Welcome to the Central Coast Writes Anthology 2022, a collection of personal stories written and illustrated by local residents.

These stories share a deep connection to place and they tell us more about who we are on the Central Coast. The writers engaged their emotions and all of their senses to create vivid, moving accounts from the heart of our community.

Here you’ll find true stories told with honesty and creative flair about love, loss, heroism, challenges, and those tender moments that last a lifetime.

Seeing the care and attention that the talented illustrators have brought to the stories is heart-warming and demonstrates the power of creative collaboration.

To all those who dared to create, remember and record: It has been an honour to guide you in this experience and a joy to edit your words. Let’s do it all again next year!

- Adrienne Ferreira, Director of Central Coast Writes.

Chris Golden, Illustrated by Ellen Simpson 8/3/22 Chris Golden, Illustrated by Ellen Simpson 8/3/22

Let’s Hear It For Mondays!

The hard slog was over and ahead was a summer of lazing on Maroubra Beach with my mates. The Leaving Certificate was behind us. It was November, 1956.

Adam Palmer, Illustrated by Gigi Gribble 8/3/22 Adam Palmer, Illustrated by Gigi Gribble 8/3/22

Heart and Sand

I know a place

By the sea

So many precious memories

Sandra Lipman, Illustrated by Amelia Fox 8/3/22 Sandra Lipman, Illustrated by Amelia Fox 8/3/22

Listen To Me

I was in bumper to bumper traffic, crawling along the wet roads on the way to dropping my grandson at school. I wondered if his life's journey would be as incredible as his uncle Mick’s had been.

Liz Shaw, Illustrated by Charlotte Orr, Ella Cunningham & Zoe Herbery 8/3/22 Liz Shaw, Illustrated by Charlotte Orr, Ella Cunningham & Zoe Herbery 8/3/22

A Moment That Changed Everything

It was time to move. We lived on the South Coast and had just sold our beach house. There were so many great memories there, but a new chapter was beginning.

Beverley Campbell, Illustrated by Channon Lawson 8/3/22 Beverley Campbell, Illustrated by Channon Lawson 8/3/22

All it Took Was One Dance

He’s here again. He stands out amongst the short-back-and-sides men in camouflage, clutching girls, swaying to the music…

Constance Lewis, Illustrated by Michayla VanderPool & Anna Kastelan 6/17/22 Constance Lewis, Illustrated by Michayla VanderPool & Anna Kastelan 6/17/22

The Board

As I walked along the shores of Booker Bay, I noticed a cutting board amongst the driftwood and debris left by the floods. Where did it come from? Who had used it and for what purpose?

Liz Muller-Loth, Illustrated by Claudia Dobrohotoff 6/10/22 Liz Muller-Loth, Illustrated by Claudia Dobrohotoff 6/10/22

Seeing

Although Berta could not see with her eyes, she could see with her hands. But most importantly, she saw with her heart.

Judith Harris, Illustrated by Jacky Hunt 6/10/22 Judith Harris, Illustrated by Jacky Hunt 6/10/22

Leaving Fremantle

The mournful sound of the foghorn filled the air like some huge monster of the deep waking from a dark hibernation and sending out a warning to the sea.

Justine Bird, Illustrated by Constance Lewis 6/10/22 Justine Bird, Illustrated by Constance Lewis 6/10/22

Confession

I’m guilty. I heard you were up, moving about in the bathroom. But the linen of the sheets felt so accommodating…

Ah-Leh Appel, Illustrated by Harriet Viles 6/10/22 Ah-Leh Appel, Illustrated by Harriet Viles 6/10/22

After the Rain

I love gardening and tending to the plants. I had neglected them since the rain…