Memoir: Faraday – a Community Rediscovered
Join us to hear from author Robyn Howarth on her memoir Faraday – a Community Rediscovered.
Faraday, such a beautiful part of the world, a small hamlet in rural Victoria nestled under the serene gaze of Mount Alexander. Once, families of many generations proudly farmed their land, knew and helped their neighbours. In the 19th century this community built a granite school building that would be known as the Faraday State School 797.
It was a source of pride to the community and educated their children well. This school building provided the social hub for the community to gather, mingle, share stories, and celebrate events. In 1972, the unthinkable happened, a heinous event occurred and was coined as the crime of the century, known as the Faraday kidnapping.
Two masked men burst into the school room on Friday 6th October 1972 and kidnapped the young female teacher and six female students. This wicked act brought the Faraday community to its knees and thrust into the national spotlight in an insidious way. Their actions led to the closure of the school, and a loss of innocence was felt by the wider community. In the years that followed Faraday was for ever known as that place where those kids were taken, and people would shudder when hearing the name Faraday.
Robyn Howarth, who was 10 years old at that time, tells her story of life on the farm, that heinous event and the aftermath in the long road for justice Telling the story through the lens of childhood trauma, and the effect it had on herself and her family. It has taken Robyn 62 years to acknowledge with pride that she came from Faraday and was educated at Faraday State School 797.
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