Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to celebrate the Williamstown Literature Festival that was held in my electorate at the weekend. Melbourne's west is lucky to be blessed by many vibrant cultural events throughout the year and the Willy Lit Fest is one of the highlights. The festival was founded by Catherine Ryan and Angela Altair in 2003 to bring ideas, writers and readers together at a local writers Festival. The theme for the 2014 Willy Lit Fest was 'a sense of place', and featured authors as varied as Rafael Epstein, Shaun Micallef, Bernard Salt, Eva Cox, Gideon Haigh, Angela Meyer and more.

My personal highlight was Dr Clare Wright's session on her stellar prize-winning book The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. Dr Wright explained how her book told the stories of the seamstresses who sewed the Eureka flag, Chartists poets, and publicans and theatre owners who supported the rebellion, important women with hitherto untold stories. Dr Wright's session was true to the theme of this year's festival in giving women a 'sense of place' in the Eureka legend. I would also like to thank to take this opportunity to congratulate the 2014 winner of the Ada Cambridge award for poetry and prose, Alana Kelsall, for At What Distance Does It Stop.

Cultural events of this kind can only happen as a result of many hours of hard work from dedicated volunteers, so I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Loraine Callow, Alison Standish, John Webb, Chris Ringrose, Brian Christopher, Carol Winfield, Suzanne Gately and Elizabeth Grove for making this year's festival a reality. Thanks should also go to a host of volunteers on the day as well as the major sponsors, Victoria University, Hobsons Bay City Council, Point Gellibrand Rotary Club and the Williamstown Rotary Club. I too was proud to sponsor this event. I congratulate all who were involved in the 2014 Willy Lit Fest and look forward to many in years to come.