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.

Barbara d’Arbon, Illustrated by Lily Paver 6/17/22 Barbara d’Arbon, Illustrated by Lily Paver 6/17/22

Flying

When I was a little kid, I had the idea that I could fly if I flapped my arms really, really quickly. I believed that other people simply hadn’t flapped fast enough.

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?

Nicole Sutherland 6/10/22 Nicole Sutherland 6/10/22

Rising from the Ashes

I turned around to see my entire street filled with the firetruck’s blue and red lights, bouncing off every house in the still darkness of morning…

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.

Bethany Compton, Illustrated by Sally Davis 6/10/22 Bethany Compton, Illustrated by Sally Davis 6/10/22

A Calming of the Storms — Thank God!

The sun began to rise, striking the ocean; the view was stunning. As we walked along the quiet beach, we both dipped our feet in the water…

Sherry Burrows, Illustrated by Kathy Evans 6/10/22 Sherry Burrows, Illustrated by Kathy Evans 6/10/22

MacMasters Beach

I sit on a boulder meditating, eyes closed, breathing rhythmically, listening to the sound of the ocean and evening birdsong. I have this, all of this, to myself most evenings.

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.

Barbara Allsop, Illustrated by Phavida Viphavady 6/10/22 Barbara Allsop, Illustrated by Phavida Viphavady 6/10/22

On Foreign Shores

…the beach inspector back home almost had a heart attack the day he arrived with his tape measure. Surely Club Med wasn’t as restrictive as 1970s Bondi Beach?

Wolfgang Gebhardt, Illustrated by Donné Restom 6/10/22 Wolfgang Gebhardt, Illustrated by Donné Restom 6/10/22

North Avoca Beach – Sunday Morning, January, 1983

We loved North Avoca beach. It was a long weekend and I knew we were building memories that would last a lifetime.

Therese Gabriel Wilkins, Illustrated by Judith Harris 6/10/22 Therese Gabriel Wilkins, Illustrated by Judith Harris 6/10/22

A Special Place

There’s a place close to home where sheoaks and melaleucas dance with the wind, the smell of pine hangs in the air after autumn rain…

Ally Chuang, Illustrated by Frankie Kaye 6/10/22 Ally Chuang, Illustrated by Frankie Kaye 6/10/22

Dressing Up

Boys wear denim creased with sweat and dirt. Starched, crisp shirts when they grow into men with responsibilities. But what of velvet and satin?

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…

Carole Thorley, Illustrated by Linda Van Hove 6/10/22 Carole Thorley, Illustrated by Linda Van Hove 6/10/22

Observations From The Charity Shop

…from the wonderful to the hideous, from brand new, to the old and worn out. You can tell a lot about a person from their op shop drop offs.

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…

Lesley Nord, Illustrated by Toby Steenbergen 6/10/22 Lesley Nord, Illustrated by Toby Steenbergen 6/10/22

Picketts Valley

Home at last, across the causeway lined on each side with bamboo. Luckily it isn’t underwater this time; we’ve had a lot of rain…

Mark d’Arbon, Illustrated by Ollie McDonald 3/29/19 Mark d’Arbon, Illustrated by Ollie McDonald 3/29/19

A Toowoon Bay Experience

I paddled out. The closer I came to the break, the larger it seemed. I was nervous as I positioned myself for a perfect take-off…

John Murray, Illustrations by Ajay de Gruchy & John Murray 3/12/19 John Murray, Illustrations by Ajay de Gruchy & John Murray 3/12/19

The Red Kite

I turn and she is standing there alone. Daypack on, water bottle in hand and hat on her head… I ask, "Do you want to make a kite?"

Kerry-Anne McLachlan, Illustrated by Dylan de Gruchy 3/12/19 Kerry-Anne McLachlan, Illustrated by Dylan de Gruchy 3/12/19

A Moment Can Change Everything

I’m not an early morning person. This morning was the moment I decided to change that. My mission was set.

Fleur Phillips, Illustrated by Chloe Stewart 3/12/19 Fleur Phillips, Illustrated by Chloe Stewart 3/12/19

Beginnings

…there were no fences, nappies dried between the trees and the boys roamed with their neighbours, no barriers to their adventure play.