Peeling paint, broken windows and doors, and some odd noises during the night added to the ambiance of a creative writers retreat held at Beechworth Asylum Centre on the weekend of 24-26th April.
The retreat run by Geoff Brown brought together writers and students of writing for two days of workshops, networking and socialising. Asylum Creative Retreats are run by Geoff Brown. http://asylumretreats.com
The workshops covered Publishing in the New Millennium, Social Media and the Writer and Plot and Pacing. “I got so much out of it!” Andrea Caffrey a participant from Bendigo said.
Paula Boer http://www.paulaboer.com an established author lives on a 200 hectare farm at Cooma. Her series of books for adolescence is called Brumbies, stories about the brumbies of the snowy mountains. “Being able to network with such established authors and to hear their stories was a highlight of the retreat” Cathy Flanagan-Curtain from Elmore said.
All the catering and facilities was organised and provided by the organisers. The Saturday night meal was at the local hotel.
In the evenings there were ghost and history tours through some of the old buildings. Unfortunately there were no reported sightings of any ghosts although on the Sunday night some local boys got into the main building and set of the fire alarms!
The retreat was conducted in the main building in the old administration area, where the Matron is said to walk from time to time. Unfortunately she did not make an appearance on this weekend.
The building was built in the 1867 and was closed in 1995 after 128 years of operations. There are many buildings that make up the asylum, covering many hectares, and although being restored, much of it is in disrepair.
A magnificent garden covering 11 hectares surrounds the Asylum. Although there are large native trees, like Morten Bay figs and Bunya Bunya pines, it was the deciduous trees in the autumn colours that were most beautiful.
The next retreat is scheduled for October’s Halloween Retreat from October 30th – November 1st. http://asylumretreats.com/bookings/booking-october-2015