The Victorian Trooper - Dedicated Site Now Live.

Now that I've completed my series of articles tracing the life of my great great grandfather, Joseph Ladd Mayes, I'm pleased to announce that I've launched a dedicated website that contains all of the articles I've presented here in a revised and updated form (always trust an author to pepper the first iteration of anything with grammatical flubs!).

The site is located at The Victorian Trooper

This series is designed to be a living document - that is - a document that I will add to or subtract from as new information comes to hand. Already, in the week since the site went live, I've come across new information that I've been able to add to the site, which is really exciting. I've also been in contact with some great people who are closely associated with efforts to bring more stories about the Victorian Police Force and its officers during the 1850's - 1900's forward. So that's been exciting as well. 

For years, many descendants of good and honest police officers have been ignored and treated with antipathy by many who have perpetuated a myth that the Constabulary in Victoria, Australia was a corrupt and evil one, while bushrangers like Ned Kelly were elevated to something akin to Robin Hood status.

It is my hope that my great great grandfather's story and others like him will be given the chance to be reviewed in a new light - that there were many principled and dedicated policemen during that era whose primary motivation was to uphold the law and protect the community.

I hope you can visit this tribute to my great great grandfather and explore the turbulent historical events he was immersed in.

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #9 - Twilight By The Sea.

After 35 years of service in the Victoria Police, Sergeant 1st Class, Joseph Ladd Mayes retired in December of 1895. His service record shows he was discharged on a full pension and superannuation payments allowing him to live a comfortable life in retirement. His pension alone was calculated at 138 pounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence annually.

Joseph Ladd, Eugenie and their younger children Joseph Ladd Jr, Edward, Mary and Norman moved to the leafy seaside suburb of Brighton in Victoria.

They lived at a house in Union Street, curiously named - "Toronto". Union Street is a particularly lovely street off the Nepean Highway, South East of Melbourne. At that time, most of the houses there faced onto a parkland and small creek - the evidence of which, still exists, providing a quiet sanctuary for the residents. I've had this vision of Joseph Ladd Mayes taking an early morning walk along that creek, perhaps with a Cocker Spaniel in tow for company, to a local corner shop or newsagent to fetch the newspaper the way my grandfather George used to do when he was still alive.

How did Joseph and Eugenie spend their days? Quiet walks along the beach? Joseph sitting on the porch of the house with a pipe and that newspaper while Eugenie knitted or crocheted? What were the lives of Edward, Mary and Norman like at Union Street? Were the elder Mayes children a fixture in their lives? All grown up with families of their own and living their own lives in various parts of Victoria, South Australia and NSW?

It is known that Joseph Ladd was involved in raising funds for his countrymen back in Ireland who were still struggling with the remnants of the Potato Famine. Now retired one wonders whether he involved himself more in the fund raising side of this charity.

The Mayes family saw in a new century, saw the federation of their country and perhaps celebrated the birth of the nation.

Joseph Ladd Mayes died on the 11th July 1902 at their Union Street home after a stroked. He is reported to have lingered for two days. I certainly hope that he did not suffer.

Meticulous to the end, Joseph Ladd Mayes ensured his affairs were in order before he died. Among the family collection, is his last Will & Testament, dated July 4th 1898. It is a fascinating, if simple document, written by Joseph Ladd himself in which he sets out clearly, what his wishes are. He request that the sum of 25 pounds be set aside for his daughter Rebecca Mayes "of Brighton, aforesaid Spinster". Joseph Ladd also made a request that the sum of 20 pounds - but not more than 25 pounds - be set aside for a headstone to be erected for his first wife, Mariann at Bulla just north east of Melbourne. His signature, effected with a frail hand at the end of the document, is a poignant reminder of the man.

Together 'til the end, it would remiss of me not to include Eugenie's signature - written a few days after his death - beside her late husband. 

Eugenie dutifully carried out his last request traveling to the town of Bulla herself to see that Mariann was given a fitting memoriam - one that exists to this day.

Joseph Ladd Mayes' body was ferried from the Union Street house on Saturday, July 12th, 1902 at 3.30PM and was interred, after a small service, at the South Brighton cemetery. His death was recorded in an obituary that appeared in the Brighton Southern Cross newspaper on the 19th July 1902.

Joseph Ladd Mayes, decorated Constable, Senior Constable then, Sergeant 2nd & 1st Class. A loving husband to Mariann Henrietta Piquet, then Eugenie Rebecca Burke. Father of 12 children.

Eugenie lived on for another 37 years - a loving mother and grandmother to a growing family which no doubt enriched her life. I get the sense of a proud and loving woman in the New Years Day 1918 photographs that came into our possession in the early 2000's. No doubt, her family sustained her and, at least partially, filled the void her husband had left.

Eugenie moved from the Union Street residence to New Street, Brighton.  Eugenie Rebecca "Jane" Mayes died after a short illness in 1939 at the Oakwood Avenue home of her son Norman Hector. A love story, spanning twenty years of life while they were alive, continues on into forever. Eugenie Rebecca was buried with her husband.

Joseph Ladd Mayes 1833-1902.

For all intents and purposes, their family might have assumed the memory of their parents might well fade into distant memory. They might further have wondered what the future for the Mayes family would hold. Time tends to weaken the bonds of memory. But, chance discoveries decades later often bring these stories back from the distance and allow them to live and breathe once more.

Next: Legacy & Tapestry: John Adolph Mayes... 

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #7 - The Police Royal Commission.

In the aftermath of the siege of Glenrowan, the Victorian Police found themselves in the sights of an angry public - egged on by a vociferous media. There was a significant outcry from Victoria's media for a far reaching inquiry into the Victorian Police Force; the actions of it's officers and it's hierarchy.

The Force hadn't anticipated the groundswell of sympathy for the Kelly gang by the wider public - particularly in the North East nexus of what became known as Kelly country. Stories of police brutality abounded, the incompetence of senior officers was a great cause for concern and the practices of the Force were called into question.

In most of the articles I have presented thus far in this series, I have referred to the testimony given by my great great grandfather in these hearings.

(Engraving of the Royal Commission c.1881. State Library of Victoria).

Royal Commissions were nothing new. In fact the first inquiries into the Police Forces date back to 1855 - a mere three years after the inception of the force in Victoria. The commission dealing directly with the Kelly gang began taking evidence in March 1881 & continued through until October 1881.

It isn't clear how prominent a role Joseph Ladd had in the 1881 examination of the events of the Kelly Affair. However his former subordinate Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick was there. On July 6th 1881 the commission questioned Fitzpatrick at length about his involvement with the Kelly family (he was considered to be a suitor for the affections of Ned Kelly's sister Kate), the events surrounding his being shot during an attempt to arrest Dan Kelly for horse stealing - an attempt which failed. He was also questioned about the 9 month period he served at Lancefield under Senior Constable Mayes before he was eventually sacked from the police force. 

Joseph Ladd was called upon during in May, 1882 under the auspices of the "Present State and Organization of the Police Force" commission hearings

On the 31st of that month Joseph Ladd was sworn in and examined by the commission. He was questioned at length on what he thought about the current state of police recruitment and training, uniforms, rates of pay and promotion.

(Testimony of Joseph Ladd Mayes - click to download a pdf copy).

He was damning of the culture of fear that existed in the force, highlighting his Ballarat experience when he was persecuted relentlessly in the aftermath of the Burke murder at Pigoreet near Pitfield. until he as forced to leave the district. He drew the commission's attention what he perceived as a bitter rivalry between the detective branch and the mounted police - a rivalry that had become toxic and dangerous.

Joseph Ladd gave accounts of his involvement in the hunt for bushranger Harry Power during the period his was stationed at Marysville. These were given in the context of what he thought was poor prospects for promotion in the force as it stood presently. Joseph Ladd had been in the Police Force some 24 years by the time of the Commission and he had not progressed any further than a Senior Constable.

Joseph Ladd was critical of the application and training process saying that he did not think candidates were vetted thoroughly enough before being admitted to the force. Of police training he was particularly damning;

'I have known instances of recruits, young mounted men, going into that depot, being kept there for a couple of weeks, until such time as they get their uniform, and never hardly had a revolver or gun in their hands and perhaps be in the riding school not more than half a dozen times ... they are sent out raw, red handed and knowing no more about the police duty than a man from North Africa'

JL Mayes, 1882.

The case of Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick was highlighted during his appearance.

"I found him such a worthless character that the men who recommended him and gave him a character to join the police force I consider committed a grave offence against the public".

JL Mayes, 1882.

Joseph Ladd Mayes possibly around the time of the Royal Commission in 1882. 

(Mayes Collection).

He went onto provide his recommendations on what he thought should be the appropriate training for a recruit;

"...they should be properly drilled before they are allowed out of the yard ... they should be experienced in the use of the revolver, also in the use of a rifle ... they should also be taught to ride and fire on horseback. He ought not to be sent until he is thoroughly disciplined and understands something of police duty ... I consider no mounted man should be allowed to leave that depot in less than six months, and that he should get instruction during that time".

JL Mayes, 1882.

Joseph Ladd also gave some insight into what he thought should be the rank structure in the force.

"Now as regards to rank. I consider that the position of senior constable should be done away with, and that there should be three grades of sergeants. The should be third-class sergeants, with two stripes, second-class sergeants, with three stripes; and first-class sergeants with three stripes and a crown; and that they should receive remuneration accordingly."

JL Mayes, 1882.

The evidence Joseph Ladd Mayes gave during his testimony, along with the recommendations of many others who gave evidence had a far reaching effect on the Victorian Police Force. Throughout the pages of an 1883 General Report that was handed to the Victorian Parliament, application and training processes were strengthened, remuneration and rank advancement was reexamined and restructured, recommendations and changes were implemented to harmonize relations across departments and large areas of Police operations were extensively overhauled. 

Joseph Ladd is mentioned prominently in an 1883 Special Report that was handed to both houses of Parliament. His evidence on the 1867 Thomas Burke murder investigation and the difficulties he encountered with the detective branch at Ballarat were singled out. The Special Report recommended a root and branch review of Detective operations throughout Victoria.

(Reports like these were handed to the Victorian Parliament in 1883 for consideration.)

The 1881 - 1883 Royal Commission into the operations of the Victorian Police Force was bruising affair. Senior Police and Administrators were removed from their positions - among them three of Joseph Ladd Mayes' most ardent supporters - Captain Frederick Standish, Superintendent Charles Nicholson and Superintendent Frances Hare. The Force itself underwent a seismic shift and the landscape for law enforcement in the colony of Victoria transformed. The effects of this have been long lasting - they are still being felt today. 

For Joseph Ladd Mayes, the Royal Commission was the concluding chapter on a turbulent decade that had seen him travel around the world, spend long periods away from his ailing wife and three children during the height of the Kelly Affair and experience the intense scrutiny of a legal apparatus of a Commission of Inquiry. 

Career wise, Joseph Ladd's appearance at the Commission had a positive effect. His reputation was enhanced and his career trajectory saw a noticeable upswing in the years following 1883. 

Personally, Joseph Ladd would experience some of the happiest years of his life in the aftermath. And it is to here that I shall turn next.

Next: Family Ties...

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #4 - Brush With A Brushranger.

The township of Marysville, nestled in the vast Yarra Ranges National Park in Victoria, was established in 1864 as a way point for prospectors heading to the gold fields of Woods Point & the Upper Goulburn. With the establishment of the Yarra Track, Victoria had its first, major eastern arterial and Marysville, which had initially struggled to cope with the regular transit of prospectors, trades people, professionals and families, had - by 1870 - begun to prosper and its population swelled accordingly. The need for a policing presence in Marysville was the subject of numerous requests to Melbourne from the nearby stations at Healesville, Woods Point and Jamieson. Increasing reports of crime had been received from those stations and the evolving population at Marysville were growing fearful.

We have documents in our possession that puts Joseph Ladd Mayes in Marysville in August 1867 and in command of "a" station. I emphasize "a station" because, the doucments reveal that Marysville did not have a dedicated Police Station at that time. After some considerable amount of to-ing and fro-ing between Marysville & Melbourne between Jospeh Ladd and others, a house became available for the Victoria Police to purchase from a Mr. Robert Mayne, Marysville's storekeeper & Post Master and, on the urging of Jospeh Ladd, the property was secured.

It was soon discovered that the property was a less than stellar purchase.

Throughout 1868, Joseph Ladd corresponded regularly with Victoria Police, detailing his requirements for the newly acquired police buildings at Marysville. On July 29th, 1868 for example, he forwarded a comprehensive list of repairs to the OIC at Jamieson Station that included;

"Outside of building will require require painting, spouting (which was not originally supplied). Chimneys, being built of slab and paling, inside lined with brick and stone, will all require to be fixed, the foundations having sunk. The wall paper in the rooms is loose and hanging and would require a general overhaul. One door and fastening is required for yard purposes, there being no back door to the premises, and all the other doors will require overhauling and painting. The water closet will be required."

JL Mayes, July, 1868.

The correspondence continued throughout the remainder of 1868, with Joseph Ladd routinely requesting additional funds for repairs and improvements to the Marysville Station - and he got them - some 30 pounds in funds. It becomes clear, reading through the documents that he wasn't one to settle for half measures and he knew what was needed for a well equipped station.

Joseph Ladd quickly established his reputation across the district as a thorough and principled lawman who commanded respect. Entries transcribed from the original Marysville Station watchouse record along with his official police record details of investigations, arrests made and prisoner outcomes. One can view numerous reports of his good conduct written in an exquisite cursive copper plate. 

With three growing children in John Adolph, Sara and Rebecca, we can assume Joseph Ladd & Mariann Mayes lived a contented life in the township where they were, by all accounts, a well liked family.

(Marysville, Victoria - 1870.)

With the rapid eastern expansion - off the back of newly discovered gold deposits at  settlements like Woods Point, Jamieson, Jericho, the Upper Goulburn and Walhalla, it was inevitable that crime would follow. Now established in Marysville, Joseph Ladd would encounter lawless bushrangers and devious men - not only among the civilian population but within his own ranks. By the close of the decade, several notable criminal figures had emerged in Victoria and were garnering considerable notoriety. 

One of these figures was a bushranger known as Harry Power.

(Henry Johnson a.k.a - bushranger Harry Power).

Born Henry Johnson in Waterford, Ireland in May, 1819, he grew up in Lancashire, England becoming an apprentice saddler at aged 16, then joining a peasant uprising against British troops. During this time, Johnson received saber wounds to his right cheek and brow, which were to become his distinguishing marks.

Having been charged and convicted of stealing a bridle and saddle in Lancashire, Johnson was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment and transported to the colony of Australia. By 1848, Johnson, now a free man, had moved to Sydney and took up the permanent identity of Harry Power. Power was engaged driving cattle all over this colony and New South Wales, and afterwards in exploring and cutting a track across vast swathes of the colony. In a few years he became a competent bushman, knowing almost every mile of the country. During all this time he appears to have engaged in honest living, even keeping horses near Geelong in Victoria.

However, Power was charged with horse stealing near Sandhurst, Bendigo in an incident that has since been considered questionable. Regardless, Power was sentenced to several years in gaol, after which it seems, he turned to a life of crime for several years. It was during this period of time, that Power had recruited a protégé, a talented young horseman named Edward Kelly.

(Edward "Ned" Kelly - date unknown).

Having come onto the radar of the Victorian Police Force, following a brazen prison break by Power, Superintendent Frances Hare turned to Joseph Ladd Mayes at Marysville when it came to light that Harry Power was operating in the Mansfield area in North Eastern Victoria. A significant reward of 500 pounds had been offered for the capture of Power and in 1870 Hare tasked Joseph Ladd with putting together a crack team to deploy into the ranges in an attempt to arrest Power.

Joseph Ladd together with a Constable Potter and and aboriginal tracker set out from Marysville, moving along the Acheron track (now the Maroondah highway) through rugged bush land. Gathering intelligence from a number of local property owners, it was confirmed that Harry Power had indeed been seen in the area of Mansfield. One landowner named Bindon had pointed the trio towards a tree into which Harry Power had allegedly cut his signature.

The most significant piece intelligence however, one gleaned by Joseph Ladd Mayes himself, was that Harry Power regularly visited the home of a Jimmy Quinn at a settlement called Glenmore. The trio was told that they could stake out the Quinn property with a strong likelihood that they would catch Power successfully.

However, in order to get close enough to catch Power they would have to leave their horses and supplies at Mansfield and head into the harsh country around Glenmore on foot.

(Joseph Ladd Mayes - by 1870, he was in a senior role at Marysville in Victoria.)

The trio continued on to the Mansfield depot where they were confronted by a police party of about 14 men lead by an imposing Superintendent named Furnell.

Upon being questioned rather forcefully by Furnell as to why they were here in Mansfield Joseph Ladd said that they were acting on the orders of Superintendent Hare and that they were attempting to catch Power.

This apparently did not sit well with Furnell who was most likely after the very same man. Furnell's indignation was recalled vividly by Joseph Ladd in 1882.

"...and he said 'Go back to your station and do not leave it without an order from me.' He never said, 'How long have you been from your station?' or anything else, but simply, 'Go right back to your station'"

Joseph Ladd was to add during that recollection that Furnell;

"...seemed as if he were going to jump down my throat."

(The capture of Harry Power - artist unknown).

Joseph Ladd, Constable Potter and the aboriginal tracker were forced to return to Marysville as they were ordered. Joseph Ladd was of the view that Furnell ranked higher than Francis Hare, therefore he had no choice but to obey. And so they returned - without giving Furnell any of the critical intelligence that would enable them to capture Power and end a infamous bush ranging career. Furnell hadn't given them the opportunity. 

More fool Furnell.

Joseph Ladd Mayes instead filed a report to his trusted superior Francis Hare. Two weeks later, acting on that very report, Francis Hare and Superintendent Charles Nicholson successfully captured and arrested Harry Power - in the very place that Joseph Ladd knew the bushranger would be - the Quinn property at Glenmore.

(Power's Lookout - photographer unknown.)

During the 1882 Royal Commission Joseph Ladd was asked whether he felt he had been deliberately shifted by the Superintendents so that they would be positioned to capture and ultimately take credit for the arrest of Harry Power. Joseph Ladd replied no. It was his belief that Frances Hare would have trusted Joseph Ladd's ability to catch Harry Power unequivocally.

"I do not believe there is any man in the police force would give a man more credit for an act he would perform than Mr. Hare." JL Mayes, May 1882.

One questions whether Joseph Ladd was perhaps naive on this point as it was known that fierce rivalries existed among the senior police not the least of which between Frances Hare and Charles Nicholson.

The capture of Harry Power is said to have been the spark for a wider conflict between the Victoria Police and their enemies in the colony - inspiring bushrangers and lawless men and women to defy the establishment. Among these was Harry Power's protégé, Edward "Ned" Kelly, whose rise to infamy is well documented. 

For Joseph Ladd Mayes, it seems he returned to Marysville where he continued as the senior officer through until 1874. 

One precious artifact that survived in physical form at the Marysville Police Station was the Station's Watchhouse Log. Several years ago, the great grandson of Joseph Ladd Mayes - Stephen Mayes - recalls visiting the Marysville Police Station and being able to view the duty book first hand. This was a huge leather bound document, in which all pertinent information relating to the running of the station was recorded. It carried information about the running of the station, prison entries, progress reports and other information. Due to its size, Stephen recalled that the book had entries dating back to the time when Joseph Ladd Mayes was stationed at Marysville. His own handwriting appeared in several pages of the duty book. 

Tragically, that duty book was lost during the Black Saturday bush fires in February 2009. 

A little known aspect of Joseph Ladd Mayes' life - that only came to light fairly recently in our family - illustrates the esteem with which Joseph Ladd Mayes was held by the senior ranks of the Victorian Police Force. An opportunity arose for Joseph Ladd to undertake a secondment of sorts abroad and he took time out from his active duty role at Marysville to fulfill the request. 

Next: A Sabbatical Abroad...

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #2 - Becoming A Lawman.

The colony of Victoria in Australia was undergoing a period of rapid expansion in the mid to late 1850's, owing to the gold rush that had first taken hold in the Ballarat Gold Fields. Prospectors and fortune hunters, eager to capitalize on the potential riches to be found, poured into the colony from all over the world.

Among these arrivals, the young Mayes family alighted onto the Melbourne docks, no doubt exhausted from their long sea voyage from the United States. One can imagine they were eager to take advantage of the economic boom resulting from the gold. For the first six months in Victoria, Joseph Ladd put his agricultural skills to use, working as a gardener under a Mr. Ferguson. Details about this period of time are scarce but settling into a new colony - a new city that was vibrant and alive as Melbourne was would no doubt have been exciting. 

Melbourne panorama c. 1854 - artist Robert Russell.

The expansion of the colony also saw an attendant rise in criminal activity, ranging from horse stealing, coach hold ups, petty crime and murder. Following the establishment of a police force in 1853 the colony embarked on an aggressive recruiting drive to cement a law and order presence to counter the crime wave of the early 1850's. From anecdotal accounts passed down through family conversations, Joseph Ladd Mayes was a man of integrity and had a strong sense of morals and ethics. It is particularly evident throughout the latter half of his life in the various documents my father has uncovered in his own research. In any case, Joseph Ladd Mayes answered this call and on the 20th of December 1858, 6 months after arriving in Australia, he was sworn into the Victorian Police mounted constable - no. 1477.

(JL Mayes in police uniform - date unknown).

The Police Department certificate records this swearing in at 'the depot' - probably the police depot in the Richmond suburb of Melbourne. His initial salary was indexed at 9/6 per diem not including allowances. He supplied a 'Sir L.... Palmer as a referee.

(Copies of JL Mayes' Victoria Police application certificate and physical examination. Click on each to open 

a larger version.)

We can ascertain that Joseph Ladd spent at least 6 months at the Richmond depot where he would have received training as a mounted constable. The training itself was reportedly, grueling, with cadets required to complete regular drills, maintain their horses, saddlery, uniforms and firearms. The accommodations at the Richmond depot were basic, consisting of canvas tents that saw up to 8 cadets sleeping side by side in cramped quarters. Joseph Ladd's police record, which forms a part of our family collection, contains very little from this early period, save for a single entry in October, 1859 when he was cautioned for not having his police cap when turning out for gold escort duty. 

(Mounted Police 1852 - S. T. Gill (1818-1880) Lithograph by Macartney & Galbraith; State Library Victoria Australia).

In giving evidence to the Royal Commission into the Victorian Police Force much later in 1882,  Joseph Ladd Mayes made the statement that he believed the proper training of a mounted constable should take not less than six months during which time his services should be employed in the metropolitan area. Given this it is reasonable to assume that Joseph Mayes did spend a probationary period working in Melbourne. 

It was to the gold fields of Ballarat however, that the Victorian Police Force were focusing their resources - given that it was the epicenter of the gold rush at that time and where, no doubt, a nexus of crime was located as well. Reports of highway robberies, thefts from stores and tents were coming in regularly. Horse stealing had ramped up to almost epidemic proportions and even murders weren't uncommon. The need for a motivated police presence at the gold fields was considered urgent.

Having completed his training and probation, Joseph Ladd, Marrian and their infant son Charles gathered up their belongings once more and were dispatched to Ballarat. It would be here, however, that the young Mayes family were experience significant hardship and untold tragedy.

Next: Early Trials & Bitter Triumphs.

DFA.

String Theory Nineteen Eighty Nine - A Schwannoma Diary (#4).

In his 2002 memoir, "Lucky Man", actor Michael J. Fox recounted an moment, the night before he underwent delicate brain surgery in 1998. Lying on his hospital bed, he recalled listening to the Pearl Jam song, "Given To Fly" over and over, drawing comfort and strength from the music and the lyrics as he prepared for the surgery that would alleviate the symptoms of his Parkinson's Disease.

In 1989, the night before I was to undergo my original operation to remove a spinal cord tumor, I remember sitting on my own hospital bed at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. I remember looking out through a big window, across the park lands - the city's twinkling lights beyond. I had Vince Jones', "But Beautiful" playing on my Walkman. It was kind of accidental that it became a poetic moment. Jones' soothing, smoky jazz vocals, accompanied by Paul Gabrowsky's languid piano. I (thought I) was a deep kid.

As a callow 15 year old from the country, I had little comprehension of what was about to happen to me. I was scared - but I was scared of the unknown. I didn't appreciate the task facing the surgical team, nor could I foresee what would come after the surgeon removed the tumor. For a brief moment, I just thought it was cool to be listening to jazz while looking out across the Melbourne skyline.

All these years later, reflecting on that 15 year old version of myself - it's like looking at a stranger.

That earnest youth has been subsumed by a terminal, world weary cynic. I'm no longer given to moments of musical romanticism, which might seem hard to believe, given that I've pursued a career outside of nursing as a romance novelist.

Personally, I don't think I draw inspiration from music the way I once did. I don't connect with it on an emotional level. Like, I still love music and I enjoy my favorite genres whenever I hear them. But they're not all consuming the way they used to be. They don't get me in the zone. I'd just as soon listen to a podcast conversation between two people tackling a philosophical conundrum.

Maybe I've lost something that I should try to recover - a sense of the power of music to calm and encourage reflection.

(image credit: Noah Sillman).

I know too much - both as a man who has the burden of lived experience of this kind of thing and as a Nurse, with over twenty years of accumulated knowledge of medicine and clinical experiences. I know what to expect surgically. The stakes are high. I know the recovery will likely follow a similar path as it did back in 1989. I'm aware of the psychology of trauma. The slow grind to get my muscles and limbs working again. The *joys* of incontinence. There are questions too. Fears.

What comes after?

Can I overcome this?

Will I be whole once more?

Will I make love again...?

I'm scared. I'm scared of the known this time.

Maybe I'll listen to Vince Jones once more. On cassette - the way I did before. Do they even make Walkmans anymore?

DFA.

Dangerous Ideas - The Responsibility of Creation. A Conversation With Ashleigh Oldfield.

Continuing my series of guest posts around "Dangerous Ideas", this week I'd like to turn the blog over to my friend, Melbourne author Ashleigh Oldfield. Fresh off the back of her brand new release "The Lost City", I asked Ashleigh if she would like to explore a particular idea she had been wrestling with recently. Ash came through with the goods - so without further ado, welcome Ashleigh to the stage...

When Dean asked me if I had any thoughts on ’Dangerous Ideas’, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about because there has been a troublesome idea floating around in my head for some time.

Once I have finished writing my young adult dragon novels, The Rachaya Series, I really want to sink my teeth into something completely different. I snuck into a university library and hunted down books on topics that I thought might interest me. I came across a section on Mythology from across the continent of Asia, and what I read absolutely fascinated me. I spent hours in the library, reading feverishly. I began to loosely plot a story around the mythos and history of a couple of the places I was reading about.

Cue the ‘Dangerous Idea’ – the world I was researching was brutal. I don’t write about brutal things. I write about magic and wonder and dragons, but this story would not let me go. 
There are so many themes in my research that I never thought I would tackle in a story – poisons, suicide, torture, dirty tactics in war. It’s not that I want to shy away from such topics – this is straight out of history and is therefore a part of humanity. But am I good enough at my craft to handle these themes? Have my skills as a writer matured to a level where I can write something that resonates with my readers without glorifying or romanticizing atrocities? To leave these events out would be dishonest. And yet there’s definitely a temptation to put this story off, to push it back until I feel my writing skills are an even match for the task. 

Ashleigh Oldfield, author.

There’s also the sense of responsibility with my writing about how stronger themes will affect my younger audience. I am a teacher in my other life, and adults have bought my books for their kids several times over simply because they trust me and my professionalism as a teacher. In fact, I was at the opening of a bookstore last night and an elderly lady bought Fyrebyrne Island for her granddaughter for that very reason.  

If I publish a book with sex and violence, it may well end up in the hands of those I feel a moral obligation to protect – my students and others of their age bracket. I don’t think I could live with myself because I have had a duty of care towards children for a decade and it’s a difficult habit to shake. 

I also worry that a more adult novel from me would not be very well received. I think of J.K. Rowling, whose follow up to her Harry Potter series, A Casual Vacancy, was largely disliked because it was more adult. People expected something different from her; they expected a certain level of safety from her. With the fiction that I currently write, and the profession that I have, I would be in a similar position, so I guess in a way I also have that fear of failure, that no one will like something I have worked so hard to get right, simply because they expect another Rachaya Series out of me. 

The fear of failure is, I think, something all creatives have in one form or another and is just something I will have to learn to live with. Having a story embed itself in my brain has made me even more determined to be the best writer that I can be so that when the time comes, I can do this story justice. I still have research to conduct and other books to finish writing first, but I am working harder than ever before so I can craft this story into a work of art.

Ashleigh Oldfield is a fantasy fiction and children’s writer from Melbourne, Australia. Always having a love for the written word, Ash wrote her first stories by moonlight at the tender age of five, long after her parents thought she had gone to bed. To this very day Ash still prefers to write by the light of the moon long after any sensible person has succumbed to sleep.

When she is not working on her latest piece of fiction, Ash enjoys drinking good coffee, taking her dog for walks on the beach and hanging out with her two cats. This year, Ashleigh kicked off a weekly podcast with her husband Steve De Niese. Called "The Book Stash", the podcast is a great little show about reading and writing in which Ashleigh and Steve talk about the craft and what inspires them in the journey. For new writers with an eye to improving their own method, The Book Stash is a must listen.


Visit Ashleigh Oldfield here.

Connect with Ashleigh Oldfield here. 

Tweet with Ashleigh here. 

Tweet with The Book Stash here.

The Book Stash is on iTunes here.

DFA.

Dangerous Ideas - A Conversation between Dean Mayes & Alice Fraser

I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my favorite people recently. Alice Fraser is a comedian, writer, podcaster and fascinating interlocutor. Alice is performing her new comedy show "Ethos" across Australia and during her run in Adelaide, we sat down in a little teahouse in the back streets of Adelaide's CBD and recorded an hour of really valuable conversation for her podcast "Tea With Alice".

 

We wrestled with some dangerous ideas that were a little hard to coax from me initially but eventually we got into a flow where I was able to articulate some thoughts I had about the #MeToo movement - my perceived exclusivity of the movement and how, as a male who has experienced sexual violence from a female perpetrator, the movement seems unable to handle the lived experience of those who don't fit an accepted narrative.

From there, we ventured into more philosophical territory, exploring how the modern discourse can be overwhelming to someone who is trying to understand and extend their understanding of the world beyond their simple origins. think I made the point at one stage that, as I get older, the less I feel I understand of the world and how to navigate my way through it.

We also talked about my adventures with botox and how it is keeping my throat from killing me. Oh - and my adventures in writing romance...as a man. 

 

Alice Fraser is a rare individual with a lightning intellect, a worldly outlook and a huge heart and I always treasure our catch ups. As I said, she is touring her show throughout 2018 here in Australia and the UK so if you're a fan of thought provoking comedy, I highly recommend you catch her show. 

Download & Listen to our conversation here. 

Visit Alice Fraser here. 

Tweet with Alice here. 

DFA.

Writing Through The Roof - A Conversation With Dean Mayes.

This past week, I was pleased to be the in-studio guest of Melbourne based writer and podcaster Madeleine D'Este on her weekly program Write Through The Roof. 

Over the course of an hour or so, Madeleine and I discussed my writing career, the techniques and quirks I employ as a writer and I was given the opportunity to drop some tid-bits about my forthcoming novel "The Artisan Heart".

If you're on iTunes, you can listen to the episode here. 

If you're on Stitcher, you can listen to the episode here. 

For all other podcatchers, subscribe and download the episode here.

Originally growing up in Tasmania, Madeleine D’Este now lives in inner city Melbourne surrounded by books.  After studying law (and never practising) and travelling the world, Madeleine now lives a double life, immersed in the corporate world by day and writing female-led speculative fiction by night. Madeleine hosts a weekly speculative fiction review radio show/podcast on artdistrict-radio.com as well as the podcast for writers Write Through The Roof.

When not writing, Madeleine enjoys podcasts, knitting, forteana, indie films, kettle bells and likes her coffee as ‘black as midnight on a moonless night’.

DFA.