Kiama’s Helen Laidlaw with her book On Wadi Wadi Country – From the Mountains to the Sea. The stone remains of a cottage on Helen’s property inspired her to dive into the area’s history. Photo: Zoe Cartwright.
Tucked away off the Princes Highway, at the end of a private road, is a tiny patch of Illawarra rainforest.
Flame trees and ferns spring up alongside a rocky creek bed and the loudest sound is the cacophony of native birds.
Eighty-five-year-old Helen Laidlaw lives there, on Wadi Wadi Country. Her love for the area inspired her most recent book, a history of the region, that includes Indigenous stories of the past 200 years.
On Wadi Wadi Country – From the Mountains to the Sea came about after the Kiama tornado brought down trees on Helen’s property, revealing the stone foundations of an old cottage.
As it turned out, a friend of Helen’s knew a boy who grew up in that cottage – James Carlson, now 82.
“He came out to meet me and to see the place,” Helen said.
“He lived there with his grandparents while his father was at war. We’re good friends now.”
Inspired by the stories James shared with her, Helen wanted to know more.
From the archives of the National Library of Australia and hundreds of cups of coffee with the descendants of Aboriginal families who have lived in the area for the past 200 years, Helen has woven together different perspectives on the history of Kiama.
Even the spelling of Wadi Wadi, rather than the more commonly seen Wodi Wodi, in the title was guided by local Aboriginal people.
“I wanted to bring out the richness and the sadness of these stories but also the resilience,” Helen said.
“Aboriginal people showed great kindness to many of the early settlers.
“The settlers could be kind, but also revolting. There are stories about Aboriginal people hiding in hollow logs when the settlers went out shooting them.
“Aboriginal people are still not treated well in this country.”
The book contains the experiences of Kiama families through World War I and World War II, the Great Depression, and sporting triumphs great and small.
Helen hopes her book will inspire more interest in local history, and respect for Aboriginal people and culture.
She said many historical facts were relevant today.
“There’s a movie of Joe Anderson, Queen Rosie’s nephew, calling for a treaty with the then king and a Voice in Parliament nearly 100 years ago,” she said.
“I want people to learn something of our history and to have a different view of the Aboriginal people and how they did care for this land.
“I want people to see these people as real people, not just names.”
On Wadi Wadi Country – From the Mountains to the Sea was published by Austin Macauley publishers and can be purchased from its site, or from Amazon.
On Wadi Wadi Country – From the Mountains to the Sea | Austin Macauley Publishers
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