Since making the commitment to write Berenice Walters’
biography I have become even more in awe of this amazing lady. Just trying to
keep up with the time and energy she committed to the Dingo cause is
exhausting!
Why? It’s all a matter of putting things in perspective.
Here are some examples for you.
Berenice spent many hours in the State Library undertaking
research. I travelled into Sydney for another Dingo related event and while there
decide to visit the Australian Museum and the State Library. I know I will need
to go for further research.
On this particular day my trip in took one and a half hours from
Picton; the trip home the same but add an extra one a quarter hours sitting at
Central Station because I missed an earlier train. So my day in Sydney was 10
hours long including travel. Berenice lived even further down the line and
undertook her research at a time when the train service was not as reliable or
frequent as it is today.
Berenice spent many hours typing up information from books
borrowed from libraries. It is just as well she was a much better typist than
me – no scanners in those days to save copies of to a computer.
Yes, she typed her information onto a typewriter and for you
younger readers that means if you make a mistake you have to start again. I don’t
think even White Out had been invented at the time! Using a typewriter also
meant no auto word wrap and no spell check.
Her own manuscripts, articles, early books, the society
newsletters and correspondence were all created using a typewriter. Each would
have to be typed and retyped with corrections and editing.
Did I say she wrote letters? Of course! There were no
emails. You wrote a letter, waited 3 or more days (depending on its
destination) for it to arrive. It depended on how diligent, thoughtful and
efficient the receiver was before they replied; then you waited for it to come
to you via post.
She spent many hours writing to politicians, fellow dingo
supporters and conservationists involved with other canids around the world. In
the days of post only (and the occasional fax) can you imagine how long it took
to establish contact and relationships with kindred spirits in the world of conservation?
Today I just open up my Facebook and can instantly establish a rapport with
people who have like interests.
Then you have to remember she had her Dingoes to care for
and train, she bred, trained and showed Australian Cattle Dogs, she was a wife
and mother and the family also ran a small farm.
Phew! How many of us could make that commitment today with
our ‘busy’ lives, modern appliances and instant communication?
So when I get overwhelmed and wonder what I have taken on just
in the research and digitising of my project including:
- researching new information via the internet (not travelling
to a library 1½ hours away)
- looking at a mountain of papers to scan so they are
preserved (because in this ‘modern’ age I can)
- transcribing faded documents using my computer with all its
fancy helpful features AND text recognition if the document is clear enough
(not typing and retyping on an antiquated machine)
- setting up a new and separate computer with special software
and high graphics capability so we can start copying old videos and audios
tapes to disk. (Not to mention the boxes of photos; both family and dingo ones
that need identifying and scanning)
I stop to think “How would Berenice have managed this 40
years ago?” I wonder how much more she could have achieved with modern
technology.
I know I will ultimately finish the biography because I know
my efforts pale in significance compared to what Berenice achieved on behalf of
the Dingo. It will take me two years to complete but I can’t think of a better
way to pay tribute to a true Australian pioneer.
I realise I am not walking in the footsteps of Berenice I am
in her shadow simply putting light on what she achieved in her lifetime.
