Author Description

As a boy, Hal Colebatch began a love affair with caves through Naturalist Club excursions to limestone and sea-caves in Western Australia. In maturity he continued with speleological journeys in the south-west. His passion is eruditely expressed in this book as he explains part of the relationship of humans and caves in fiction and literature. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. From the Foreword by naturalist Harry Butler The fascination of caves says something about the human appetite for wonder, for mystery and majesty. From grunting cavemen to menancing goblins, caves have played a role in human culture and story-telling. They provide a glittering backdrop to the tales of King Arthur and a depository for legendary treasure hoards from the Norse sagas through H.Rider Haggard to J.R.R. Tolkein. The modern-day speleologist is a romantic, seeking out darkness, discomfort and some danger to find a strange beauty and wonderment. Generally without applause, acclaim or publicity, they seek to touch certain ancient wellsprings of myth, beauty and mystery. Speleology tends to bridge the gap between the so-called two cultures of science and art. To be a speleologist, one needs to be at least a slightly special type of person. Author blurb Hal G.P. Colebatch is a well-known Australian poet and writer. His book Blair's Britain was selected as a Book of the Year by the London Spectator in 1999, and in 2003 he received an Australian Centenary Medal for services to Writing, Poetry, Law, and Political Commentary. While working as a reporter for The West Australian newspaper he was involved in the discovery of several kilometres of extensions to Easter Cave in the south-west of Western Australia.