MOUNT Isan Pat Fennell (pictured) saw 25 dead horses around a dried out bore near Manners Creek many years ago, and this tragedy prompted her to write a poem by candlelight.
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Death of the Brumbies was written while Fennell lived at Linda Downs, and is included in her memoir What You Can do with 20 Quid, which she published last year.
Not everybody in Mount Isa celebrates their 80th birthday, 55-year wedding anniversary and a book launch during the one celebration, but that’s exactly what Fennell and her husband Mark did.
The elderly couple “partied all weekend”.
Fennell will be reading a section of her memoir at this week’s Mount Isa Writers Festival, but would not say if attendees would hear Death of the Brumbies.
“It’s a secret what I’m going to talk about,” Fennell said.
“You can say ‘it’s probable she’ll start with a poem because that’s Pat’.”
Fennell used to live at Linda Downs, a 2200-square-kilometre property on the Northern Territory border, but was also the first woman to be elected on to the Cattle Council of Australia.
One of her highlights on the council was to push for live export trading.
Fennell wrote her memoir for her grandchildren, when she realised they had no idea of the old ways of living on the land. “We went from pack horses to ultralights in 40 years,” Mrs Fennell said.
It took four years for her to write the book, which includes “warts and all”.
But not every defining moment is mentioned in the memoir.
“If I put in everything I did I’ll still be writing,” she said.
Fennell believed creative writing had not flourished in Mount Isa because of the transience of the city. People had the aim of coming to Mount Isa to work, save money and return to the coast, she said.
“So time for arts and relaxing is not here,” Fennell said.
The festival will be held at the Mount Isa City Library from October 1 to 4.