AboutTusk Productions2021-04-14T13:09:38+10:00

Susan Harvey

Susan Harvey B. Math. Dip. Ed. Grad. Cert. Ed. Stud. has been teaching, tutoring and mentoring students in mathematics for over forty years. Susan is a HeartMath^® Certified Coach who seeks to enable students to build personal resilience and manage stress. She is the co-author of The HS Sea, Students’ Own Adventure Journal. Susan has an enviable reputation for nurturing student confidence and empowerment whether the student be a struggling Year 7 or a diligent Extension 1 candidate in Year 12. Susan is the recipient of an Australian Reconciliation Award, the Premier’s Award for Community Service and the Gold Serif Award for Event Media. In 2000 she joined Paul F Walsh in representing Australia at the international millennium celebrations in Chicago.

Paul F Walsh

Paul F Walsh OAM, B. Math. Dip. Ed. Dip. R.E. has been teaching, tutoring and mentoring students in mathematics for over forty years. He is the co-author of The HS Sea, Students’ Own Adventure Journal. Paul believes that information without inspiration is of very little value and that mathematics is just a long word for fun. In 2016, in recognition of Paul’s contribution to ‘mathematics and the community’ the Chancellor of the University of Newcastle invited Paul F Walsh OAM to be a special VIP guest at mathematics graduation ceremonies. Paul is the recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia, an Australian Reconciliation Award, the Premier’s Award for Community Service, the University of Newcastle’s Newton-John Award for Innovation and Creativity, the Gold Serif Award for Event Media and Citizen of the Year for the City of Newcastle. In 2000 he joined Susan Harvey in representing Australia at the international millennium celebrations in Chicago. Paul was a finalist in the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards in 2001.

Our journey begins

Susan Harvey & Paul F Walsh, SFX 1984

Local community representatives

Currawong Project Tree Planting at Yallarwah Place.

Currawong Project

Governor General Sir William Deane and Paul F Walsh at Yallarwah Place

Novocastrian Tales

Paul F Walsh & Susan Harvey with Gough Whitlam

Presentation of Community Service Awards

to Paul F Walsh and Susan Harvey by Hon John Mills MP

Presentation of Order of Australia

to Paul F Walsh by NSW Governor Marie Bashir

Paul Harragon Testimonial

Paul F Walsh scripted and directed the show hosted by Ray Martin

Mathematics Graduations VIP Guest

Tusk Managing Director, Paul F Walsh OAM, the Chancellor’s VIP guest, with University of Newcastle Chancellor, Paul Jeans, and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caroline McMillen

HeartMath^®

HeartMath^® coach/mentor Susan Harvey with HeartMath explorers!

Parent Seminar

Their smiles say it all!

The HS Sea

Happy readers of The HS Sea, Students’ Own Adventure Journal!

More HS Sea

Good and faithful Tusk students campaigning for a great read!

Smile at the Trial

Tusk students in a merry group hug at the Smile at the Trial Workshop!

Merry Mutineers

Tusk students enjoying the Freedom at the HSC Workshop!

Presentation

Tusk student, Sarah Moore, presents a farewell gift to Paul F Walsh

Rosann Park

Susan Harvey at Rosann Park. Tusk Productions is the business supporter of the Rosann Park Place-Making Group

Elephants

Paul F Walsh OAM and Susan Harvey have long been associated with elephants via the names and logos of Tusk Productions and Elephant Press. This association was born of their genuine love of elephants and their admiration and aspiration for elephantine gentleness and strength and memory: I long to be an elephant, so gentle yet so strong…

Mystery decoding challenge

Can you crack the Tusk Enigma Code embedded below?

maths tutoring port stephens tldps maths tutoring port macquarie zmvsu maths tutoring broken hill bft standard mathematics newcastle TI standard mathematics tuition moree fiu! extension1 mathematics tuition sydney

Publications

Paul F Walsh wrote and published a collection of poems entitled An Elephant’s Lament in 1983. This was followed by his two-volume poetical work The Flock in 1984 and 1986 respectively. In 1992, his first novel The Burning Bush was published nationally. This led to Paul F Walsh appearing on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton, 11AM with Ann Sanders and throughout Australia via radio interviews. Since 1992 Paul F Walsh OAM and Susan Harvey have published nationally within Australia via Elephant Press in association with Tusk Productions. In addition to The Burning Bush, their publications include Two Stars (edited by Paul F Walsh), Black Feather White Feather (a novel by Paul F Walsh), The HS Sea, Students’ Own Adventure Journal (co-authored by Susan Harvey and Paul F Walsh) and the national bestseller Novocastrian Tales (edited and co-authored by Paul F Walsh). The preface of Novocastrian Tales was written by former Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, and the Novocastrian Tales project raised the funds to build Yallarwah Place, an aboriginal accommodation centre at John Hunter Hospital in NSW, Australia. The novel Black Feather White Feather inspired the Currawong Project, a national reconciliation project during the 2001 Centenary of Federation year, and the mooted artwork of Yirannali: The Quiet Project on The Bathers Way in Newcastle. Yirannali: The Quiet Project was created by Paul F Walsh as were the Currawong and Novocastrian Tales Projects. Various tales, poems, novellas, newspaper articles, songs and novels from Paul F Walsh and Susan Harvey may be read, experienced and enjoyed for free on the Novocastrian Tales page of this website, which is named in honour of their national bestseller. It should be noted that a copy of the tale Rotunda Fortunae by Paul F Walsh, a tale which appears on the Novocastrian Tales page, is buried in a time capsule in Lambton Park for 100 years and will next be exposed to the light of day in October 2118.

The Novocastrian Tales and Currawong Projects

Novocastrian Tales, created, published, co-written and edited by Paul F Walsh was a national bestseller. The Novocastrian Tales project raised over $600 000 to build Yallarwah Place, the Aboriginal Accommodation Centre at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. Yallarwah Place serves the Aboriginal communities of Northern NSW.

Published by Susan Harvey and Paul F Walsh via Elephant Press, Novocastrian Tales features a preface by The Honourable E.G. Whitlam, AC, QC, former Prime Minister of Australia, and tales from such notables as Paul F Walsh, Judith Fox, Ray Kelly, Nick Enright, Donna Meehan, Kate Walker, Uncle Bob Smith, Les Murray, Lindsey Dodson, John Bell, John Doyle, Phillip Adams, Mikey Robins, Yahoo Serious, Marion Halligan, John O’Donoghue, Barry Maitland, The Biggins family, et al.

Paul F Walsh created and directed the Currawong Project during the Centenary of Federation Year. The Currawong Project was a national reconciliation project featuring the Currawong Exhibition, opened by NSW Governor Marie Bashir, and inspired by the novel Black Feather White Feather by Paul F Walsh.

The Currawong Project inspired such notables as Sir William Deane, Governor General of Australia, Marie Bashir, Governor of NSW, Bob Carr, Premier of NSW, et al, to plant trees with local Aboriginal people at the Bicentenary Memorial at Yallarwah Place. The Yallarwah Bicentenary Memorial is believed to be among the first united Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal memorials in Australia. The memorial concept, design and symbolism were co-created by Paul F Walsh and Aboriginal author Ray Kelly. The reconciliation partnership of these two men throughout the Novocastrian Tales and Currawong projects was said to be reminiscent of the co-creative aspects of the relationship between Biraban and the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld in colonial times.

Mr Walsh recalls: ‘It was Susan Harvey who slammed a coffee cup onto our kitchen bench and said: “Why don’t you create something with a team for a change?” It was Susan Harvey who co-published Novocastrian Tales and who organized us all. Without Susan Harvey there would be no Novocastrian Tales and there would have been no Currawong Project.’

Susan Harvey recalls: ‘It was one of those unique and joyful times in Novocastrian history when the disparate tribes within our community united to achieve a reconciling outcome via a reconciling process. Novocastrian Tales was a meeting point of three continuous processes of reconciliation. The most obvious of these is reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. The least obvious, perhaps, is reconciliation between left and right political traditions. And the third is reconciliation of the past, present and future.’

I plant this tree in the spirit of

the currawong,

black feather white feather

lifting me.

I plant this tree to call upon

all Australians

to replant

a shared future together.

Can you crack the Tusk Enigma Code? (see details on Contact page)

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