FREMANTLE ROUND HOUSE JOHN GAVIN WRITING COMPETITION 2024
THE JOHN GAVIN WRITING COMPETITION 2024 IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE AUSTRALIAN CULTURAL FUND.
On the 6th of April 1844, Easter Saturday, John Gavin was hanged in front of the Fremantle Round House and buried without ceremony in the sand dunes nearby. Thought to be around fifteen years old (but records indicate he could have been as old as 17, being of small stature and possibly lying about his age) and having been sent out to the Colony to be apprenticed labour from the Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, John was convicted of murdering his employer’s son, George Pollard, on a farm in Dandalup. John Gavin’s tale is one of hardship and tragedy and an uncomfortable reminder of our not so distant past.
Panorama of the Swan River Settlement watercolour drawing by Jane Eliza Currie 1831 (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales).
It is coming up to 180 years since John Gavin was executed near the front of the Fremantle Round House. He was the youngest and the first European to be executed in the Swan River Colony. To recognise this significant event in Western Australian history the Fremantle Volunteer Heritage Guides Association is conducting the John Gavin Writing Competition 2024.
John Gavin Writing Competition 2024 Open Category
MUST INCLUDE: – John Gavin and/or his trial, 1840s Swan River Colony setting
FORM: – Open
GENRE: – Open
THEME: – Lost Worlds
WORD LIMIT: – 750
Accepting NATIONAL Entries, no age limit.
Drawing on the trial of John Gavin and the historical resources provided, create a story that explores John Gavin’s story while touching on the theme Lost Worlds, contemplating how the vivid manifestations of hopes and fears represented in our dreams can slip away upon awakening, much as the intensity of lived experiences may begin to be lost in the historical record. From overt scenes to oblique references, dreams or nightmares must feature somewhere in your interpretation along with references to John Gavin and the 1840s Swan River Colony setting. Your story may have a character turn to the comfort of escaping reality, suffer the dread of premonition, the grip of re-lived trauma, or seek the enveloping embrace of sleep itself while grappling with this tragic tale from our state’s past. We are looking for creativity in your interpretation while maintaining reasonable historical detail. Click HERE for flyer
John Gavin Writing Competition 2024 for WA Students
MUST INCLUDE: – John Gavin and/or his trial, 1840s Swan River Colony setting
FORM: – Open (short story, poem, created diary entry or personal letter etc.)
GENRE: – Open (Sci-Fi, love story, fantasy, ghost story, time travel etc.)
THEME: – Lost Worlds
WORD LIMIT: – 500
Accepting W.A. Schools and WA Home Schooled Entries, grades 5 to 10
Like dreams and nightmares after we wake up, sometimes people from the past start to be forgotten as time goes on. After learning about the trial of John Gavin from the resources provided on our website, create a story about John Gavin’s story that includes either a dream or a nightmare to help bring his story back to life. You might have a character that dreams of a nicer place than where they find themselves while they’re awake, or someone might have a nightmare about a terrible crime that hasn’t even happened yet. We want you to think about the way dreams and nightmares, hopes and fears change the way we see our life, and how your characters understand the story they live in through these different emotional states. We are looking for creativity in your interpretation while maintaining reasonable historical detail. Check out our creative writing prompts at the end of our recommended reading list to help you get started. Click HERE for flyer.
Our Judge This Year – Joanna Morrison
Joanna Morrison is a writer and former journalist based in Boorloo (Perth), WA. Her debut novel The Ghost of Gracie Flynn (Fremantle Press, 2022) was short listed for the Hungerford Award in 2020 and received a WA creative development grant in 2021. Joanna’s short stories have appeared in various Australian journals and anthologies since she completed her Creative Writing PhD in 2014. Prior to that, as part of her Creative Writing MA, Joanna researched and wrote a creative work set in historical Fremantle, so she is particularly thrilled to read and engage with short fiction that explores this fascinating part of Australian history.
If you would like to read last year’s winning entries and Judge’s comments (Brooke Dunnell), please click HERE
The John Gavin Writing Competition – both categories – opens 8:00 am 12 February 2024 and closes 11:59 pm 12 May 2024.
Competition word limits, entry fees and prize details for both categories in the competition are listed below:
- John Gavin Writing Competition (Open) 2024 – 750 word limit
- John Gavin Writing Competition for WA Students 2024 – 500 word limit.
Entry Fees: OUR HUMANIX PAYMENT PORTAL EXPERIENCE A TECHNICAL ISSUE. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN RECITIFIED. WE HAVE EXENDED OUR CLOSE OFF DATE FOR ACCEPTING ENTRIES TO MIDNIGHT SUNDAY 19th MAY 2024. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVIENCE.
$10 per entry (plus Humanitix Fee) for the Open Category.
John Gavin Writing Competition (Open) Pay HERE
$7.50 per entry (plus Humanitix Fee) for the WA Students Only Category.
John Gavin Writing Competition for WA Students Only Pay HERE
Prizes:
John Gavin Writing Competition (Open) – 1st Prize $350 2nd Prize $200
John Gavin Writing Competition (WA Students Only) – 1st Prize $150, 2nd Prize $100
Click HERE for John Gavin Writing Competition 2024 Entry Form Open Category
Click HERE for John Gavin Writing Competition 2024 Entry Form for WA Students
Click HERE for Terms and Conditions John Gavin Writing Competition 2024
Prompts and other recommended reading:
Links to Articles regarding John Gavin and other recommended reading:-
https://fremantlestuff.info/people/gavin.html
(By kind permission of Garry Gillard)
Extract-from-Enquirer-10-April-1844-Trial-of-John-Gavin
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65583189
(Trial of John Gavin as reported in Inquirer, Perth, 10 April 1844, Quarter Sessions)
Click HERE for Prompts
Click here for JG Fact Sheet
RECOMMENDED READING:
Many Years a Thief, David Hutchison, Wakefield Press, 2007.
Fate of the Artful Dodger – Parkhurst Boys Transported to Australia and New Zealand 1842-1852, Paul Buddee, St George Books, 1984.
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens, Simon & Schuster, 1838.
Wanting more on the story? Come see our special Death in Dandalup – the John Gavin Story tours, running only on weekends in April at the Fremantle Round House. Check our socials for more information.
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