We encourage male caregivers and boys to attend together, as an opportunity to model good reading habits. This event encourages discussion about books and reading, through a range of interesting authors sharing their stories over breakfast.
James and Bernie in conversation.
James and Bernie in conversation.
We had a light breakfast for guests.
Year 8 student Jono Allfrey introducing our guest speakers.
GUEST SPEAKER: GARY LONESBOROUGH
Gary Lonesborough is a Yuin writer, who grew up on the Far South Coast of NSW as part of a large and proud Aboriginal family. Growing up a massive Kylie Minogue and North Queensland Cowboys fan, Gary was always writing as a child, and continued his creative journey when he moved to Sydney to study at film school. Gary has experience working in Aboriginal health, the disability sector (including experience working in the youth justice system) and the film industry, including working on the feature film adaptation of Jasper Jones.
His debut YA novel, THE BOY FROM THE MISH, was published by Allen & Unwin in February 2021. It was published as READY WHEN YOU ARE in the U.S in 2022 by Scholastic.
GUEST SPEAKER: BERNIE SHAKESHAFT
Bernie is the founder and CEO of BackTrack Youth Works in Armidale NSW. He has spent the past 25 years working and living out his passion…. catching wild dogs and wild kids. For many years he lived in the Northern Territory learning his trade in remote areas, learning the lessons of life in the bush and surrounded by wise and skillful Aboriginal men and old school stockmen.
In 2006 with his children growing up and forging their own paths in life, he was determined to turn his vision of working with the most disadvantaged young people in our communities into a reality. To keep them alive, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams. 2014 saw him travel overseas on a prestigious Churchill scholarship to learn from some extraordinary organisations that have helped develop the BackTrack model in Australia.
Under Bernie’s leadership, BackTrack has forged a new beginning for over a 1000 young people.Bernie takes great pride in how his vision of giving young people having a hard time a new life journey and a new beginning, is now spreading across NSW with mentoring other communities to get started using the same successful tools that have had remarkable results in Armidale.
“We’ve started something special here in Armidale.I’m proud of what has been achieved to date.The future is what I’m interested in and how we grow and extend new tracks going forward.”
Source: https://backtrack.org.au/our-team/bernie-shakeshaft/
GUEST SPEAKER: JAMES KNIGHT
James Knight has worked in network television, independent documentaries and is a bestselling author. He has written twelve non-fiction books, with topics including cricket, travel, mountaineering, and human-interest biographies. He wrote THE DRAGON'S JOURNEY, an incredible story about Vietnamese boat person Duy Long Nguyen; THE MAN FROM COOLIBAH, the bestselling biography of outback legend Milton Jones; and most recently worked with Sally Faulkner on ALL FOR MY CHILDREN.
Source: https://www.hachette.com.au/james-knight/
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Guest Speaker: Phillip GwynnePhillip Gwynne's first novel Deadly Unna? was a literary hit and was made into the feature film Australian Rules for which Phillip won an AFI award. The sequel, Nukkin Ya, was also published to great acclaim. |
Back on Track by
As a kid, Bernie Shakeshaft's mischievous and reckless behaviour led him to became known as the wild one of his devout Catholic family. It isn't surprising that his path led him to the Northern Territory, a place where people often go to either lose themselves or find themselves. Bernie, a searcher for his purpose in life, found himself. He had many jobs, firstly as a ringer on a cattle station owned by the Packer family, and later as a dingo trapper for the Parks and Wildlife Service. Throughout it all, he drank, he swore, he fought, and took chances with his own well-being. But, crucially, he also developed deep connections with the Indigenous people, and it was these connections that helped lay the foundations for what was to come. He worked for youth welfare organisations, and all the while he built up his knowledge about helping wayward youths, particularly those from Indigenous communities. Years later, Bernie was living in Armidale. He'd been visiting too many kids in prison and going to too many funerals. The usual methods weren't working so that reckless, mischievous kid inside him decided he could do better. He started a youth program called BackTrack, with three aims: To keep them alive, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams. For most, this was their last chance. Combining life skills, education, job preparedness with rural work, Bernie threw in one other factor: dogs! And it works. With the help of these working dogs, the lost boys (and girls) find their way back on track. These days, Backtrack youth tour the country competing in dog-jumping trials. Bernie and the BackTrack team are now supporting other communities in Lake Cargelligo, Broken Hill, Dubbo and Grafton, and have forged a new beginning for over 1000 young people. This one man is making a huge difference. In Back on Track, bestselling author James Knight tells Bernie's story and the stories of those whose lives he has saved. It is a powerful reminder that we should never give up on our kids. 'This fella Bernie, he's a good fella, a bit of a genius really. What a great story.' - Russell Crowe
The Boy From The Mish by 
We Didn't Think It Through by 
The man from Coolibah : the extraordinary outback life of a Northern Territory cattleman by 
Spirit High: the Mick Parker story by