The 8th Gadigal Ginko took place on Wednesday 26th February 2025, with five participants. First-timers Julie Thorndyke and Anita Xian joined two regulars, Carol Reynolds and Margaret Mahony, and convenor, Leanne Mumford. We travelled by ferry from Circular Quay westward under the Harbour Bridge to Wareamah – Cockatoo Island. Thanks to its varied history, this island, located where the Parramatta River meets Sydney Harbour, has much to offer poets.
Continue reading “Report on Gadigal Ginko, Summer 2025”Author: Leanne Mumford
President, Australian Haiku Society
February 2025 Members’ News
From the President…
Welcome to our first news for 2025.
Have you entered the third John Bird Dreaming Award yet?
The executive committee met on 10th February. We reviewed activities over the last months of 2024 and discussed some initiatives for this year.
Next Gadigal Ginko: ~9.30am 26th February 2025
The next Gadigal Ginko in Sydney will take place on Wednesday 26th February 2025, meeting at ~9.30am to visit Wareamah / Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. Contemporary haiku poets of all levels of experience are invited to join the gathering. To register and receive details of the exact meeting point and arrangements, please visit the Gadigal Ginko web page.
Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginko
December 2024 Members’ News
President’s Message
Since the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1873, the New year is counted as a brief season on its own In Japanese Saijiki. The New Year period in Japan is a time for family gatherings with festive meals over several days. There are many traditions and observances that appear as kigo, including decorations, cards, gifts, games and special food, as well as numerous kigo with the first of something, such as first sunrise. While we may not follow kigo in our Australian haiku, we do write poems that reflect the festive season of family and social gatherings, celebratory meals and other traditions, as well as marking new beginnings and reflecting on the past year.
Continue reading “December 2024 Members’ News”Report on Gadigal Ginko, Spring 2024
Ten haiku poets gathered on the morning of 21st October at the Palace Garden Gate of Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden. A passing light shower fell on a few of us while we waited for others to arrive, but the changeable weather didn’t prevent us from each strolling in the garden on our individual ginko. We re-convened in the Rose Garden pavilion to share some of our draft poems, where a curious sacred ibis joined us momentarily. Poems reflected the many exotic plants blooming at this time of the year and the insects visiting them, as well as other kinds of moments.
Continue reading “Report on Gadigal Ginko, Spring 2024”Next Gadigal Ginko in Sydney: 10am 21st October, 2024
The next Gadigal Ginko in Sydney will take place on Monday 21st October, from 10am, in the Royal Botanic Garden. Contemporary haiku poets of all levels of experience are invited to join the gathering. To register and receive details of the exact meeting point, please visit the Gadigal Ginko web page.
Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginko
Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Event 2024
On Wednesday 21st August, a beautifully warm and sunny day, seven haiku poets, friends and family members, met at the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival in Auburn to take part in a reading and ginko led by Vanessa Proctor. The theme of the day was spontaneity as our expected location was not available. With some quick thinking, we found a bench and some chairs beside the billabong in the shade of a fig tree.
Continue reading “Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Event 2024”September 2024 News
President’s Message
Spring has arrived in Sydney, with cherry blossoms on full display last month at Auburn Botanical Gardens, where a small group of poets from all over the city gathered to read beside a shady billabong.
Australian Haiku Society 