In late March, sixty-nine eager Friends took a day trip into the Brindabellas where Stella (“Miles”) Franklin spent her early childhood.
Remote as the region felt (with no mobile network coverage and a 30minute descent to the valley on a steep and treacherous, dirt road), we could only imagine the isolation experienced by Stella and her family in the late 1800s.
Brindabella Station, April 2005, Photo courtesy of Roger Dobb
And ‘imagine’ is what we did. Brian and Guillermina Barlin, the current owners of Brindabella Station, welcomed us with delicious homemade soup, and read excerpts from the journals and letters of people who have lived in the region. Barbeque lunch in their gorgeous garden was followed by a visit to the site of the original Franklin homestead; the landscape still recognisable as that which forms the backdrop in the 1898 painting of the homestead by Charles Blyth.
Friends of the NLA on the Brindabella Station day trip, April 2005, Photo courtesy of Roger Dobb
The day trips, which were steeped in Autumn sun and stillness, were enjoyed by all and were the perfect precursor to the opening of the National Library’s exhibition “Miles Franklin: A Brilliant Career?”. The exhibition, which was curated by Paul Brunton, Senior Curator of the Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales, runs until 17 July 2005.
Brian Barlen of Brindabella Station, talking to the Friends, April
2005, Photo courtesy of Margot Girle.