Writing the Illawarra
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2001 Once upon a place: writing the Illawarra Peter Knox University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] ONCE UPON A PLACE: WRITING THE ILLAWARRA An essay and annotated bibliography A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Master of Arts (Honours) from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by PETER KNOX BCA (HONS) (student no: 9124209) ENGLISH STUDIES, FACULTY OF ARTS 2001 SUMMARY In my search for an Illawarra literary identity, I have annotated nearly 300 works published between 1825 and 1995, including prose fiction, verse, scripts, journals, autobiographies and reminiscences. These texts deal overtly with the Illawarra region, as I define it in this paper. The Illawarra which emerges from these texts began as an idyllic yet threatening wilderness which was eventually transformed by the colonising process. It was seen variously during its period of subjugation as a rich site of natural resources, a place for pioneering adventure, a sanctuary away from the decay of Sydney, and a focus of parochial attitudes. Through the early decades of the twentieth century, writers were looking back nostalgically at what had been lost during colonisation, and they attempted to recreate the past in their works. By the second half of the twentieth century, the early pioneers had evolved into national and international industrialists whose production plants, mines and factories sat uncomfortably amidst a scenic tourist destination. The works in the annotated bibliography at the end of this paper reflect the evolution of the Illawarra region. The later pieces offer fragmented, personalised views of the Illawarra, mirroring the confusing array of cultural artifacts the region has become. CONTENTS THE ILLAWARRA: REGIONALISM AND ID E N T IT Y ............................................................................. 1 The Illa w a rra .............................................................................................................. 1 M ethodology................................................................................................................6 The Illawarra and Regionalism ...................................................................................13 DECIDING UPON A LITER A TU R E........................................................................21 LITERARY W ORKS...................................................................................................25 Early P o e t r y ..............................................................................................................25 • Religious Im agery...................................................................................................28 • An Early Nostalgia...................................................................................................29 • Political Innuendo...................................................................................................29 • Unfamiliar Landscape............................................................................................ 30 • Rem iniscence........................................................................................................ 31 • Dangerous Id y ll....................................................................................................... 31 • Conservationist/Pioneer D ich o to m y ........................................................................32 • Kiama and the S e a ...................................................................................................34 • Illawarra B a s h in g ..................................................................................................36 • Kendall's Special P lace............................................................................................. 37 • An Australian Voice in P o etry ................................................................................. 38 • The Other K en d all..................................................................................................38 • Republican P o e try ..................................................................................................39 Modern P o e try ............................................................................................................40 • Familiar T errain...................................................................................................... 41 • A Black H istory...................................................................................................... 42 • The Escarpment...................................................................................................... 43 • The Lawrence Myth in V e r s e ................................................................................ 45 • Dangerous L an d sc ap e........................................................................................... 47 • A Tourist Destination .......................................................................................... 49 • The R ailw ay...........................................................................................................52 • The Modem Illa w a rra ........................................................................................... 53 • Introverted V i s i o n .................................................................................................55 • A nti-Industrial..................................................................................................... 60 • The Modem G arden................................................................................................74 • Multiculturalism..................................................................................................... 75 Early P r o s e ................................................................................................................ 80 • A Hybrid G e n r e ..................................................................................................... 80 • C edar...................................................................................................................80 • The Pioneer Myth ................................................................................................ 81 • A Schizoid P o sitio n ................................................................................................82 • Access to Wilderness................................................................................................83 • A Panoramic V i e w .............................................................................................83 • The Rainforest .....................................................................................................84 • A Dangerous Climate............................................................................................... 86 • Kiama and the O cean............................................................................................... 86 • Drinking Habits . 87 • Pre-colonial Presence............................................................................................... 87 • Adventure................................................................................................................88 • The Great White H u n te r..........................................................................................90 • The Cedar-Getters.....................................................................................................91 • The Sketch ................................................................................................................ 93 • Retelling H istory.....................................................................................................94 • Surveyor L iteratu re...............................................................................................