BY SIMONE KERWIN (NE MEDIA)
ADELAIDE author Helen Edwards was out driving during a break at her family’s Yorke Peninsula beach shack when, by chance, she heard a caller on ABC radio talking about visiting Mount Buffalo with his family. The discussion took in the Mount Buffalo Chalet, and history including ‘Guide Alice’ Manfield, who led tourist treks on the mountain in the early 1900s and was an accomplished naturalist, writer and photographer. Helen was immediately captivated by the story, and as soon as she could, googled Mount Buffalo… and felt the makings of a novel begin to percolate in her mind.
“There was all this information about Guide Alice, about the First Nations people, the Bogong Moth and the gatherings held on Mount Buffalo,” she said. “I spent a lot of time researching, and then my main character turned up and told me her story.”
The result was ‘The Rebels of Mount Buffalo’ (Riveted Press), Helen’s first middle-grade novel, which will be launched at the Mount Buffalo Chalet on October 11. Helen began writing the time-slip story in 2021 after receiving a grant from SA Arts to help fund a trip to Mount Buffalo; however, with borders shut due to COVID-19 restrictions, the visit was delayed.
“I was lucky to be able to speak to Guide Alice’s granddaughter, and get some great stories from her, and also to connect with Andrea Rowe, who was communications
manager at the chalet in the 1990s, married a ranger, and lived on the mountain,” Helen said. Their stories assisted with the first draft of the book. Then last year, Helen was finally able to travel to the chalet – a visit which added further depth to the story of main character Clara Wilde.
“I visited a lot of places which are mentioned in the book, and it was amazing; it was interesting how close what I’d written was to the real thing, and I felt I had been there before,” Helen said. “I have quite a rich imagination, and my combined love of nature and history came together in the book.”
‘The Rebels of Mount Buffalo’ is set initially in 1998, when 13-year-old Clara and her parents are staying at the Mount Buffalo Chalet for the National Park Centenary celebrations. The trio is still grieving the loss of Clara’s twin brother, Darius, and amid Clara’s grief, she discovers – following a strange night at the chalet – that she has woken up in 1893.
There, she meets Alice, a girl who lives within the fern-filled valleys at the base of the mountain. To her surprise, Clara recognises her as Guide Alice, a girl considered a rebel of her time; an adventurous non-conformist who spent much of her life leading people along rugged trails between granite tors and misty mountain peaks. When Alice’s life is threatened, Clara must rediscover her courage to help her new friend.
The timely novel brings in themes of early feminism, and issues such as bullying, never being a bystander, managing grief, and finding courage, and draws not only on the true history of Mount Buffalo and the role the Manfield family played in national park preservation and tourism development, but also on Helen’s own experience working in the mental health sphere.
“All the stories I’ve written address issues surrounding grief and mental health,” Alice said. “Kids often get left out of those conversations, but grief often remains long after an event is over. And I’m neuro-divergent and have neurodivergent kids, so I feel it’s important that people who have those experiences write and share their stories.”
Helen had wanted to be a writer since the age of four, and while completing her PhD in psychology, took on a ‘writing for children’ course with the Australian Writers Centre, then secured an agent.
“My preference is to read books for middle grade, and I’ve always worked in fields aimed at helping, encouraging and educating kids, so I wanted to write for the age group I felt would benefit most,” she said.
Helen hopes to visit a number of North East schools during her visit for the October 11 launch of ‘The Rebels of Mount Buffalo’.
“We think of kids being in the present world, but I think they’re really switched on to history and can take a lot from it,” she said.
Those attending the launch will have the chance to walk around part of the chalet’s interior, to soak up the history captured in the book. There are four timeslots available for the free 30 minute sessions, with each limited to 25 people. Light snacks and tea and coffee will be available.
To secure your tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-rebels-of-mountbuffalo-by-helen-edwards-book-launch-at-thechalet-tickets-697758704067