Last week, the community gathered at Radius Arts in Hepburn Springs for a moving and deeply emotional launch of Crossroads – My Stories of Balibo, a new book of poetry and prose by local storyteller Anne E. Stewart. The event, marking the 50th anniversary of the murder of five Australian journalists in East Timor, including Anne’s brother Tony Stewart, drew a packed audience who sat spellbound, at times joining in laughter and at other times visibly moved to tears.
On 16 October 1975, Tony Stewart was just 21 years old when he and fellow journalists Greg Shackleton, Gary Cunningham, Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie were killed by Indonesian forces in the small town of Balibo. The event, now remembered as one of the darkest moments in Australia’s media and diplomatic history, continues to raise questions about truth, justice, and government accountability.
Anne E. Stewart, who has spent decades as a professional storyteller and family archivist, has channelled her family’s grief and resilience into Crossroads. Combining poetry, family stories, and photos from the family archives, the book offers an intimate window into the private impact of public tragedy.
In a powerful series of poems and prose, the book touches on almost every aspect of the events surrounding the murders, from the appalling duplicity of the Australian Government’s response and its failure to communicate properly with the Stewart family to the devastating lifelong consequences for that family of the loss of its oldest child in such violent and public circumstances.
Much has been written about the Balibo Five, but much less has been told about the suffering of the families and loved ones. Anne E’s book gives readers a rare glimpse inside the enduring pain of those left behind. Poet Ross Gillett described the poems as “rich in detail and heartbreaking in their close focus on a family suffering a uniquely awful loss.” Anne E brings to life the experience of her parents and siblings as they grappled with loss, silence, and the failures of official communication in the aftermath of Tony’s death. She also details the unrelenting work of the family to commemorate Tony’s life through their contributions to and involvement in the Timor-Leste community.
The launch included readings by Anne E accompanied by projected images, music and recordings of interviews with her mother. Audience members described the presentation as both beautiful and devastating; an act of remembrance that honoured not only the journalists who died but the families who bore the consequences of their loss.
Anne E, who was visibly moved at times during her presentation, thanked the audience that included family members, many local friends and even childhood friends, saying how wonderful it was to tell her story to her “mates”.
Fifty years after his death, the anguish experienced by Tony’s parents and siblings is vividly presented by Anne E Stewart in a work that should matter to us all.
Crossroads – My Stories of Balibo is available through Anne E Stewart’s website and at Paradise Books inDaylesford.
