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Twilight Talks 2025, Season 1, Special Event | Dancers on the Sea by Gabrielle Samson

February 26

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5:30 pm

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6:30 pm

Bar open at 5pm

$9 – $13

Humffray Room

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Dancers on the Sea: Stories from Atauro Island, Timor-Leste
1994-2002

Speaker: Gabrielle Samson, Author

Gabrielle Samson Gabrielle, a writer of fiction and memoir, has won national prizes for her short stories and has co-written a radio play produced by the ABC. She has lived and worked in education and community development in Australia, Indonesia, PNG, Vanuatu and Timor Leste. Gabrielle now lives on a community nature refuge in southern Queensland where she writes, reads, gardens, listens to music and attempts playing it. She teaches Indonesian language, is a U3A tutor of a Warwick writing group and is a member of the Carindale Writers Group (Brisbane). Gabrielle has a degree in Anthropology and English Literature and post graduate diplomas in Education and Special Needs Education. Gabrielle lived and worked on Atauro from 1996 – 2008 and beyond. Her memoir ‘Dancers On The Sea’ – Stories from Ataúro Island Timor Leste (1994 – 2002) – was published in October, 2023.

Gabrielle Samson

Elizeo (Azyu) | Book Art

Dancers on the Sea This story tells of a woman’s life on Atauro Island, learning its history and culture as she worked with the community to improve living conditions through education. The memoir shares the stories of some of the people with whom she lived in a time of great change…During the period of East Timor’s occupation by an Indonesian military regime which was challenged by a fierce resistance movement, Gabrielle – an Australian woman working at an Indonesian university – was asked by a Timorese village leader to help establish a kindergarten for his community.Supported by the university, Gabrielle agreed to spend six months on the remote and poor island of Atauro, to live in the community as the only Westerner in its harsh and often cruel conditions. It doesn’t take long for Gabrielle to fall in love with the island, its people and an Indonesian co-worker, resulting in the following twelve years of her life being spent living on the island. Dancers on the Sea is Gabrielle’s experience through six of those years as the little country of East Timor struggled for, and achieved, its independence and became Timor-Leste. “A moving and insightful book of reality and compassion…beautifully told and deeply shared…” Lisa, Readalot Reviewer

Reviews and comments about Dancers On The Sea Christine Perkins (ex AVI Timor)‘Oh Gabrielle, I have just finished reading Dancers On The Sea, thank you. Your writing is evocative and engaging. So many of my own memories of Atauro and the people there have resurfaced. I have laughed and often read with tears on my cheeks.. The telling of the love between you and Anton was beautiful and the honest way which you have described Timor-Leste and Timorese is powerful. I have read many books about Timor and they are mostly descriptive but your ability to be reflective and to also lead the reader to see, hear, and feel the environment is amazing. Thank you again, Christine’ Christopher Dureau‘I’m reading it at the moment sitting in Broome. And loving it all. Congratulations’. Lansell Taudevin (ex-AusAid Timor)‘Gabrielle was one who lived and worked with the people of Atauro. She spent over a decade there, quietly and unassumingly going about her daily tasks without fanfare or accolades. She was a true advocate of empathetic humanity. She based her life and work on the most noble of human virtues: love for and understanding of, the people with whom she worked. She worked out of love – for and from them.Her book reflects these qualities. They have nothing to do with ‘look at me, look at me!’ Her contribution arises from a perspective that can only arise from love.These qualities underpin her writing. The book flows like dancers on the sea. The love story is intertwined with a real love story with her Anton. You can sense the character she has and be overwhelmed by her sincerity.Of all the books I have read about Timor Leste, this is by far the most moving and genuine as it evolves from a deep understanding of the people amongst whom she lived and loved.When I lived in Timor, I used to refer to her as the Angel Gabriel. I was right.’ Jenny Toisuta (ex Satya Wacana University UKSW, Salatiga)‘I received my copy of your book two days ago and couldn’t put it down – I finished it last night. It is truly beautiful. . . .beautiful descriptions of the sea, of the moon and the sunrises and of the Atauro people of all ages working together and singing as they pulled the boats out of the water for repairs,or the Bikeli fishermen singing as they passed, catching the lobster with Pak Vasco. It was very useful to have a brief introduction to the history of East Timor under the Portuguese and the divvying up of parts of the Archipelago between the Dutch and the Portuguese. The more nuanced picture you painted of East Timor under Indonesia will, I hope, lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of people like Anton and the Indonesian teachers and public servants who were really committed to making a difference.’ Klaas Vandersluis‘Just reading your book, moving and beautiful, lots of heart . . . it is a fully embodied love and adventure story!!! You bare who you are from page to page!’ Sarah Moon‘Thank you for promoting the documentation of this corner of history!’ Felix Nahak (Satya Wacana University, Java)‘Selamat Bu, semoga bermanfaat khususnya buat masyarakat Atauro dan teman-teman yang pernah bersama Ibu dalam kurung waktu tersebut. God BLESS You. (Congratulations Ibu, I hope this is useful for the Atauro community and the friends that were with you during that time. God Bless You)’ Mane Bonito Feto Bonita‘You are their hero. People from Atauro Island want to say thank you.’ Sieneke Martin (ex Oxfam and Caritas Timor)‘What a beautiful book ! Fantastic. I read it in one go and have now lent it to our friend, Jose Simsa.’ Bibi Ahmed (ex-community worker, Timor)‘Gabrielle,I want to write to you about how much I loved your book. But I feel like I don’t even have the words to start to describe the effect it had on me. Seriously. It’s too big. But I really want to tell you how much I loved it. It’s the most moving book I have ever read in my entire life. It’s affected me in a way that no other book has. Like a punch in the guts that I can’t let go of. It could be partly because I share your deep love, and connection to the people of East Timor (also through a previous connection to Indonesia). So your words, your stories, your observations and experiences hit me deep in the core of my guts, with a deep black umbilical cord connection. You put words to the complexities, mysteries and paradoxes of the East Timorese /Indonesian relationship, the challenges of navigating cross cultural relationships and experiences and the inexpressible beauty of indigenous connection to nature, ancestors, knowledge, and truth that I too have witnessed. I have never been affected so strongly by a book before. It really did grab me deep inside and hold me like I was actually there with you, as if I was actually living the experiences you described so beautifully.I had to put it away for a while sometimes, just to stave off the despair of the thought of it finishing.’ Christine Stark (U3A Reviewer, Warwick)‘Dancers on the Sea is a page-turner that’s strangely soothing at the same time. The switching of topics and the information and descriptions that are included, kept me wanting to read more, right to the end. This was due to my curiosity about what comes next, rather than the dread that fast-paced books often have. The book is loosely in chronological order, allowing you to develop a sense of time and understanding of the changes and the people Gabrielle comes to know very well. Set within this over-arching story are rich and varied vignettes that provide vividly detailed snapshots of cultural and human-interest topics; revealing a fascinating and complex tapestry of lives on what first appears to be a tropical island with a small population living simple lifestyles.’ Sally Walvin (Brisbane)‘I recently read ‘Dancers on the Sea’, a memoir by Gabrielle Samson. The book is set in East Timor before that country became independent. It explores the extraordinary years Gabrielle spent on the remote Atauro Island during the last years of the resistance against Indonesia. I didn’t have a great knowledge on the history or politics of the Indonesian military regime. However through the storytelling I found a balance of history and was inspired by the island life stories and intrigued by the cultural rituals that were so sensitively captured by Gabrielle. I really enjoyed this captivating story and was delighted by the moving love story that was entwined throughout.’ A wonderful read. Elise Schuster (Australian Embassy, Dili)‘I thoroughly enjoyed your book…any book written about Timor Leste is a treasure because of its rarity, yours was so lush and poetic and human, refreshing and enchanting, but also illuminating for other malae for whom so many aspects of Timorese culture, history and community remain mysteries. Thanks you for sharing your story and how it is entwined with the story of the hard-won restoration of Timorese independence. Dancers On The Sea should be essential reading for all Malae.’

This event is proudly supported by Community Bank Buninyong

Community Bank Buninyong & District not only gives you access to award-winning financial products and services, we’re also committed to returning profits to our local communities.

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