Meet David Morgan, War Veteran, PTSD Survivor, Adventurer and Author

June 2016 Meeting Author Talk, RSVP for the meeting Here

Ice Journey

A story of Adventure, Escape and Salvation

"I was a 52-year-old man, married with two teenage children, trying to get down to Antarctica. "Everyone has an Antarctica", Thomas Pynchon once wrote. As a young bloke standing on the edge of a windy, wintery Melbourne beach… I just knew, staring towards the cold vastness of the Southern Ocean, that one day I’d go beyond the horizon." Dave Morgan

Ice Journey is the biography of Vietnam veteran Dave Morgan, a self confessed ordinary bloke who has lead anything but an ordinary life.

David was born in Melbourne in 1948. He, his twin Don, older brother Gerald and sister Sybil (Patsy) were raised single-handedly by their mother, Sybella, widowed when husband Gerald (Gus) died suddenly during her pregnancy with the twins. With a childhood filled with many moves due to Sybella’s ill heath and her need to find work, Dave found adventure and a taste for travelling. He joined the Citizens Military Force in his sub-senior year and took private flying lessons, eventually joining the Army at the end of the school year.

On 1 January 1969, he left his family in Brisbane for Vietnam as part of the 104 Signal Squadron. During his term, he served at several fire support bases and dealt with attacks by the Viet Cong. During one of those attacks, his pit hole engulfed him, and after he returned to an unsympathetic Australia, he started reliving that experience night after night.

He hid it well from all but his family – wife Deb and children David and Michelle. They moved around Queensland for Dave’s job as a Technical Officer (Weather Observer) for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, but his desire for isolation led him to expeditions at Macquarie Island and Davis Station. A few hours after he arrived at Casey Station for his next expedition, he slipped on blue ice and his severe head and neck injury forced a medivac back to the mainland.

Now retired, Dave is seeking treatment for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which Antarctica finally made him acknowledge.

You can secure your spot for First Thursday's June 2016 meeting NOW

An exciting start to 2014

a large handful of new and established members...

plus excellent reading....

leading to relaxed yet illuminating conversations...

2013 - A Very Good Year

2013 was the year First Thursday established itself as a mature forum for lovers of literature, for those who enjoy sharing in a relaxed yet vibrant milieu.

We’ve hosted three published authors this year and enjoyed some terrific reads leading to animated, enlightening, entertaining, and often hilarious discussions.

And we’re planning to enjoy plenty more in 2014.

But without members, there would be no First Thursday. So we, Joe and Hazel, would like to thank our dear Lit-Lovers for the wonderful contribution you make. And we invite you to join us again in 2014.

Our first meeting is on the first Thursday of February 2014, with the books ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck.

There is no January meet up.

Merry Christmas and a here's to a rich and fulfilling 2014.

Tiana Templeman

Exciting News!

Local travel author and journalist Tiana Templeman will be attending our meeting on 7th November to tell us about her work and the challenging process of becoming a published author.
 
Tiana Templeman is published with Random House. She is a freelance writer and experienced corporate trainer who tutors regularly for Queensland Writers Centre and other writer-based organisations. She has delivered ‘Working with the Media’ courses for Tourism Queensland and tutors journalism students at the Queensland University of Technology.
Tiana holds a Master of Creative Industries and is on the committee of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. She is currently completing a PhD on 'The Future of Freelance Journalism in Australia'.
 
Her first book, a travel narrative entitled Absolutely Faking It, has been reprinted numerous times and translated for overseas publication.
 
Tiana writes for a number of publications including The Australian, BRIDE Destination, The Sunday Mail, ninemsn, The Courier-Mail, Australian Traveller and The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide
 
She appears regularly at industry events and as a guest presenter on ABC 612 Queensland and 4BC talking about where to go, what to do and travel industry trends.

More exciting news!
Published Sci-Fi Romance author Lynne Stringer will be speaking at our December 5th meeting about her journey to publication, the recently published first novel in her trilogy and  the secrets to writing a publishable manuscript. 
You can RSVP for the meeting here and you can find out more about Lynne here.

Books on a Boat?

In February Thorsten and Alpha hosted our meeting aboard Thorsten's catamaran....

Our relaxed yet dynamic group tends towards the adventurous...


Yet First Thursday enjoys the informative too - members can meet informed readers as well as published authors at our hosted events and thereby discover the story behind the story.

Annette Henderson to Speak at First Thursday Book Club's April Event