AustLit
It’s actually been 13 years since I left AustLit (5 years since I retired from ADFA library) so my memory is rather sketchy but here goes:
My time as an indexer with AustLit, from 1998 to 2008, was one of the happiest in my working life. It was here that I was introduced to Australian literature, an experience sadly lacking in my school curriculum, although I can still recall snippets from the essays of Sir Francis Bacon!!
A chance discovery of a review in one of the newspapers we regularly indexed at the time resulted in the creation of a record for the biography of Edmond Gerald 'Tom' Kruse, who used to deliver mail to South Australian outback stations from 1948 to 1963 (Mailman of the Birdsville Track, 2003). It was serendipitous moments such as these which made our work so interesting and took us off the beaten track, as it were. I was even more excited to discover a children’s edition of the book which I now read to my grandchildren (Tom the Outback Mailman, 2012).
Another unexpected but delightful outcome of my time with AustLit were friendships made along the way. The most enduring being my cherished friendship with Tessa, Jane and Jenny.
Congratulations, AustLit.
Lesley Banson
June 2021
Read memoirs of their time at AustLit from Lesley's colleagues Tessa Wooldridge and Jane Rankine.
Read memoirs of their time at AustLit from Lesley's colleagues Tessa Wooldridge and Jane Rankine.