began to win major prizes for her novels. A few days ago, Michelle was announced as the winner of the prestigious Stella Prize - named after Stella Miles Franklin, author of My Brilliant Career. Michelle de Kretser's prize-winning novel is called Theory and Practice - and it's a fabulous read. But what I really want to record here is Michelle's acceptance speech. Please read it in full. It is very important, to all of us. Hello everyone. Thank you all so much for being here. The 2025 Stella Prize does my work great honour, and I’m so happy to accept it. I wish I could join you in person to celebrate all the long and shortlisted writers. As that’s not possible, I’m reco...

  Born in England, Edna Walling was deeply influenced by the beauties of childhood walks through her adored Devonshire landscape, especially the diverse natural glories of Dartmoor. Such influences would inform her Australian garden designs ever after. Even so, Edna embraced Australia and the Australian natural landscape with all her heart and ingenuity, and the affect of that embrace is still with us today.  Here follows a snippet of Edna's musings on Autumn in Victoria from A Gardener's Log, first published in 1948.      'There is so much to tell that I hardly know where to start: with the Russian cranberry jam; with the fun I am having taking cuttings of everything in the garden (everything with a reasonable chance of striking); with the joy the medlars have been this autumn, and the Cornus kousa , a dogwood that has outdone the pink-flowering C. florida rubra in leaf coloration this year.      The mistress of Lynton Lee [Lorna Fielden ] said, ...

  It's official!  -  Lowick Films’ Sam Icklow ( While The Men Are Away, Apricot ) today announced the option of Sara Hardy’s acclaimed biography,  The Unusual Life of Edna Walling . The definitive portrait of one of Australia’s most celebrated landscape designers will be adapted for the screen by Icklow, who will also direct. Icklow says, “Edna Walling was not just a visionary gardener, but a trailblazer whose work speaks directly to the environmental and social conversations of today. Her story is one of resilience, creativity and self-discovery, and I’m thrilled to bring her legacy to life on screen for local and international audiences.” Walling was born in England in 1895 and grew up in Plymouth, Devon. In 1913, Walling emigrated with her family to New Zealand before settling in Melbourne, Australia, where she joined the first all-female class at the Burnley School of Horticulture. Graduating in 1917, Walling quickly established herself as one of Australia’s most...

By lucky chance I entered the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) last Friday to see this wonderful sculpture half 'wrapped' - just the top part peaking out. 'Is this wrapped art or Art as is?' I asked my friend, and we debated. The enormous object was fun and intriguing. We went on to view paintings of the 16th Century - and marvelled... Upon our return to the upper balcony we discovered that Dancing Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama had been fully unwrapped and dusted! Glorious! I felt so privileged, in this difficult world, to experience such joy in this place of human-made ART. The full Yayoi Kusama exhibition will open on 15th December 2024 and close 21 April 2025. Enjoy! Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama is one of the world’s most important and recognised practitioners working today. Kusama is renowned globally for her singular and idiosyncratic use of pattern, colour and symbols to create immersive, thought-provoking and intensely personal works of art that transcend lang...

  To whom it may concern: I wish to say thank you to the woman who gathered my fallen partner, Lois, off the footpath and sat her on a bench in the vicinity of Racecourse Road. I wish to thank the tradie (tradesman, for non Ozzie's) who was passing and immediately brought his First Aid kit to help Lois - who was on her own, and whose face and forehead was bleeding profusely. I wish to thank said tradie for then taking Lois in his van to the Emergency Dept of Royal Melbourne Hospital. I wish to thank the social worker who tried to discover the name and address of Lois who has dementia and was very confused yet managed to state her DOB - from which said social worker did an amazing sleuthing job of detecting who Lois was. Meanwhile... I wish to thank Michael, the police officer who dealt with my frantic reporting of my lost partner (he was surprised to hear that she did not carry a mobile phone, no point, she doesn't understand how to use it) - and proceeded to stand-by to issue ...

There's a fabulous chance to view eight of the gardens at Edna Walling's Bickleigh Vale Village through the Open Gardens Victoria scheme. These opportunities do not come very often and literally thousands of people head to Mooroolbark to attend - which is why this year arrival times are being monitored to reduce footprint stress on the gardens (and daresay their owners!). You'll need to purchase your tickets well before the day. Bookings are limited so I suggest doing it right now! Here's the link, or if you don't trust links, search the Open Gardens Victoria website for what's on in October 2024. https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1252401  Here's some info from the Open Gardens Victoria website to get you started: We are thrilled to be opening eight gardens in Bickleigh Vale Village in Mooroolbark on October 12 and 13, in partnership with the Friends of Edna Walling at Bickleigh Vale Village. In the 1920s Edna Walling created an enchanted village for...