ON a balmy Sunday autumn afternoon on May 25, 2014, with the temperature climbing to 27 degrees, the DH Lawrence Society of Australia held its 22nd birthday party and celebrated the 92nd anniversary of Lawrence's arrival in Sydney.
With the roses blazing in the gardens outside the Rose Garden Pavilion in Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden, eleven DHLA members enjoyed a picnic-style lunch while an inquisitive ibis pottered about snaffling crumbs.
The President of the Society, Robert Darroch, addressed the gathering and imparted some important news - the last piece in the jigsaw of his 40 years of research into Lawrence's time in Australia had finally fallen into place. We now know the identity of the member of the Friend family whom Lawrence met in Sydney in 1922 and whose wife was the model for the main part of the character Victoria Callcott. (See Rob's item dated 5/5/14 in his Research Diary on this site.)
The Secretary of the Society, Sandra Darroch, then conducted an extremely brief AGM during which Robert Darroch was re-elected as President, Lindsay Foyle was elected Vice-President, and Sandra Darroch was voted unanimously as Secretary. Some events would be planned for the coming year, and members will be advised of these on the website and by email. A sum of $55 was raised at the event.
The ibis picked up some literary crumbs
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Greg Baran
