Living On The Coast

In this book Kathleen McArthur presents a personal account of living on the coast in Queensland, and of her efforts to halt the destruction of the coastal landscape through changing the attitudes of the Australian public toward their coastal heritage.

This wildflower artist extraordinaire, environmental educator, modest playwright, theatrical impresario and author, captures our interest in this extremely important, historic struggle - not by presenting a sweeping analysis and scholarly overview, but by detailing a series of personal experiences and encounters that charm and arouse us.

Those readers who know Kathleen will not wonder at the focus of the early chapters on wildflowers, and will be delighted at the description of the evolution of this central passion which has so coloured her life on the coast.

Readers who do not know her may wonder what all this has to do with living on the coast. Be patient, for it will become clear, and these chapters really are a delightful history of Australia's gradually dawning awareness of the abuses that Australians have inflicted on their natural environmental heritage.

For most Australians their awakening has come through an interest in their wonderful and unique animals. For Kathleen, it came through an appreciation and love of wildflowers, and a concern that they were being lost as development proceeded.