Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in the House today to congratulate a constituent of my electorate of Bass, Mr Rohan Wilson, author of The Roving Party. Rohan was recently awarded the Australian/Vogel's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer aged under 35. Mr Wilson, who was born and raised in Launceston, worked in what he called 'dead end' jobs in hospitality, writing stories on napkins, before moving to Japan in 2003 for a teaching job. He met his wife in Japan and they now have a six-year-old son. The Roving Party is about the genocidal persecution of Tasmania's Aborigines by the founder of Melbourne, John Batman. Rohan spent four years researching the novel. Cate Kennedy, one of the judges of Rohan's book, said:

I'm still talking about this story to people long after finishing it—the spark in it, especially accounts of the meetings between indigenous Tasmanians, has stayed with me ... it seems so startlingly distinct from every other manuscript in this batch.

On receiving his award, Rohan said, 'Seeing my work in print is a dream come true.'

I thank Birchalls book store in Launceston for bringing this great writer to my attention. I congratulate Rohan on receiving this prestigious award and I look forward to reading the book.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 2 pm, the time for members' statements has concluded.