CLUNES
AUSTRALIA
‘Clunes reminds me of towns in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia… It has a Wild West quality.’
Alin Golovachenko
Clunes’ reinvention as an Australian book town has certainly been dramatic. It was Victoria’s first gold rush town and quickly became a major gold producer (one of the bookshops is called The Book Fossicker as a tribute). In some senses little has changed since those days: it retains its rural feel and in 2010 it was awarded the Australian Civic Trust ‘Award of Merit’ for its ‘respectful’ use and preservation of heritage buildings. Its unique architectural feel also makes it popular among filmmakers – Mad Max starring Mel Gibson was partly filmed here.
Clunes held its first ‘Booktown for a Day’ event (now known as ‘Clunes Booktown Festival’) in May 2007. Since then, it has grown to become one of the most successful book towns, proud of its claim to be Australia’s largest book trader festival. In 2018 it will be the official host of the biennial Conference of the International Organisation of Book Towns, whose president Tim Nolan chairs Clunes’ organising committee.
In addition to its bookshops (even the grocer’s and the wine shop sell books), around 18,000 people come to visit its annual festival, which is host to more than fifty book traders, a similar number of author events, exhibitions, and general entertainments from choirs and orchestras to hay bale mazes and medieval Punch and Judy. The cheap $10 weekend pass allows entry to all author talks, entertainment, activities and book stalls, as well as the town’s historic buildings. Many of the town’s shops become pop-up bookshops for the weekend. On the third Sunday of each month between March and December there are also writer talks in The Warehouse (Fraser Street). All this relies heavily on a small army of volunteers.
“Clunes reminds me of towns in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia,” says local photographer Alina Golovachenko, who regularly documents the Booktown Festival. “It has a Wild West quality and doesn’t seem over-developed. The first year I shot it for a local visitors’ guide it was cold, book-ish, coffee-ish, people sitting in the street and reading things that they’d just bought, people having long conversations with sellers about particular titles or quietly browsing, a Shakespeare troupe wandering the street…”
A few of the historic buildings so carefully preserved by the inhabitants of Clunes.
The entrance to the Bookatorium (open by appointment), run by Robin Schmidt who also owns the online bookshop Huc & Gabet.
Inside the Bookatorium.
A regular visitor to Clunes is The Itty Bitty Book Van. A renovated 1960s caravan, it is a travelling children’s bookshop run by Kerri Bennett. Kerri also runs storytelling sessions and other activities including Book Swap events for schools.
The impact of Clunes’ book town status has been notable. Its population has doubled in a decade, and it now has a campus for Year 9 students from Wesley College. Its organisers have an international outlook, and the town has a close working relationship with Paju Book City in South Korea, collaborating on projects including a celebration of Clunes photographer George Rose, who took historic images of Korea at the start of the twentieth century. It’s a success that is being backed by regional grant body Creative Clunes, which has provided substantial investment to keep the good work going.
Readings, Melbourne
Just down the road from Clunes is Melbourne, which not only has numerous flourishing bookshops but is also home to Readings – London Book Fair’s International Bookstore of the Year in 2016.
Readings opened in 1969 and is a proudly independent chain – it saw off the arrival of Borders across the road – with seven shops around the city including one devoted to children’s and young adults’ titles. As well as the wide stock, it holds author signings, talks, performances and book launches. Via its charitable arm The Readings Foundation, ten per cent of its profits help to support local literacy and arts projects. Readings has also created an award for new Australian fiction by up-and-coming writers, and another for books.
Bargain books on sale in Clunes.
Directions pointing visitors in the direction of bookstores.
A young girl peeks through the window of the Itty Bitty Book Van.