Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:49:10 -0800WeeblyFri, 26 Aug 2011 21:35:38 -0800http://www.judithbandidt.com/1/post/2011/08/our-maritime-history.html Have you ever wondered ....

Who discovered and named Australia?

Why did the early Dutch voyages to Australia suddenly stop?

What was the Batavia tragedy all about?

Where did the ancient map that led James Cook to a safe anchorage after the Endeavour was holed on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770 originate?

Who was the mysterious French woman who travelled around Australia’s coastline in 1818?

Why was Matthew Flinders imprisoned for six years on Mauritius after circumnavigating Australia?

What happened to the Endeavour and the Investigator after James Cook and Matthew Flinders were no longer their Captains?

From which countries did the 17th century wrecks that lie beneath the sands at Woollongong, Fingal, Byron Bay and Stradbroke Island come?

How and why did the early settlements that grew into our capital cities start?

Where did William Bligh plant the first apple tree in Australia?

What really happened at Encounter Bay?

Why did the French place names along our coastline disappear from maps of Australia?


Answers to these questions, and more intriguing stories about our coastline, can be found in my Coastlines series of books. ]]>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:03:21 -0800http://www.judithbandidt.com/1/post/2011/08/on-publishing-ones-poetry.html It may seem self-indulgent in the extreme to produce a book of one’s own poetry. Before reaching the stage when it feels the time is right to publish a collection of poems, however, a writer needs to embark upon quite a journey. There will be times when loss of confidence will destroy the creative spark, sometimes for months or years at a time. There will also be times when a competition win, a positive critique from another poet or publication in an anthology of good poetry is all that is needed to goad the flagging writer into action again.

For me, the right time to produce a collection of my poetry is now. I have weathered sufficient highs and lows along my writing journey to feel I need procrastinate no longer. 

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