In Memoriam – Cynthia Rowe

It is my sad duty to inform the Australian and worldwide haiku community of the death of Cynthia Rowe on 6th April at the age of 86. Cynthia succeeded Beverley George to the position of President of the Australian Haiku Society in 2011, and served until Vanessa Proctor took over in 2016. Cynthia was also the editor of the Haiku Xpressions section of FreeXpresSion Magazine for many years. AHS will be publishing a full tribute in recognition of Cynthia’s many contributions to the haiku community. For the time being, with the family’s permission, we would like to let everyone know about the two memorial services that have been organised to honour and celebrate Cynthia’s life.
– In Sydney at St Mark’s Anglican Church, Darling Point on 23rd April 2025 at 12.00pm
– In Melbourne at St John’s Anglican Church, Toorak on 30th April 2025 at 11.00am
There will be a celebration of life held after each service.
Leanne Mumford
President, Australian Haiku Society

Cloudcatchers GINKO No. 76

Summer, February

Cloudcatchers Ginko No. 76 was held in Pop Denison Park, Ballina and as a Virtual Ginko. Norma Watts and Laurel Astle were at the park, while Angela Smith, Vivien Royston, Quendryth Young, and Robyn Braithwaite participated virtually.

WA Poets’ Summer Ginko Paperbark Haiku Gathering

On Wednesday, 19 February, eight poetically minded people met at the WA Museum, Boola Bardip, in Perth. Sitting between the original heritage building and the new glass addition of the museum, we enjoyed a morning of haiku.
Led by Coral Carter and Rose van Son, we began by considering the idea of the ‘pause’ as a moment to stop and observe and then make that observation concrete in words. It was a beautiful, not too hot, morning and after a bit of discussion and some readings, we separately went in search of haiku.
The eight were Rose van Son, Coral Carter, Pat Johnson, Rita Tognini, Madeleine Tingey, Neil Pattinson, Ruari Jack Hughes, and Gary De Piazzi.

Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra

20th February 2025

Jan Dobb, Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Kathy Kituai, Marietta McGregor and Gregory Piko gathered @ The Oaks café for our first meeting of the year. There was lots of sunshine and good cheer as we caught up on recent happenings before launching into a range of haiku matters.

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.

White Pebbles Haiku Group

Summer meeting report

The White Pebbles Haiku Group has been meeting once every season for the past seven years at the splendid Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden. For our summer ginko on Saturday 14th December, Beverley George (founder and convener), Michael Thorley, Kent Robinson, Maire Glacken and Samantha Sirimanne Hyde caught up first at the Art Centre’s café. We missed members Marilyn Humbert, Gwen Bitti, Colleen Keating and Pip Griffin who had sent in their apologies.

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.

Illawong Haiku Group Summer Meeting

27 November 2024

Just a few days shy of our official Summer, Carol Reynolds, Ros Pitt, Alison Miller, Pat Meredith and Margaret Mahony met at Oatley RSL. We missed Rita Potente who was unavailable but welcomed new member Kathleen Ann.