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The Supply Party
By Martin Edmond Price: $32.95 |
Ludwig Becker, artist, naturalist, scientist, was a member of the doomed Burke and Wills expedition of 1860-61—one of the best equipped yet worst fated of explorations. The sophisticated, talented and always curious Becker would die beside an ephemeral creek in south west Queensland while his party was under siege from displaced and enraged Aborigines.
He had lived an extraordinary life in Europe before coming to Australia. As court painter for the Archduke Ludwig III of Hesse-Darmstadt; as an archaeologist and a portraitist; and, controversially, as a member of the radical political group Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, the Society for Human Rights, Becker participated in formative events leading up to the European Revolutions of 1848.
A collector and a dilettante as well, Becker at various times owned a first edition of Martin Luther’s Table Talk (1556), original artworks by Rembrandt, Raphael, Cranach and van Dyck, and was the man who recognised and rescued from oblivion a unique artefact—the death mask of Shakespeare.
Becker’s principal Australian legacy is his written and visual diary of the Burke and Wills expedition, which includes over seventy luminous artworks—half of them reproduced here—depicting this new and foreign environment with eloquence and sympathy.
In The Supply Party author Martin Edmond follows Becker’s path from Melbourne to Bulloo Creek, guiding the reader on a physical journey and an emotional quest through outback Australia in search of a man who, malnourished, bullied by Burke, harried by Aborigines and horribly injured, until the last continued to fulfil his official duties as artist and naturalist.
About the Author
Martin Edmond grew up in a remote mountain village in New Zealand’s King Country. After university, he toured with avant theatre troupe Red Mole. Since 1981 he has lived in Sydney, working as an author and a screenwriter. He has written the feature films Illustrious Energy and Terra Nova; his books include The Autobiography of my Father, The Resurrection of Philip Clairmont and Chronicle of the Unsung, which won the Biography Award at the 2005 Montana Book Awards and Luca Antara which was shortlisted in the history category of the same award for 2006.Reviews
"...this is an intensely thought-provoking book, one which doesn't reveal all it's got to say on the surface, but one which richly repays perseverance. A simple travel narrative it's not - but then, which of the great travel books can claim to be simple?"
- Jack Ross, Brief magazine (edition 38)
"Edmond has a fine feel for place and character (Becker's death at Bulloo Creek is like something from Nolan or White) and his meditations on art, life and death lend this rich, often wistful tale further layers."
- The Age
"One thing that is immediately appealing about this book is the author's obvious passion for his subject. It suffuses every page...As he travels north from Melbourne unravelling the story of Becker's trek, he also manages to paint a picture of the colonial era with all its aspirations and brutishness...Edmond likes to inhabit his subject and his search for the spirit of Becker becomes a personal journey as well, a meditation on life and death. At times he gets a bit carried away...Even so, his enthusiasm is infectious and the subject is fascinating."
- Australian Literary Review (The Australian)
"Last night I finished reading this book, that had occupied the privileged bedtime reading spot. In the past few nights, as it drew up towards its final chapters (or did it fall away towards them?) a sadness grew in me that I would soon be coming to the end of the story. The familiar...sweet regret and almost disbelief that one is nearing the end of a really good book...I could read it again...This is one great book."
- http://schroedingerstabby.blogspot.com
"This is the book of the year!"
- Peter Goers, ABC 891 Adelaide, South Australia & Broken Hill
""The Supply Party"...is clearly speculative, but at the same time meticulously researched, and powerful...A number of his [Becker's]extraordinary watercolours of outback landscapes and of the animals and native people they encountered are reproduced in the book...Their reproduction is worth the price alone as they are so precise and mysteriously evocative and sensitive for a European of the time...."The Supply Party" is the best book I have read in years. "
- Wet Ink
"In this rather unusual history, Martin Edmond tells the story of artist and naturalist Ludwig Becker, by following in his footsteps...The story of the expedition itself is very interesting and makes this book a worthwhile read."
- South Coast Register
"Edmond's prose is chatty and engaging, yet sympathetic to the hardships encountered by the artist. He takes the reader on a detour to curious outposts including Lake Mungo and Tibooburra, bringing alive each place with intrigue. The book is illustrated with outstanding paintings and sketches..."The Supply Party" is recommended for the history student and anyone who appreciates a darn good Aussie yarn."
- Hume / Moreland Reader
"The Supply Party, an intoxicating hybrid of history, travel writing, art criticism, biography and memoir, focuses on [Ludwig Becker] one of the lesser-known members of what we know as the Burke and Wills Expedition...Despite Burke's attempts to suppress his skills, Becker produced a remarkable series of paintings of the land, people, flora and fauna, many of which have been reproduced in The Supply Party. Edmond begins his search to discover Becker by travelling to the libraries that house these paintings. He soon finds himself on the trail of his subject. This journey, complete with Edmond's musings on Australia and its history, results in an episodic narrative that echoes the expedition itself."
- New Zealand Listener
"Now, I'm an explorer by heart and nature, but this book begs the big question - Why??? To have undertaken a challenge as great as that embarked by The Victorian Exploring Expedition is one thing, but to endure the apparent bullish, obstinate nature of Burke is quite another...The Supply Party painstakingly details the absurdity of attempts to cross Australia's unforgiving heart while lugging along such "essentials" as a cast-iron bathtub (complete with feet) and a large, wooden table!"
- Travelling Australia
"And what a journey it is for the reader from the 21st century. Here we are offered not only particulars from the expedition but other delights along the way such as a reflection about Ned Kelly's armour and the story of William Buckley, an escaped convict who was rescued by Aborigines and who lived with them for some time as part of the tribe...The Supply Party is a moving memoir on the delicate complexities of history, vast, unforgiving landscapes and extraordinary human beings."
- The Courier Mail
"I love your descriptions of the towns you go through, especially Bourke...I sort of fancied I was on the trip with you when I was reading the book. I could almost taste the dust and hear the birds singing...I'd rather have been with you on that trip than the men because in the end it was really tragic. It was really sad to read about what the men went through...it was a terrible waste."
- Deborah Smith, Radio Southland 96.4FM (New Zealand)
"Let's go back to 1860 and the artist who accompanied Burke and Wills on that ill-fated expedition...Ludwig Becker and the telling of his story has been done by Martin Edmond"
- Annette Marner, ABC radio Regional South Australia
"Author Martin Edmond offers a more philosophical approach to the story [of Burke and Wills], focusing on the background and experience of the expedition naturalist and artist Ludwig Becker...In his own initial research of Becker, Edmond mentions that he was frustrated by the lack of information providing a "sense of the inwardness of the man". It is this perspective that Edmond seeks to offer in "The Supply Party" and through this he also brings a more sensitive and intellectual approach to the history of the Burke and Wills expedition itself...a thoughtful and well-written account of a significant undertaking in Australian exploration history...Edmond's appreciation of Becker as an artist and scientist and his own intelligent observations and interpretations of the historical facts of the expedition offer new insight into an oft told tale."
- Susan Whelan, http://australian-literature.suite101.com/article.cfm/book_review_the_supply_party_by_martin_edmond
"...the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition...there have been so many accounts, so many different stories written about the expedition, but none as fascinating I don't think as the one that I've just read about the artist who was on the expedition. His name was Ludwig Becker...it is a real achievement...we hope lots of people have this window opened onto Ludwig Becker's life because it's very, very illuminating."
- Kieran Weir, 639ABC radio North & West South Australia