Image: The Shay Bell and the Binna Burra Bell book it inspired.

A historic dinner bell, discovered amongst the ashes of Binna Burra Lodge after the 2019 bushfire, has inspired a new children’s book celebrating hope, renewal and the lodge’s enduring story.

For many years, the bell was rung at the lodge to alert guests that “dinner was served”. The bell was originally used in the early 1900s on a Shay steam locomotive which worked the timber tramway at the Lahey Timber Mill hauling logs from Pine Creek to the mill in Canungra, and was donated to the lodge in 1934.

Following the official re-opening of the lodge, expected in early November, the bell will be reinstated to its original location in the lodge forecourt.

The book takes young readers on an adventure at Binna Burra, as it was before the Black Summer fires where they can delight in activities like the flying fox and a night-time wildlife walk. The historic dinner bell features throughout.

‘Binna Burra Bell’ was written by, Catherine McLeod, a child survivor of the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires in South-West Victoria.

This uplifting story is beautifully illustrated by Sydney based artist Dr. Lucila Zentner who has donated her time to create exceptional water colour and pencil illustrations. Lucila was recently a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Award.

“As a fellow bushfire survivor, it has been an honour to be part of Binna Burra’s recovery journey and to share the story of Binna Burra for young readers” Catherine said.

“I have been delighted to collaborate closely with my friend, Dr Lucila Zentner on this book. I find her illustrations beautiful and feel they work very harmoniously with the text”.

“I hope readers of ‘Binna Burra Bell’ can discover through its pages, the Binna Burra that so many Queenslanders and visitors from around Australia, remember with fondness”.

‘Binna Burra Bell’ represents a very special collaboration between two generations of bushfire survivors, and is a project led by the Binna Burra Foundation, a not-for-profit environmental charity.

In her Afterword written for the book, Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeanette Young AC PSM, Governor of Queensland writes “The project represents a unique community-led collaboration between the fire affected communities in different parts of the country. It lays the groundwork for the sharing of knowledge about long-term disaster recovery and resilience at community level.”

The launch and a special reading of the book will be held at the Beechmont Primary School on Tuesday 8 September commencing at 9:30 am. The author, Catherine McLeod, will attend, do the reading and afterwards sign copies of the book for purchasers. The Binna Burra Foundation will present a number of complimentary copies of the book to the school library.

The book was published by Penfolk and is distributed by John Reed Books.

It is available at all good bookstores and through Booktopia at a retail price of $15.

This is a second work by Catherine McLeod. Catherine’s first picture story book, ‘Wednesday is Jim Day’ was published in partnership with Moyne Shire Council. The print run was distributed as gifts to schools and libraries in South-West Victoria. Catherine was invited to visit numerous schools, and received enquiries from major book buyers, including James Bennett and DLS Books. 

Catherine is passionate about high quality literature for children, that explores themes of post disaster healing and hope, in an age-appropriate format. Catherine writes from an authentic position as a child survivor of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters – the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.  

Catherine’s accomplished writing skills were developed through the completion of a degree majoring in linguistics at Monash University, and further honed through post graduate studies researching literacy disorders.  

Catherine’s writing for children is characterised by clarity of theme, and a circular narrative. She loves seeing children discover the joy of reading, and is passionate about books that are accessible to children who experience print disability.

The Binna Burra cultural landscape is very special to Catherine, and she has wonderful memories of having holidayed there on several occasions in the past.