Katherine Gallagher
Book Launch
In September 2007, Catholic College Bendigo Alumni Association welcomed back former student and London-based published author, Katherine Gallagher. During her visit to Bendigo Katherine spent time talking to classes at the College and encouraging students' interest in reading and writing poetry.
Her visit culminated in the launch of her latest book Circus-Apprentice on September 9. The Mercy Hall at CCB was the venue and it was a nostalgic return for Katherine who boarded above that very room in 1948. Many of her former classmates were among those who attended the launch and enjoyed hearing Katherine talk about her love of poetry and reading selected poems.
Katherine grew up on a farm at Eastville, near Maldon and her childhood memories of rural life have influenced her poetry. From 1948 to 1950 she boarded at St Mary's College and has spent the past 40 years living in Paris and London, where she regularly speaks at festivals, conducts writer's workshops and judges poetry competitions.
Katherine has published four full-length collections including Passengers to the City (Hale & Iremonger, 1985), Fish-rings on Water (Forest Books, 1989), Tigers on the Silk Road (Arc Publications, 2000) and Circus-Apprentice (Arc Publications, 2006). She also writes children's poetry and many of her poems have appeared in children's anthologies.
For more information on Katherine Gallagher, visit her website at: www.katherine-gallagher.com
Catching the Dream
The Alumni Office has for sale copies of the book Catching the Dream, Memories of my Sister - Gabrielle, by Carla Jennings. This recently published biography chronicles the life and family of Dr Gabrielle Jennings, RSM who, as a Mercy Sister, founded the Notre Dame Institute of Education in Pakistan during the 1990s.
The book traces Gabrielle's early life in country Victoria, her relationship with her family, her role as Provincial Leader of the Sisters of Mercy and her leadership skills, culminated in her founding the Notre Dame Institute of Education in Karachi, Pakistan in 1991. When the family lived at Heathcote, Gabrielle boarded at St Mary's College Bendigo and later returned to teach there as a Sister of Mercy.
Gabrielle was awarded an honorary doctorate by ACU, Australian Catholic University for her work in Pakistan. She died in 2003 after a long battle with cancer.
Catching the Dream was written by her sister Carla, to honour her memory and to provide Scholarships to continue Gabrielle's dream of a better educated society. The book which includes a foreword written by Sir Frank Little, Emeritus Archbishop of Melbourne, has so far raised a total of $3,500 for Scholarships for NDIE, Karachi, Pakistan. Copies are $20 each and are available from the Alumni Office.