Meet a Member: Jane Caro AM

Lives: Sydney

MRAG Member: Since 2018

Jane Caro AM

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a writer, speaker, broadcaster, documentary maker and social commentator. I make my living talking to others about the things I really care about – public education, women’s rights and feminism, politics, climate change and inequality. I do this via all sorts of mediums – novels; nonfiction (my latest book is 'Accidental Feminists'); columns; speaking (most of my income comes from speaking at conferences and events); broadcasting; documentaries (I am currently finishing my 5th documentary series for ABC Compass); and social commentary (I won the 2018 Walkley Award for Women’s Leadership in the Media and I now have over 100,000 followers on Twitter).

On our 300-acre property in the Upper Allyn, my husband and I breed Canadian Speckle Park beef cattle and are growing 100 acres of hardwood eucalypts.

What do you like about MRAG?

My daughter and I discovered MRAG via the fabulous café. I have always found the best cafes in art galleries wherever I travel, and Maitland is no exception. Then we realised what a wonderful and child-friendly gallery it is; my grandchildren particularly love playing with the toys, producing their own art and dressing up. I have also bought many gifts (sometimes for myself) in the terrific shop. I regard it as a regional gem and try to visit as often as I can.

What have been some of your favourite visual art experiences in recent years?

I have had the honour of being painted for the Archibald by three different, but hugely talented artists in the last few years – Louisa Chircop, Dale Rhodes and Marie Mansfield. None were hung in the Archibald but two of the portraits have been finalists in other competitions – Louisa’s portrait in the Portia Geach Memorial Award and Marie’s in both the 2019 Kilgour Art Prize and the Portia Geach. I always enjoy portraits (I am fascinated by people) and try to go to exhibitions like these whenever I can, so it is a particular pleasure to be painted myself!

What are you enjoying reading, writing, watching and/or listening to at the moment?

I have just finished Jess Hill’s extraordinary examination of why men commit domestic violence (a change of emphasis that is long overdue, if you ask me), 'See What You Made Me Do', and it has left me breathless. It is not a light or easy read but I recommend it unreservedly. I am also thoroughly enjoying writing my next novel (for young adults), provisionally titled ‘Snow on the Tops’, on the verandah at our farm overlooking the Allyn River and Carey’s Peak in the Barringtons. It is set in the Lister Village in the Upper Allyn in 1967 and will be published in 2020 – as long as I finish it by Christmas!

What are some of your favourite places to visit in Maitland and the region?

The Upper Allyn is obviously first on my list; it is one of the most beautiful and little-known parts of Australia. Walking in the temperate rainforest that makes up the mountainous Barringtons is a wonderful experience - we particularly enjoy the Peach Tree Walk and the walk to Burraga Swamp (the highest suspended peat bog in NSW) – and the bird life is extraordinary. We routinely see lyrebirds, black cockatoos, scarlet honeyeaters (we have a pair in our garden), superb blue wrens, yellow robins, king parrots, wedge-tailed eagles soaring above the forest, willy wag-tails (my favourite), thrushes (we have three in the garden all called Geoffrey – fat Geoffrey, thin Geoffrey and just right Geoffrey) and far too many others to mention. The Allyn River itself, particularly this close to the forest, is a sparkling clean, wild river that is a delight to swim in on hot afternoons.

We love the spectacular drive across the Salisbury Gap to Dungog and Dungog itself, which remains an unspoiled, wide-main-street Aussie bush town. We must also give a shout out to the Bank Hotel in East Maitland where we often stop for a good pub meal on our way to the farm from Sydney on a Friday night and, of course, MRAG, where we have enjoyed many an excellent lunch and wander around the Gallery on a stinking hot day.