After the Performance of the First Garden

Band Lawn, Botanical Gardens, Sydney

9 March 2013

The First Garden is a play about Olive Muriel Pink's journey from Town Planner in Tasmania to Activist in Alice Springs.

This production of Chris and Natasha Raja's play had five characters played by three actors - Natasha Raja (Miss Pink), Scott Fraser (Henry Wardlaw and the ghost of Captain Harold Southern) and Eshua Bolton (Johnny Tjampitjinpa and Tasman). The performance was accompanied by Christopher Brocklebank (the Musical Director), Bill Peachey and Isabelle Kirkbride.

After the performance on the 9th March, which was attended by Henry Wardlaw and his family and friends. Henry chatted with the playright and cast.

There is an acccompanying exhibition in the Maiden Theatre. This includes Olive Pink's botanical illustrations and memoriabilia from the Olive Pink, Botanical Garden, Alice Springs .

Henry Wardlaw commented that he did not deliver the typewriter as depicted in the play but sent it to Olive Pink and that it was a Hermes. There is another of Olive Pink's typewriters in the University of Tasmania collection, with a "TAA Fragile" label on the cover, that may be the one sent to her by Henry.

• Preview of the playvideo
• ABC NT (Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:27pm AEDT): Story with Olive Pink's Biographer, Natasha and Christopher Raja, Henry Wardlaw about the play and Olive Pink
• Tom Worthington's Blog Posting: Saturday, March 09, 2013:The First Garden in The Sydney Botanical Gardens
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Pink
• Olive M Pink (Trove, NLA)
• Henry Wardlaw (Trove, NLA)
• Olive's fiance Harold Alfred Southern was killed in action on 2 May 1915 on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey - AWM
• Eshua Bolton: Facebook, youtube, Twitter

• Chris Raja Video Postcards

  The First Garden: I made this postcard just as we were leaving for the Sydney Botanic Garden...open.abc.net.au also available on Vimeo

  The Other First Garden: I made this video postcard when we took The First Garden to the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney.open.abc.net.au. Also available on Vimeo

8-17 March 2013 - Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney

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