Report on Gadigal Ginkō, Autumn 2026

With possible severe storms forecast, in the end only two poets gathered at Barangaroo on Wednesday morning 18th March. Remarkably, despite the heavy cloud, the rain held off for the whole time. The headland reserve was quiet, with few people about, so there was ample scope for contemplative walking.

Penny set off on the middle path through the naturalised scrub and woodland, while I followed the rocky foreshore. The Barangaroo headland may have been artificially created, but it is slowly re-wilding.

We found inspiration among the weathering sandstone blocks undergoing colonisation by shellfish, lichens and moss, in the grasses, trees, and shrubs, some of which were flowering, from a couple of darters and the ubiquitous noisy miners, and the general activity of the harbour.

At the end of the ginkō we sat in a café on one of the old finger wharves nearby exchanging draft poems and discussing the value of workshopping with diverse poets.

Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginkō