By Hal G P Colebatch
Published by: The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship of Western Australia.
Reviewed by Brian Peachey
This book is a collector’s item because it is yet another piece of Colebatch’s literary eloquence. It is also a valuable piece for all who are associated with The Victoria League and the families involved with the League over the past hundred years.
When I reviewed his book The Light River I wrote: “Hal Colebatch has done it again! He has proved himself – if proof was necessary – to be one of Australia’s leading poets. We in Western Australia are fortunate to have in our midst such a towering literary figure.”
Although of a different genre, my comments are pertinent to the subject of this review.
It is important to remind readers that The Light River was awarded the 2008 WA Premier’s prize for poetry.
The primary purpose of the book is to celebrate the centenary of the formation of The Victoria League in Western Australia and therefore it is a history of the League, but it is more than that. It is far from being a dull account of its formation and the portrayal of the many generous people who built and sustained the organisation for such an incredibly long time.
The Victoria League was indeed fortunate to have a person with the highest literary skill, but also one who is an eminent historian. In the first chapter, The Queen, Colebatch sketches a succinct account of Queen Victoria’s exemplary life and her contribution to society – the gentle lady who ruled for so long, so wisely and so well – and weaves through it valuable history of Britain, the British Empire, the beginning of the end of Imperialism and the formation of the Commonwealth.
The founding of the League in 1909 was a somewhat grand affair with the inaugural meeting being convened at Government House by the wife of the Governor, Lady Edeline Strickland, on 27 September 1909 with the immediate enrolment of 120 members. The patrons were the Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland, Lady Strickland and Lady Dudley. The President was Sir Edward Stone.
The League was to be non-political and strictly non-sectarian, but espouse patriotism and promote the best of British culture. It was to be a ‘service organisation’ doing good for the less fortunate. This was illustrated later, especially during the two World Wars when tons of clothing were gathered and made for the troops and shipped overseas with other items of ‘comfort’.
Colebatch covers the problems faced in the formation of the Commonwealth and sees value in maintaining it, which was supported by Queen Elizabeth in her 2009 Christmas message:
“The Commonwealth is not an organisation with a mission. It is rather an opportunity for its people to work together to achieve practical solutions to problems.
In many aspects of our lives, whether in sport, the environment, business or culture, the Commonwealth connection remains vivid and enriching … I am confident that this diverse Commonwealth of nations can strengthen the common bond that transcends politics, religion, race and economic circumstances.”
The book is a valuable asset or tool for The Victoria League and also for other like organisations and clubs experiencing a declining membership. In the introduction and also in the conclusion, Colebatch refers to the study of the American political scientist Robert D Putnam, Dillon Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University, Making Democracy Work.
Putnam’s thesis is that democracies flourish and prosper when they have the civic culture of clubs and societies providing what he terms social capital, defined as the instinct for trust and mutual obligation and a capacity for voluntary social and community action.
That and Putnam’s other work, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community should be compulsory study for the leaders of The Victoria League and those in other organisations to motivate existing members to rebuild and increase active membership for the good of the nation.
Sadly, and with convincing proof, Colebatch describes the negative examples and the consequences where voluntary associations do not form or simply fail to advance or fall to pieces.