Hurdles in Hobart
When writing travel fiction, I seek to tell the story of a city through a character who symbolises the city to me as well as linking that through the experiences of a traveller. Hurdles in Hobart evolved unusually in this way, as the story at the heart of the book was one that I had in my head many years before I first visited the city.
As a young man, I heard a story about the worlds worst jockey. He wasn’t from Hobart, but my own hometown of Adelaide. His name was Les Boots, and he was a jumps jockey who fell in every race he ever rode in. He was interviewed on radio in the 1980’s, and it proved hilarious as he shared stories about his career. Many different media outlets and racing websites have printed stories based on this one interview, but nothing further ever appeared about Boots. I always felt there was a book or a movie waiting to be written about him. Nothing ever came.
The story of Boots as he told it was great comedy, but when I thought of the human characteristics that would have driven him, I felt there was a story of triumph and persistence rather than one of failure. Fictionalising the concept of the ‘world’s worst jockey,’ I envisaged a reimagined story, highlighting the courage of the man.
Hobart, and the state of Tasmania, is something of Australia’s underdog. Multiple times controversy has been courted when Tasmania has been left off Australian maps. The state is often an afterthought to mainlanders; occasionally not even that. Once I first visited I realised that it should never be this, though in some ways the locals may appreciate being forgotten. It allows them to maintain the peace and serenity they have. As a tourist, the joys that follow this slower pace are wonderous. It does however make me see the state, and particularly Hobart itself, as greatly under appreciated. When I wanted a character that symbolised this underappreciated gem, I thought back to Les Boots, and the fictionalised version I had of him.
As a child, friends of mine told me about a classmate of theirs named Lucky. The one overriding memory I had of their story was ‘Lucky by name, very unlucky by nature.’ What could be a more perfect name for this character. When I looked back at old horse racing memorabilia from the post-war era, the Irish Australians were largely at the fore. Lucky O’Shaughnessy flowed perfectly, and so the character had come to life.
Linking a character from the post-war era to a modern traveller was always going to be a challenge. How could these travellers meet him? I wrestled with that idea for a long time before deciding that the interaction would be through his widow who would recount the story. From that point, it connected best with the traveller being a journalist, though I preferred the idea of her being at the student stage, thus not having a ready-made platform to retell Lucky’s story. It made sense that the story needed to be told differently, as that was what I was seeking to do.
Zaniya and her family are based on a family I met travelling in Russia. The family, from Newcastle in the United Kingdom served merely as a template; after spending a couple of days with them, we certainly didn’t know them well enough to be shaping characters around them. They were such wonderful people that they stayed in my head when I first started looking for English tourists in an Australia city. Zaniya is the one family member we get to know closely in Hurdles in Hobart and suffice to say she bares little resemblance to the young woman who first inspired her.
As a city, Hobart is framed by the River Derwent below and Mount Wellington above. This balance between mountain and river, high and low is symbolic of the city and the state of which it is the capital. Salamanca Place combines the historic architecture with modernity of purpose. It is politically unique; in a period of Liberal dominance around Australia, Labor governed for all but 2 years between 1934 and 1982. Now, in a stronger era for the ALP, Tasmania has the longest serving current Liberal government. It simultaneously straddles the line between being at the forefront of progress in Australia with being the bastion of conservatism. Where else would a project like MONA be undertaken? Wrest Point was the casino that predated any on the mainland by a decade. Contrasting this, Tasmania was known as ‘Bigots Island’ due to retaining harsh legislation against homosexuality far later than any other Western jurisdiction. The city and the state are an enigma in so many ways.
Hurdles in Hobart follows the Fergusson family for five days in Hobart and sets what I consider to be a perfect itinerary. A day on the magical Bruny Island. A day amongst the natural wonder of the Tasman Peninsula including time at the historic Port Arthur site. Visits to Mount Wellington, the Salamanca Markets and MONA. The nightlife of North Hobart, the culture of Battery Point and a day at the Elwick races. The focus of the book may be the story of Lucky, but in travel fiction it is important to ensure that the travel component does not get lost in amongst this.
Hurdles in Hobart begins with an outsiders view of ‘Tasmania’s biggest loser’ and ends with an inside view of ‘A true Tasmanian hero’. I believe this aligns with every person’s story. Our loves and our hates are often only separated by the perspective we have through a very narrow window. Reading Lucky’s story through the original newspaper article, he was a figured of parody. Reading it through Helen’s final letter he was an inspirational beacon of courage. Both were equally true, for any person is the sum of many characteristics. In life, we all too often ignore the many by running with an immediate acceptance of what we see first.
Hobart and Lucky O’Shaughnessy both become more wonderous the further you strip away any pre-conceived notions and delve more deeply into the reality before you.
Hurdles in Hobart will be released on 31 July 2023. To keep up to date with this progress, follow the CR Page – Travel Fiction page.