We are indebted to the following: Heather Rose for the title; Toni Sherwood for locating copies of several hundred of the stories from which we made this selection; Gillian Winter for guiding Ralph Crane’s early archival searches in the late 1980s, and for knowing about James Leakey and Joan Wise when we found ourselves in a cul-de-sac; Alaina Gougoulis at Text for typing stories we were unable to scan; Anica Boulanger-Mashberg for assistance with proofreading; and David Winter at Text for championing the project and for his editorial acumen. We would also like to thank the University of Tasmania for financial support.
We are grateful for permission to include the following copyright material:
Carmel Bird, ‘The Woodpecker Toy Fact’, from The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories (Fitzroy, Vic: McPhee Gribble / Penguin, 1987), reproduced by kind permission of the author;
Geoffrey Dean, ‘The Meat Merchant’, from The Literary Lunch: Selected Stories (Hobart: Roaring Forties Press, 2004), reproduced by kind permission of Caroline, Ben and Annabel Dean;
Adrienne Eberhard, ‘Orange Bathers’, from Island 85 (2001), reproduced by kind permission of the author and Island;
Hal Porter, ‘Great-Aunt Fanny’s Picnic’, from Selected Stories (North Ryde, NSW: Collins / Angus & Robertson, 1991), reproduced by permission of Tom Thompson / ETT Imprint;
Philomena van Rijswijk, ‘Faith, Hope and Charity’, from Meanjin 61.3 (2002), reproduced by kind permission of the author;
Barney Roberts, ‘A Jar of Raspberry Jam’, from Where’s Morning Gone? (Fitzroy, Vic: McPhee Gribble / Penguin, 1987), reproduced by kind permission of the Roberts family;
Margaret Scott, ‘Preserves’, from Changing Countries (Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2000), reproduced by kind permission of Sarah Scott, Kate North and Daniel Boddy;
Nicholas Shakespeare, ‘The Castle Morton Jerry’, from Island 117 (2009), reproduced by kind permission of the author and Island;
Rachael Treasure, ‘The Mysterious Handbag’, from The Girl and the Ghost-Grey Mare (Camberwell, Vic: Michael Joseph, 2011), reproduced with permission by Penguin Group (Australia);
Joan Wise, ‘The Conquest of Emmie’, from the Bulletin, 18 January 1950, reproduced by kind permission of Sue Loane;
Danielle Wood, ‘None of the Above’, from Island 124 (2011), reproduced by kind permission of the author and Island.
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of stories included in this anthology. Where the attempt has been unsuccessful, the editors and publisher would be pleased to hear from the copyright holder concerned and to rectify any omission in future editions.
Original spelling has been retained in all stories.