Frequently Asked Questions about
the Patrick White Centre

 

1    Why not purchase Dogwoods at Castle Hill?

Dogwoods was the house where Patrick White wrote The Tree of Man and Riders in the Chariot among other novels and where he and Manoly ran a small farm and bred dogs. Some have argued that this is a more significant house for White’s work. Certainly the imaginary village of Sarsaparilla was inspired by the landscape of Castle Hill as it was in the 1950s. However today it is hard to see any of this landscape in the new subdivisions that have replaced the small farms and bush blocks of 50 years ago. Dogwoods has been altered and now operates as a real estate agency. The land has been subdivided, all trace of the farm has gone, the trees planted by Patrick and Manoly have been cut down, and the significance of the place degraded. It has little potential for interpreting White’s work or life in the place. Moreover the place is not for sale.

20 Martin Road is more significant than Dogwoods. Unlike Dogwoods, the house and garden is intact and clearly reflects the taste and pattern of daily life of Patrick White and Manoly Lascaris from 1964 until White’s death in 1990. The neighbourhood setting is also much as it was when White and Lascaris lived at Martin Road. Moreover, White wrote some of his great novels, plays and short stories at 20 Martin Road; and the place and its neighbourhood is a recurring landscape in many of these works. It was while living at 20 Martin Road that Patrick White was awarded the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature for the Eye of the Storm, a novel that draws on the interiors of 20 Martin Road for Elizabeth Hunter’s Sydney mansion.

2    A Writer lives through his writing, not his house

Yes a writer lives through people reading his novels and short stories. But after a writer’s death they slip from public consciousness and go out of fashion, and so the works too go out of print. The Trust’s proposal is NOT for a traditional house museum, but a centre dedicated to reading Patrick White, and other activities in keeping with his values and interests. The Patrick White Centre will develop public and community conversations about Patrick White’s work, and collaborate with education bodies to encourage reading and study of his work, as well as supporting new writing.

Since White died there is a growing public culture around books and writing, reflected in writers’ festivals, lectures, book clubs and learning circles. Libraries too are now more than just places for quiet research and lending books. They are also centres for conversations about writers, books and ideas. Some may argue that reading is essentially a solitary activity that does not need a public infrastructure of talking at writers’ festivals or book clubs. However there is no doubt that these activities benefit writers and develop new readers and a deeper appreciation of their work. And readers value the networks, conversations and shared insights that develop through reading in book clubs. These clubs create new connections in communities, linking people to discuss good books and issues of substance. Patrick White’s work has never had the benefit of reaching new readers through these community networks.

3    Why not create a Patrick White Centre without buying the house?

If this could work without the house it would have happened already. Writer’s houses help keep the writer in focus and stimulate new ways of understanding the works. They are places of pilgrimage and a way of honouring the place of a great artist in society. 20 Martin Road, and the programmes and interpretation developed around the house and neighbourhood, will keep White’s work in the public eye.

The house itself is a highly significant part of Australia’s cultural history, recognised in its recent nomination to the NSW State Heritage Register. If the house is sold into private ownership, and despite heritage listing, it is likely that it will suffer major internal and external alterations. Some of the things that White most valued about the house, such as the extensive white walls for paintings, the kitchen and the garden, are bound to be altered if is privately owned.

4 What will happen to the house?

The National Trust will NOT own or manage the house. The intention is to establish an independent trust to operate the Patrick White Centre, with an experienced board representing key agencies and knowledgeable individuals who will guide the development of the Centre’s programmes.

20 Martin Road will not be a conventional house museum nor will it have huge numbers of visitors. It will be a living centre, promoting reading Patrick White, supporting writers and new writing, and collaborating on cultural programmes with many organisations. Many of its programmes will operate beyond the walls of the house. Depending on further planning and consultations, programmes run at the Patrick White Centre at 20 Martin Road could operate on a seasonal basis to balance its various objectives and conservation and residents’ needs.

 

5 How can I help?

Contact the National Trust on +61 292580123, add your comments on the Trust’s web page www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au and write to Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney City Council, the Premier Bob Carr and the Prime Minister, John Howard urging them to ensure that the house stays in public ownership.
Donations can also be made to the National Trust.

6 What would Patrick White think of this idea?

Patrick White enjoyed visiting writers’ houses and understood the way such places commemorate both the writer and their work. In 1988 he wrote to the NSW Government supporting conservation of ‘Wyewurk’ at Thirroul where D.H. Lawrence wrote Kangaroo and pointing to its potential as a destination for international visitors.

Obviously White did not plan for his house to become a museum or writers’ centre but nor did he take steps to prevent this as he might have done. Manoly Lascaris supported the creation of a Patrick White museum at 20 Martin Road and believed this would happen on his death. In a quiet and respectful way the Centre will honour their long partnership and the central role that Manoly played in sustaining White’s life and work. The Patrick White Centre will also further the work and causes that White supported through his philanthropy and advocacy.