Forty South Tasmania - Issue 115

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FROM THE EDITOR: Twelve years ago, after I had drunk a toast to Warren Boyles, wished him well on his journey into retirement, and slid into his chair behind the editor’s desk at Forty South Tasmania, I thought, “Now I can write!” I’d been an editor for more decades than you can count on one – never mind – and I thought this was finally my time to write. And I did – I wrote one or two feature stories, and I wrote four or five Tasmanian Whimsy columns. The whimsies dominated because they were the most fun.

And then I stopped writing. The reason is simple: I was too busy editing.

In those early days, there was another layer of reasoning in removing my writer’s hat, which was that Forty South was essentially good writing about things Tasmanian, with particular strength, as shown by reader feedback, in the areas of history, wilderness and environment, people profiles and local epicure.

In other words, non-fiction. “Whimsy”? What was I thinking?

Times change. And circumstances change. When we acquired a website in 2020, we went from the restricted space of one magazine every three months to the infinite capacity of the internet. Which means that, when I recently received a wonderful submission from David Hurburgh which was decidedly whimsical, I knew that Tasmanian Whimsy could and should be revived. I rummaged around in my desk drawers and fund my old writer’s hat and put it on and wrote a whimsy of my own. And after I published both of them on the website, I decided that those who read the magazine only – and there are many – should have option of reading them too. So, after more than 10 years, please welcome back Tasmanian Whimsy. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as David Hurburgh and I enjoyed writing them.

Forty South Tasmania Magazine Description:

Tasmania has been described as the world's best-kept secret, but it's not our fault - we have been telling the world about Tasmania for over 20 years. Forty South Tasmania has been described as a lifestyle magazine with brains. It offers three things: interesting features about Australia's island state, good writing and stunning photography. The magazine is a household name in Tasmania, but also has many subscribers elsewhere - people who have visited this beautiful place and now read the magazine for a regular reminder of an extraordinary experience. Forty South Tasmania offers feature stories, and stunning photography, about Tasmanian places and people, tourism, history and lifestyle, and regular columns on Tasmanian food, wine, arts and culture.