Storyteller: Anne E Stewart

Anne fell into storytelling in 1977, when she was working as the assistant children’s librarian at Geelong. It was her lot to drive the Jolly Jumbuck storytelling van to various sites around the area, gather the children and tell them a story. She discovered she was good at it.

Completing her Bachelor of Arts/Librarianship at Ballarat CAE (Council of Adult Education), Anne had the great fortune to be encouraged and mentored by Thelma Rungkat, Mem Fox, patron of the South Australian Storytelling Guild, and Dromkeen Medal recipient Patricia Scott.

The turning point in Anne’s career came with her first job as children’s librarian at Darwin Library. That period set her on a quest to find the stories of Australia. For more than 20 years, Anne has worked with indigenous storytellers and others to build her bank of tales about convicts, pastoralists, gold, immigration, local people and local places.

She has plumbed the resources of the Australiana Room at the Central Highlands Regional Library, she regularly tells stories in the Fine Art Gallery, is a producer for ABC Radio Ballarat and has completed several story projects through the ABC’s Regional Production Fund.

Anne has developed stories and programs for the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Museum of Australia and has spoken at several conferences for the International Museums Theatre Alliance. At the fourth biennial IMTAL Conference in October, 2005, Anne was invited to tell her family’s story of its relationship with East Timor and the death at Balibo in 1975 of her eldest brother, Tony.

In the words of one newspaper reviewer, “with her bubbly, enthusiastic nature, telling stories for a living comes naturally to Anne Stewart. It may be an unusual occupation, but it’s one on which she thrives”.

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