Edna Walling

Just before we start, I'd love if you could just check that your phone is on silent so that it doesn't ring during the talk.

We're thrilled to have a full house today and lots of walk-ins for this very interesting talk on Edna Walling.

I'd like to acknowledge the original inhabitants of the land we are on, the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and pay respects to the original storytellers of Blooms and this land.

and I am delighted to introduce Sarah Hardy, who is our

She was born in Devon, England, and performed with various theatre companies in London before arriving in Australia.

She was inspired to write her first biography, The Unusual Life of Edna Wallin, after portraying the famous Australian landscape designer in an outdoor theatre performance in Melbourne.

Sarah's most recent publication is A Secretive Life, a novel that explores the glittering but dangerous queer underworld of the 20th century with adventures set in London, Berlin, and Melbourne, and where Edna Walling makes a cameo appearance.

Let's give Sarah a warm welcome.