Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Summer stories

Robert Drewe is a quintessential Australian. His observations of Australian life and culture reflect a few generations of mainly coastal dwellers from the '50s to contemporary Australia. I can't compare with his skill as a writer but having just spent the afternoon at the iconic Trigg Beach, Western Australia, reading Montebello, I realised my observations and experiences were just as important to me,so why not share them?
The west coast of Australia is diverse in colour,texture, formation, wildlife, industry, communities and people. Having arrived from the 'motherland' (as white Australians of particular heritage referred to England) and growing up in the culturally devoid 'wheatbelt', I longed to live by the coast. As soon as I was able, my 17 year old self packed my little blue Corinta and headed for Perth-renowned as the most isolated city in the world. And from that point on, my love affair with the coast has never wavered. Perth summers are hot, long, with strong sea breezes in the late afternoon. I have travelled from United Kingdom to Thailand,Bali, Vietnam, Croatia, Italy,Spain,Portugal,and several other countries where there are coastlines but nothing beats the white expanse of west australian coastal beaches. They really do stretch on forever, super fine white grains of sand as far as the eye can see. Soft and scalding hot in summer, people flock to lie in the burning sun before sauntering to the water's edge and submerging themselves into the coolness.

As a teenager I frequented Floreat,City and Scarborough beaches. The 'dumpers' were a battle- timing your dive under the wave essential in order to avoid being hurled through the water, crashing onto the seabed and being tossed around, totally disoriented and swallowing copious amounts of salty water before eventually being thrown onto the sand as the wave retreated. I was lucky to escape with scrapes and bruises.

Before the sun awareness campaigns hit our shores, most of us took great pride and to be honest enjoyment, in slathering n the coconut oil to bronze ourselves under the blistering sun. It was an innocent eroticism.

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