EVENT: Friends of the Library talk

After an introduction discussing the general importance of place in literature, the talk will explore a number of aspects of Fremantle as a place which has inspired various authors or which has been used by them as a setting for their writing. These include Fremantle as a place of confinement, of arrival and departure and of migration, and as a place by the river and the sea, illustrated by excerpts from the writings of a number of authors including J B O’Reilly, Colin Johnson, Richard Beilby, D H Lawrence, Patrick White, Judah Waten and Tim Winton. The talk will conclude with a report of a press interview with Tim Winton where he explains his involvement with, and particular attachment to, the Port City.

About the Speaker

Robert (Bob)Woollett was born in Exeter, Devon, in 1931 and graduated from King’s College, London, with an Honours Degree in History and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. The first half of his working life was spent in the Instructor Branch of the Royal Navy. An exchange with the Royal Australian Navy in the 1960s, at Jervis Bay and then HMAS Leeuwin, led him to migrate to Western Australia and settle in Fremantle in 1973. He joined the staff of Christ Church Grammar School as Housemaster and Master-in-Charge of Rugby, where he coached in tennis and cricket, edited the school magazine and taught English and English literature. Since retiring in 1991 Fremantle has become an increasing focus of interest and he is currently President of the Fremantle History Society and a member of the City’s Sport, Recreation and Youth Advisory Committee. Members: Free, Non-members: $5.00 donation