Ramana Dienes-Browning: artist-in-residence August 2017


Ramana Dienes-Browning, Gunyah August 2017

Gunyah was a sensory paradise for writing. I decided to use my time there researching and script writing about the antagonists in my film, Imra’s Ocean, which I really wanted to understand at a three dimensional level. In the rich quiet of this space I was able to think very deeply about the motivations of the original Patriarchs, the Sun Worshiping horsemen who gave Old Europe their very first taste of violence and war on which my antagonists are based.

Ramana Dienes-Browning, Gunyah August 2017
After a lot of reading, listening to the waves of North Arm Cove, running on the beach with my dogs and playing silly games by the fire with my daughter it was clear that when we strip away life’s complications at it’s base is a desire for connection with what and who we hold dear. My violent patriarchs were no different, they were protecting their beliefs, lovers, children and longevity yet in doing this destroying the peaceful matrilineal society which had thrived for thousands of years. I no longer hated them, I still felt a deep pain for what they had done, but now I wrote the scenes with empathy. The journey of writing Imra’s Ocean continues with a deeper understanding of what and who I am writing about. 

Thank you to Gunyah for this priceless time and place.

Ramana Dienes-Browning
Gunyah residency report, August 2017

Ramana Dienes-Browning, Gunyah August 2017

Merridy Eastman: upcoming artist-in-residence

Merridy Eastman with her book How Now Brown Frau, 2011

Merridy Eastman is a best selling author, actress and mum who lives in Sydney. Since graduating as an actress from NIDA in 1983, she's worked mainly on stage for the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of SA; as well on television as a presenter Playschool for five years, and regular cast member on Always Greener and Packed to the RaftersMerridy says that although she still loves the acting work, she's happiest of all when writing, perhaps because her school librarian mum filled their house with books.

Merrily Eastman, Ridiculous Expectations, 2007, book cover

In 2002 Merridy wrote her first book called There’s A Bear In There, And He Wants Swedish. This was followed in 2007 by Ridiculous Expectations and How Now Brown Frau in 2011 about her five years living in Bavaria. All three books were published by Allen & Unwin and one was a best seller. Merridy has also been commissioned to write short stories for Penguin and Pan Macmillan anthologies, as well as short theatre pieces and have worked as a script editor on television scripts.

Merridy Eastman's great great uncle Billy Jonas and his wife Maude, 1914


During my residency at Gunyah I plan to continue writing “I Knew We Weren’t Spanish”, which began in 2014 after discovering that my father’s family wasn’t Spanish at all, but Aboriginal, and that my great great grandfather, John Jonas, wasn’t a toreador so much as a Worimi man from the Paterson River. This discovery came about when my cousin, Dr Bill Jonas (who was Race Discrimination Commissioner with the Australian Human Rights Commission, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner) introduced himself and told me about this extraordinary history we share. I was fascinated that my father’s family and generation had so swiftly swept our ancestry under the carpet, whispering the awful phrase, 'a touch of the tar', whereas my generation (me, my siblings and cousins) celebrate the same discovery with a sense of pride and an insatiable hunger to know more. I plan to continue sorting through the historical research I’ve accumulated over the last two years, and finish the first draft of my fourth book in the peaceful surroundings of Gunyah, and in Worimi country, so relevant to my story.
“I Knew We Weren’t Spanish” follows the story of the Jonas family who settled in Allworth, half an hour’s drive from Gunyah, a beautiful place on the Karuah River, where we stayed with my grandparents every school holiday. It begins at a time so perilous for Aborigines in the Hunter Region; and tells the story of a Worimi man, his two consecutive marriages to white women in the late 1800’s; the less happy story of his first child, my great grandmother Rose, who married my great grandfather (just released from Darlinghurst Gaol for the attempted murder of his ex); Rose’s famous buckjumping step brother Billy Jonas who (with Ned Kelly’s nephew Ned Lloyd) was shipped off to London to perform for George V’s coronation in 1911, and on it goes.

To read more about Merridy go to her website merridyeastman.com

Richard Glover: artist-in-residence July 2017

I had a wonderful time at Gunyah! It is a fantastic place to contemplate one’s work; quiet, comfortable and the environment is truly inspiring. I spent my time exploring the local bushland and coastal sand dunes north of Hawkes Nest; and travelled further afield to Maitland and the lower Hunter Valley investigating housing developments and coal mining impact on the landscape. The latter will require much more time and exploration but its impact on this region is pronounced. The days have been cool and clear and provided a perfect opportunity to make photographs. For a special Australian landscape experience I suggest visiting the dunes especially during and after sunset on a clear evening. I have not yet completed post-production of my photographs, but eventually you can view the results at www.richardglover.com/projects

Richard Glover, Gunyah residency, 2017, photograph
Richard Glover, Gunyah residency, 2017, photograph
Richard Glover, Gunyah residency, 2017, photograph