The magnitude of Mungallala
June's meeting report by Owen Jacques

Jennifer Beale's work on the small publication Mungallala Memories is impossibly impressive. What was just as impressive was Jennifer's costume as she entered the Society's June meeting. She arrived in the guise of Mary Anna McManus, whose book Reminiscences of the Early Settlement of the Maranoa District had 'just been completed' (1907).

The information for the 2004 publication Mungallala Memories was put together so that the small district of Mungallala would have a record of times past and a compendium of stories, photographs and histories from around the region.

Jennifer described how, during the 1980s, 'Mungallala Week' was held: an invitation for former locals to return to their stomping grounds and maybe share a nostalgic story or ten. This event, surpassing all expectations, often had over a thousand attendees. Not bad for a region with a usual population of 'around 50'. It was with these funds that the idea was put forward to publish a book about the region to coincide with the local state school's centenary. This is where Jennifer came in. With her mother, Ada Beale, being one of the early history gatherers, Jennifer was always kept in mind for the editing once the time came.

For 20 years, Mungallala locals called for, compiled and collected all manner of information about the region: its history, the landowners and various other tidbits that would prove useful come publishing time. The team of three women (called the 'history committee') selected from the multitude of writing and photos, organised the ten sections into introduction and nine chapters, selected their pre-press/printer and managed the necessary permissions. Now it was time for Jennifer's work to begin in earnest.

With the call received, Jennifer began making frequent trips out past Roma (this is where Mungallala is for the uninitiated). Her first reading of the prepared material revealed the variety of chapter materials and the potential individual handling required for each chapter. She also noted how much the book drew either directly or indirectly on Mary McManus's memiors. Discussions with the team explored which parts of the book gelled and which should be discarded. Complaints from locals (property ownership; shearing records; skeletons in cupboards) were addressed and things were definitely beginning to take shape.

Jennifer told of her proposal to the group that the first chapter should be rewritten (by her) based on accurate archival records rather than in its original form borrowing so heavily from Mary McManus's memiors. She described how she explored numerous archives in Brisbane with the aim of finding out accurate information about deed changes, rent payers and lots of other exciting information. As Jennifer so eloquently put it in her speech, 'One is history and the other is fact'.

One example of writing from a real 'primary source' is in the education chapter. One history committee member knew the school intimately; not only had she attended the primary school (as most of the group had), she had returned after secondary school to become the teacher aide in the school — which she still is today.

Jennifer shared a few anecdotes of the usual editorial bugbears of 'me/I', double spacing and en dashes, along with a few unexpected ones she had encountered in the pre-press area, before describing her final proofreading exercise on a picnic table outside a deserted service station as the sun came up (between arriving on the bus and delivering to the printer). She also explained to us that the costume she was wearing that evening was the one she had made — having finished just in time to leave for the venue! — for the book launch of Mungallala Memories on the opening night of the school's centenary celebrations weekend.

Extrapolating from her experience, particularly of these ongoing editorial and pre-press bugbears, Jennifer Beale spoke of the need for editors to reassess the ever-widening gap between the traditions of the publishing profession in its 'publishing house' orientation and the interest of the general public in the readily available self-publishing facilities. 'What is the balance in this climate for pre-press/printers and editors and the things we traditionally hold dear?' is the question she posed for our consideration. Jennifer advised that Mungallala Memories is still available for purchase (contact her on 07 3345 4353).