Pictures 1949

Catalogue / Memoir
Introduction Pictures Objects Animations

PICTURES are both finished and ephemeral works made for animations.

1949----   1950----   1951----   1952----   1953----   1954----   1955----   1956----   1957----   1958----   1959----   1960----   1961----   1962----   1963----   1964----   1965----   1966----   1967----   1968----   1969----   1970----   1971----   1972----   1973----   1974----   1975----   1976----   1977----   1978----   1979----   1980----   1981----   1982----   1983----   1984----   1985----   1986----   1987----   1988----   1989----   1990----   1991----   1992----   1993----   1994----   1995----   1996----   1997----   1998----   1999----   2000----   2001----   2002----   2003----   2004----   2005----   2006----   2007----   2008----   2009----   2010----   2011----   2012----   2013----   2014----   2015----   2016----   2017----   2018----   2019----   2020----   2021----   2022----   2023----   2024----   2025----   2026----  

I am born on Norfolk Island.

Page 11 of Flying with my Sister Picture book (2022). Co-authored with scientist and artist Claire Sives. The tiny photo (top left) shows my big sister Nadya sitting behind a boy on a rocking horse under an arch of whale bones.

Sitting behind a boy on a rocking horse is my big sister Nadya. Under an arch of whale bones. So many time I heard about those whale bones as I grew up that my child's mind imagines herself forever alive inside the belly of this Norfolk Island whale.

Born in Melbourne in 1946, my sister Nadya was a writer, artist, dancer, joker, and the oldest resident of what was once called Beechworth Lunatic Asylum. She lived all her adult life as a Ward of the State of Victoria. She died in Beechworth Hospital in 2022. Covid was in full swing so my brother and I chose not to have a funeral. Instead I made this picture book to celebrate her life. I gave printed copies of the book to my family, and to generations of people around Beechworth I knew who cared for Nadya.

2022 Flying with my sister - the video
Words, pictures, animations: Lisa Roberts
Page design: Claire Sives

CLICK on the Bird to download the e-book, Flying with my Sister:

EVENTS

The earliest recorded account of whaling operations carried out by the early Pitcairn settlers on Norfolk Island was November 1858, when 2 whale boats were purchased from visiting American whalers. The men were good seamen and the industry proved to be a lucrative one and in a short period of time 120 barrels of oil worth 500 pounds were produced.

Ref. Norfolk Online: the-history-of-whaling-in-norfolk-island

1949: A.S.I.O., Australia's counter-espionage agency designed to handle international security matters, was established [in March 16].

1949: Work commenced on the Snowy Mountains Scheme to divert the water from the Snowy and Eucumbene rivers inland for irrigation.

1949: Nationality and Citizenship Act passed, by which Australians became Australian (rather than British) citizens although British passports were retained.

1949: Voting rights granted to Aboriginal servicemen. The Australian Aborigines League (AAL), formed in 1932 by William Cooper, fought to end all discriminatory practices against Aboriginal people in "civic, political and economic" spheres and demanded full citizens "rights". The Australian Government agreed and in 1949 the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 was amended to give the Federal vote to Aboriginal people who were serving, or who had served, in the defense forces.

Ref. The Australian Almanac, Pub. Angus & Robertson 1985

Written by me, Lisa Roberts/Euphausia superba (Antarctic krill), on

21/04/2026