Gawngan had almost got what she wanted. She just had one last obstacle in her way... the Marriage Tree challenge!
Set on the Far North Coast of NSW on the coastal lands around present day Ballina and Evan's Head, 'Gawngan and the Marriage Tree' tells the story of Gawngan, a young woman, who desperately wants to be free from an arranged marriage to a bully. The story revolves around the Bundjalung custom that dubay-mir (young women) could have marriages annulled if they successfully climbed a special tree and removed a set number of branches from it.
Can Gawngan climb the enormous tree and remove the branches so she can be rid of Dangan forever and be free to marry her childhood sweetheart, Balagaan?
The story follows on from events in 'The Magpie and the Snake' a story set in the 1820s that weaves local history and Bundjalung myths together to celebrate the rich culture, practices and lore of the Nyangbal people of Bullinaa.
Author Biography:
Steve has taught English and History in High Schools on the Far North Coast of NSW for over 20 years. He operated his own video production business, Pandanus Video Productions in the 1990s. He was a founding member of the Open Slather Film Festival (a festival sponsored by Southern Cross University Union, Ballina District Community Services Association, Pandanus Video Productions and Ballina Youth Services). He became involved in teaching marginalised students in education at this time. He taught video production at TAFE facilitating such programs as Goorie workskills at Ballina TAFE, Kids at Risk at Lismore TAFE, Women Back to Work through Lismore TAFE and Juvenile Justice Lismore TAFE.Steve has has been passionate about Indigenous students and stories since the early 1990s. He worked with Indigenous students at Ballina High school on a number of projects, produced the award winning Indigenous short film, 'Small Man Hairy Man, ' and the BUNSEP (Bundjalung Stormwater Education Project) DVD with Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore and Casino Shire Councils. More recently, Steve consulted with a group of elders from Ballina to publish his first novel, 'The Magpie and the Snake, ' (2021) a YA novel that celebrates the culture and the lifestyle of the Nyangbal people, a clan of Bundjalung people, living in Ballina around 1820 on the cusp of British colonisation in the area. He has a picture book, 'Gawngan and the Marriage Tree, ' which is due for release October and the sequel to his novel 'The Magpie and the Snake', 'Savages, ' which is due out in December 2022. Steve has taught English and History in High Schools on the Far North Coast of NSW for over 20 years. He operated his own video production business, Pandanus Video Productions in the 1990s. He was a founding member of the Open Slather Film Festival (a festival sponsored by Southern Cross University Union, Ballina District Community Services Association, Pandanus Video Productions and Ballina Youth Services). He became involved in teaching marginalised students in education at this time. He taught video production at TAFE facilitating such programs as Goorie workskills at Ballina TAFE, Kids at Risk at Lismore TAFE, Women Back to Work through Lismore TAFE and Juvenile Justice Lismore TAFE.Steve has has been passionate about Indigenous students and stories since the early 1990s. He worked with Indigenous students at Ballina High school on a number of projects, produced the award winning Indigenous short film, 'Small Man Hairy Man, ' and the BUNSEP (Bundjalung Stormwater Education Project) DVD with Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore and Casino Shire Councils. More recently, Steve consulted with a group of elders from Ballina to publish his first novel, 'The Magpie and the Snake, ' (2021) a YA novel that celebrates the culture and the lifestyle of the Nyangbal people, a clan of Bundjalung people, living in Ballina around 1820 on the cusp of British colonisation in the area. He has a picture book, 'Gawngan and the Marriage Tree, ' which is due for release October and the sequel to his novel 'The Magpie and the Snake', 'Savages, ' which is due out in December 2022.
