Six Peaks Speak 7

Good news on three main fronts at the end of the 2023 SLV Fellowship.

First, the main research and writing outcome in the form of a book, Six Peaks Speak: Unsettling Legacies in southern Dja Dja Wurrung Country with Clive Willman as second author will be published during the third quarter of 2024 by Common Ground Research Networks (CGRN) in the US (in Illinois).

Second, a coalition of organisations have shown interest in supporting a celebration revolving around International, Mountain Day held on 11 December each year. These include Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, Great Dividing Trail Association, Federation University and Outdoors Victoria.

Third, the State Library has generously extended use of my Fellowship room under the Dome to 30 March 2024.

There is a lot of ‘fine tuning’ to do in the New Year before our book manuscript is finalised before the 30 April 2024 contract deadline, including keying in the maps and photographs, checking sources and references and polishing the text.

I am grateful to SLV for this once in a lifetime Fellowship opportunity, with the invaluable support during 2023 of Suzie Gasper, Senior Programmer, Audience Engagement, and Sarah Ryan, Senior Librarian, Victorian and Australian Collections. Countless other people have generously helped along the way who will be thanked in the book.