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Maestro

by Peter Goldsworthy

A&R Classics (HarperCollins)

Against the backdrop of Darwin - that small, tropical hothouse of a port, half-outback, half-oriental, lying at the tip of North Australia - a young and newly arrived southerner encounters the 'maestro', a Viennese refugee with a shadowed past. The occasion is a piano lesson, the first of many...

The announcement was made by the Mayor of Wingecarribee Shire, Clr Phil Yeo, who had also launched the One Book - One Town program on Australia Day 2002 with the release of the nomination list. The book was chosen based on a range of criteria and included the evaluations by a volunteer panel of Southern Highlands readers. The township of Alice Springs recently decided to join the Southern Highlands villages in this unique twin-towns community reading program and Mayor Fran Kilgariff jointly announced the chosen book in the red centre on World Book Day (April 23) in spectacular and appropriate style.

Coverage of Announcement by Richard Snashall www.spinningreel.net

The Mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council, Clr Phil Yeo, warmly welcomed the involvement of Alice Springs as an exciting development for the community reading program. "Although our two regions are different in many ways, it is a positive thing that reading fine Australian literature can be a way of bonding within our community, as well as between our two communities. The project organisers hoped that eventually the idea would be adopted by other Australian towns and cities but this is encouraging to have it happen so soon and proves the merit of the original proposal."

Mayor Fran Kilgariff said the One Book-One Town community reading program would give Alice Springs people another reason to promote and develop literacy in the community and Help celebrate World Book Day. It was surprising how many adults did not find time for reading in their lives, even though they would like to, Mayor Kilgariff said. "One Book - One Town is a real chance to spur Alice Springs adults in to finally picking up a book and having a good read," she said. "It's also a great community way of increasing adult literacy."