A Hybrid Volunteer Assignment in Nepal – Climbing New Mountains

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Australian Eastern Standard time is four-and-a-quarter hours ahead of Nepalese time. I know that because I recently taught an online class at Kathmandu University that started at 5.30pm their time, which was 9.45pm Brisbane time. I finally signed off at midnight AEST.

Thankfully, coffee and the enthusiasm of the students and the course coordinator, my Nepalese colleague Dr Prakash Paudel, kept me going.

That teaching session was part of a 12-month ‘hybrid’ assignment I’ve accepted in 2024 as a Visiting Scholar with the Australian Volunteers Program, which is funded by the Australian Government. This involves 11 months working online with staff and students of the School of Education at Kathmandu University and four weeks in country.

I’ll be supporting teaching and research in the School’s Master of Technical and Vocational Education (MTVET) program, as well as helping with its Journal of Education and Research.

During my late-night session, it was encouraging to see how interactive and responsive the students were and how well they were able to contextualise theory and ideas from elsewhere to their local context. (Intriguingly, there are also a couple of Namibian students enrolled.)

And, of course, I learnt a lot about those local situations in a very short time, with lots more to come! In case you’re wondering, classes are conducted in English.

I’m looking forward to learning more about the local culture during my one-month stay, which starts mid-April this year. I won’t be doing any trekking in the Himalayas, but I know I have some learning mountains to climb. Good for my brain, and my humility.

I took on this volunteer assignment because I saw it as an opportunity to give back some of the learning and experience I’ve accumulated over the years through teaching, researching and writing about adult and workplace learning and vocational education and training.

Kathmandu University’s MTVET has much in common with Masters programs I’ve been involved in at the University of New England, Armidale, and in the past 18 years at Griffith University, Brisbane.

My wife Cheryl and I recently had a meal at a Nepalese restaurant in Brisbane, Jhigu Bhoye Chhen. Delicious food, and friendly and efficient service. I’m looking forward to trying out more of the extensive Nepalese cuisine when I arrive in the country in a couple of weeks.

Until next time

Darryl Dymock

A Fusion of Words and Art: Celebrating a Charcoal Story

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I was pleased to be at Avid Reader bookshop in Brisbane’s West End on 1st March for the launch of a public art installation by local artist Vernon Ah Kee.

Fiona Prager, joint owner of Avid Reader*, is one of the drivers of the project, which has been a team effort managed by Chrysalis Projects.

The image above shows me with Vernon and Fiona in front of three of the 42 panels that will be wrapped around West End buildings in May. It’s a great community effort in which I’m a tiny cog.

The mural work will celebrate Brisbane authors, forming a mosaic of wordplay that has been overlaid featuring First Nations authors in Vernon’s own handwriting.

At the event, Vernon announced the title of the installation: Charcoal Story. He suggested the name reflected the earliest form of writing implement and may well be the last one we use when the world finally comes to an end. He also referred to the mention of charcoal in Sally Morgan’s book, My Place.

Sally wrote about her childhood in Western Australia: ‘When I couldn’t find any paper or pencils, I would fish small pieces of charcoal from the fire, and tear strips off the paperbark tree in our yard and draw on that.’

This is another view of some of the panels, with Fiona Prager and Carmel Haugh, one of the Chrysalis team. (Photo: Jonathon Oldham)

The project started at the beginning of the Covid troubles, and the original concept has blossomed, with a few hiccoughs along the way, but also essential input from architects, engineers and other professionals.

To be honest, I can’t quite envisage what the final display will look like. I’m looking forward to the final ‘unveiling’ when the panels are installed across the upper storey of Avid Reader in May this year.

Until next time

Darryl Dymock

*Avid Reader bookshop was the venue for the launch of two of my books: The Chalkies (2016) and A Great and Restless Spirit (2022).

Peter’s Long Way to the Top

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We were privileged to have Brisbane-based author Peter Long as guest speaker at a recent meeting of the Oxley Men’s Shed Writers Group.

Peter Long with some of the Oxley Men’s Shed writers on his recent visit

Peter has worked as a stockman, public servant, consultant, researcher and academic, and is the author of two novels: Steve Hart: the Last Kelly Standing, and Identity: Larry Cummins, Bushranger.

In Steve Hart: The Last Kelly Standing, Peter takes a legend from the life of the (in)famous Kelly Gang and weaves it into a very creative novel.

Identity: Larry Cummins, Bushranger is an intriguing fiction-based-on-fact exploration of the life of Peter Long’s great-grandfather, a not always successful bushranger who lived two lives, in two different states.

In addition to his novels, Peter has been successful in poetry and short story competitions.

So it was great that Peter could share his experience and tips with the Men’s Shed Writers Group, which is off to a strong start in 2024, the beginning of its fourth year.

To date our small group has published two collections of short stories: Offcuts: Stories from the Shed and Offcuts 2: Sketches and Stories from the Shed ( in association with the Art Group).

All of the regulars have produced many life stories, with one member now past the 50 mark. Last year we were joined by a bush poet, and one of our newcomers is gearing up to share his first story with us. When we started, many in the group hadn’t written life stories before.

The good thing about this enthusiastic writing group is that as we share our stories every fortnight we also encourage each other in our writing. Peter Long’s talk gave us another stimulus to keep us going.

I’m Convenor of the Oxley Men’s Shed Writers Group, so feel free to contact me through the comment button on this page if you want any further information.

Until next time

Darryl Dymock

SHOUT OUT TO TED AT GAS ESPRESSO

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A SHOUT OUT to Ted at Gas Espresso Coffee in the Brisbane suburb of Sherwood. Ted readily agreed when I asked him last year about selling copies of my book, A Great and Restless Spirit, at his coffee shop on a share-profit basis.

It’s only small, but Gas Espresso is one of those places where coffee afficionados stand around waiting for its 6am opening. Lycra-clad cyclists mix with local dog walkers and workers looking snappy for the office as they pause on their way to the nearby rail station.

Drivers dash across the road from precariously parked cars to pick up their pre-ordered favourites.

From then until its midday closing there’s always a cluster of locals thronging the place, perched on the low stools around the scatter of tables inside and out, or standing on the pavement checking their screens while they wait for a takeaway.

Ted made space on his front counter for copies of the book and a small display poster. We also put a poster outside the shop for those passing by. I promoted the ‘local author’ angle and signed the copies for sale.

The result over a couple of months up to Christmas 2023 was a steady trickle of welcome sales. I had to top up supplies a couple of times. Ted told me he’d received good feedback from customers about the book. ‘They liked it,’ he said simply.

Ted was happy, I was happy, and apparently his customers/readers were happy. Three out of three aint bad! Thanks heaps Ted.

Until next time

Darryl Dymock

A Great and Restless Spirit – where to buy it!

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Don’t miss this true story of adventure, courage, disappointment, romance and tragedy.

You can buy a copy of A Great and Restless Spirit through any of the following outlets. Scroll down for the full list. It’s available in print or e-book formats. Read the Amazon preview here.

AVID READER Bookshop West End Brisbane

RIVERBEND BOOKS Bulimba Brisbane

ANGUS & ROBERTSON Australia

DYMOCKS BOOKSTORE Australia

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOKTOPIA

ABE BOOKS

SCRIBD

WALMART

AMAZON

Last year came upon me quickly: An overview of my writing and publishing 2022

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Last year came upon me quickly,

like a rainshower

out of a clear blue sky.

It scrambled

over me

like a monkey over a car bonnet

Then was gone.

Whenever someone asks me if I’m working on a book at the moment, I tell them, ‘I’m always writing something.’ And it’s true. It may not be a book (but I do usually have a long-term project on the go), however my laptop and I continue to be close friends.

Highlights for 2022 included the launch of my 7th non-fiction book, A Great and Restless Spirit, and launch of the Oxley Men’s Shed Writers Group second anthology, Offcuts 2: Sketches and Stories from the Shed, which I edited.

In between I was involved in a whole raft of interesting and sometimes challenging writing, publishing and mentoring activities.

Feb – May: Mentoring non-fiction writer through Queensland Writers Centre (QWC)

10 March: Talk to The Gap Uniting Church Men’s Group: ‘Putting a life into words’

25 March: Launch of A Great and Restless Spirit: The incredible true story of Australian Harry Hawker at Avid Reader Bookshop, West End, Brisbane by Assoc Prof Tim Mavin.

29 May: Chalkies video presentation, State Library of Queensland, Anzac Square Memorial Galleries

18 June: Community talk, Anglican Church, Sherwood: ‘Two restless spirits: Bert Hinkler & Harry Hawker’

July: Article published online by Military Heritage & History Victoria: ‘The Chalkies: 1966-73’

August: Publisher Hachette Australia advised me they are doing a new print run of 1500 copies of my 2013 book, Hustling Hinkler.

September: Mentoring non-fiction writer through QWC

September: Invited article, ‘Writing and learning; Learning and writing’, Australian Council for Adult Literacy Newsletter

17 September: QWC workshop: ‘Kickstart Your memoir Writing’

8 October: Corinda Library talk: ‘Two restless spirits: Bert Hinkler & Harry Hawker’

15 October: Gold Coast Writers Association workshop, Burleigh: ‘Writing non-fiction from surveys and interviews’

19 October: Mt Gravatt Library talk: ‘Two restless spirits: Bert Hinkler & Harry Hawker’

28 October: Talk to Aviation Historical Society of Australia (Qld) ‘Two restless spirits: Bert Hinkler & Harry Hawker’

29 October: Launch of Offcuts 2: Sketches and stories from the Shed @ Oxley Men’s Shed by Councillor Nicole Johnston

Co-authored research publications, Griffith University, 2022

Le, A. H., Billett, S., Choy, S., & Dymock, D. (2022). Supporting worklife learning at work to sustain employability. International Journal of Training and Development, pp. 1– 21.

Billett, S., Dymock, D., Hodge, S., Choy, S., & Le, A. H. (2022).: Shaping Young People’s Decision-Making About Post-School Pathways: Institutional and Personal Factors (book chapter). In The Standing of Vocational Education and the Occupations It Serves (pp. 103-136). Springer, Cham.

Billett, S., Dymock, D., Choy, S., Hodge, S., & Le, A. H. (2022). Informing and Advising the Zones of Influence Shaping Young People’s Decision-Making About Post-School Pathways (Phase 3) (book chapter). In The Standing of Vocational Education and the Occupations It Serves (pp. 373-395). Springer, Cham.

Dymock, D. & Tyler, M. (2022) Issues in developing professional learning for the VET sector in Victoria, Commissioned paper, Vocational Development Centre and Australian Council for Educational Research.

No matter how much I write and for what purpose, Mark Twain’s advice always rings true:

‘The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.‘

Write on!

Until next time

Darryl Dymock

Title image: Brateevsky, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

Mark Twain image: Napoleon Sarony, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Expo and Book Launch

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I have edited a second collection of stories from Oxley Men’s Shed, Brisbane. Offcuts: Sketches and Stories from the Shed, will be launched as part of the Shed’s Expo at 10am on Saturday 29 October. 18 California Road, Oxley. All welcome.

As the title indicates, this year’s anthology includes not only another collection of amusing and amazing stories, but sketches from the Shed’s Drawing Group. There’s also a selection of photos from the writers to illustrate their stories.

Darryl Dymock

‘One of my top reads for 2022’

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Great Gift for Father’s Day! Or any day!

A Great and Restless Spirit: the incredible true story of Harry Hawker by D R Dymock, author of Hustling Hinkler.

His one need was speed

If Harry Hawker MBE AFC (1889-1921) was alive today, he’d be churning desert dust in the Dakar Rally, strapped in a rocket on a SpaceX flight, or taking pole position in Formula 1.

Victorian-born Hawker moved to England at age 22 and became an overnight aviation legend. In his day, he flew faster, higher and for longer than anyone else in Britain. His one need was speed.

When he wasn’t racing planes, cars and speedboats, Hawker was helping design and test WWI fighting aircraft. His boss, aviation trailblazer Tommy Sopwith, thought he was a genius.

Behind him stood a remarkable Englishwoman who kept his feet on the ground. But the mother of two grew increasingly anxious as her go-getting husband continually pushed the boundaries.

Especially when he disappeared attempting the first transatlantic flight …

And bubbling away was an underlying weakness that would literally help bring Harry Hawker down. Forever.

‘One of my top reads for 2022’

‘I had a job to put it down.’

Order A Great and Restless Spirit from all good bookshops, including Avid Reader and Riverbend Books, Brisbane.

OR order the e-book online from all the usual sellers: Booktopia, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.

Kickstart Your Memoir Writing

A Queensland Writers Centre workshop with Darryl Dymock

in-person and online: 17 September 2022

EVERYONE HAS STORIES ABOUT THEIR LIFE. THIS WORKSHOP WILL GIVE YOU THE IMPETUS YOU’VE ALWAYS NEEDED TO START TELLING YOURS.

Getting started is often the hardest part of writing about your life, especially if you’re not sure how or where to begin.

In this workshop, you’ll not only write the first sentence of what will become your ongoing life history, you’ll be able to use a proven framework for deciding what to write about, where to start and how to go on. Even if you’ve never strung sentences together since your schooldays!

This workshop is aimed primarily at beginners, but you’re also welcome if you’ve already taken early steps with your memoirs but need some direction to keep going. Do this for yourself, and your family.

For more information and to register, click the link here.

Two Restless Spirits: Harry Hawker & Bert Hinkler

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Advance notice of author talk 18 June 2022

Drawing on selected images from across the world, in this personal presentation Brisbane-based author D R (Darryl) Dymock compares the spectacular but very different life journeys and tragic endings of two remarkable Australian aviation pioneers: Harry Hawker and Bert Hinkler.

Saturday 18 June 2pm -3pm, St Matthews Church Hall,

cnr Sherwood & Oxley Rds Sherwood, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Books for sale on the day

Can’t make it to the talk? You can still order both books through any bookshop, including Avid Reader, Brisbane and Riverbend Books, Brisbane, Queensland. Or download the e-book online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia, or check out ABE Books in the US.

Print ISBN: 9781925380415

e-book ISBN: 9781925380453

While other Nashos were fighting in Vietnam, Australian Army quietly sent conscripted Education Taskforce to PNG

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We had a great State Library (SLQ) session on Sunday morning 29 May 2022 at Anzac Square Memorial Galleries, Brisbane. Four other ‘Chalkies‘ and I recalled our experiences as conscripted Army teachers in Papua New Guinea 1966-73.

An amazing selection of images from the time, professionally assembled by Mt Nebo Multimedia. Terrific backup from SLQ’s Alice and Greg.

The author, centre, with other National Service recruits, 3 Training Battalion, Singleton, NSW, early 1969
Troops of 1 Pacific Islands Regiment, Education class, Taurama Barracks, TPNG, c1970
Trooping the Colour, Taurama Barracks, TPNG, c1968

Thanks to librarian India Dixon, the videos will be added to the State Library of Queensland resource collection as part of their military memories program.

This is the book of the videos!

Until next time

Darryl Dymock