By Kyra Gillespie
Nar Nar Goon children’s book author and illustrator Alison Lester has been given the stamp of approval.
Ms Lester, alongside fellow Australian writers Mem Fox, Morris Gleitzman, Leigh Hobbs and Shaun Tan, will be featured on new postage stamps as part of the 2019 Australia Post Legends Award.
Upon accepting the honour at the Official Australia Day Luncheon in Melbourne on Thursday 17 January, Ms Lester told the Gazette it was “an absolute thrill.”
“I kind of feel embarrassed because there’s so many people writing Australian children’s books who could be here – I feel I’m so lucky to be one of those five,” she said humbly.
“When I found out I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but I told my husband straight away – he was like ‘you’re kidding!’
“I’m really, really honoured. It’s just a fabulous thing to happen.”
Lester is one of Australia’s best-known children’s book creators, with over 25 children’s picture books and two young adult novels to her name.
Some of her best-known works include ‘The Quicksand Pony’, ‘Clive Eats Alligators’, ‘Noni the Pony’ and ‘Magic Beach.’
The long-time Nar Nar Goon resident grew up on a farm in Gippsland’s Yanakie, near Wilson’s Promontory. The landscape, said Lester, continuously leaks into her art.
“It’s been a huge influence, especially on my illustrating; that landscape is in my books all the time – the lovely soft rolling hills of Gippsland running down to the sea and the mountains of Wilson’s Prom.
“There’s something about the freedom I had as a child on that big farm to be a strong little girl and to go exploring alone that has held me in good stead in my writing too.”
Lester attended boarding school at St Margaret’s in Berwick, and only really began honing her craft after she’d started a family of her own.
Since then she has received a number of accolades, including Children’s Book of the Year, the Dromkeen Medal, the Melbourne Prize for Literature and became the Inaugural Australian Children’s Laureate for Australian Children’s Literature Alliance from 2011 to 2013.
Now in its 23rd year, the Australia Post Legends Award celebrates living Australians who have made a unique contribution to the nation through their field of endeavour, inspiring the community and influencing the way Australians think about themselves and the community.
Past recipients include Sir Donald Bradman, Dame Joan Sutherland, Barry Humphries, Dame Elizabeth Murdoch, Cate Blanchett, Rod Laver and Bert Newton.
Australia Post Executive General Manager Community & Consumer, Nicole Sheffield, said the chosen individuals have been recognised for their part in shaping the social and cultural life of Australia.
“This year’s recipients are celebrated authors who create impactful stories that children and adolescents love and remember,” Ms Sheffield said.
“I really cherished reading stories to my children when they were small, and now enjoy seeing them explore new perspectives and ideas with books as they’ve gotten older.
“These authors hold a very special place in the bookshelves of many Australian families, and we’re excited to celebrate their achievements with this new stamp release.”
The day marked just one of many exciting things to come for Alison Lester in 2019.
When asked what the year had in store, she said: “Books, more books.”
