In 2005 Martin Mulligan, a Melbourne academic began the Two Fires Festival in honour of the poet Judith Wright.
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Wright lived the last decades of her life in and around Braidwood before her death in 2000. Famous for her distinctively Australian poetry Wright was a passionate activist in the fields of indigenous and environmental affairs.
“She was way ahead of her time,” says Julia Green, coordinator of the festival committee. In her time Wright campaigned for the preservation of Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as advocating for the Aboriginal Land Rights movement.
"The two fires represents her twin passions of arts and activism," says Robin Tennant-Wood, secretary of the Two Fires committee.
The festival drew a range of speakers, performers and artists from around Australia, seeking to honour Wright’s legacy. Ms Green credits it also with helping to develop links between the town and the traditional owners of the land.
The festival will not be going ahead this year, due to lack of funding and human resources.
Ms Green says that while they had received support from the Community Bank, funding for small festivals was becoming increasingly hard to come by. The group had applied for a community grant from QPRC, as part of the Stronger Communities Fund, however did not receive funding.
“We were basically told it wasn’t a viable festival for them to support,” says Ms Tennant-Wood who believes that it is “disappointing that the council doesn’t acknowledge the benefits of an arts festival.”
Previous funding had come through the Veolia Mulwaree Trust and Country Arts Support Program.