Patrick Witton

Nov 30, 2024 | themonthly.com.au | Patrick Witton |Kath Kenny |Anna Goldsworthy |Margaret Simons

The Coranderrk Currawongs have some stiff competition in this year’s Landcare Victoria Twitchathon. Other strong teams competing in the environmental organisation fundraiser include the Sticky Nillumbeaks, The Crows Have Eyes, Raiders of the Lost Songlark and – comp favourites – Phaps Around The Traps. But the Currawongs feel they’re in with a chance to win the “race”, achieved if they identify the most bird species during a six-hour window.

Jun 28, 2024 | themonthly.com.au | Patrick Witton |Jonathan Green |Anthony Ham |Margaret Simons

The author’s speculation of Harry Houdini’s life in Melbourne in the early 1900s is impressively packed with period detail and fascinating characters Historical fiction can be a shaky thing. It leans close to the “based on a true story” hook, where an author takes an account and stretches a tale around it, hoping the seams won’t pop. But, of course, the “historical” aspect requires a certain rigour, lest an anachronism slip in and shatter the façade.

May 30, 2024 | themonthly.com.au | Patrick Witton |Laura Tingle |Kate Manne |Katherine Wilson

What’s being done to protect Victoria’s state emblem, the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater? It’s a mid-autumn morning, and a fleet of LandCruisers carrying half a dozen insignia-clad officials – representing Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria, the state environment department – is making its way to Yellingbo, a semirural spot on Melbourne’s eastern fringe. Deep in the verdant folds of the Yarra Valley, Yellingbo is not a town that gets much activity, let alone authorised gatherings.