A new novel about the Newcastle earthquake explores the way Novocastrians faced fears and emerged from the disaster with greater strength.
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The author, Alan Sunderland, has been writing children's books for 20 years as a part-time pursuit.
In his job as a journalist, he worked for ABC and SBS across a 40-year career in which he rose to become ABC editorial director.
Six Seconds, his eighth novel, blends fact and fiction.
"Although the main character, his family and friends are all made up, the story of the earthquake itself is as accurate as I could make it," Mr Sunderland said.
Mr Sunderland travelled to and from Newcastle for months to research the book, which Scholastic has published.
"The Newcastle earthquake stood out as a story that was begging to be told in a book for children," he said.
"It was a hugely important and life-changing event for many people in Newcastle."
Everyone he spoke to about that day in 1989 had "powerful personal memories of that day and how it affected them".
"I was astonished how vivid and front of mind those memories were for so many Novocastrians."
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He spent many days in the Mitchell Library reading through 12 months of the Newcastle Herald.
He wanted to ensure the events of the book and "the precise timing and nature of what happened, is as close to the truth as I could make it".
"I did manage to track down and buy, via eBay, a copy of the Newcastle Herald from the day after the earthquake," he said.
"I plan to frame it and keep it on my study wall as a memento of the experience of writing the book."
Mr Sunderland will attend Junction Public School on Monday and Tuesday to talk to pupils about the book.
"It was through reading the Herald that I discovered the Junction Public School was one of the worst hit schools in the area - its main school building had to be demolished. That's why I made my main character a pupil at the school."
Mr Sunderland discussed the quake with the school's deputy principal.
"She was able to provide a wealth of background information on what happened at the time, and I incorporated much of that in the story," he said.
The book's main character, 10-year-old Michael O'Keefe, is growing up in Newcastle in 1989. In the lead up to the earthquake, he becomes obsessed with things that can go wrong in the world.
When the earthquake happens, Michael confronts his fears and discovers a strength he never knew he had.
"More than anything else, I wanted the book to be empowering," Mr Sunderland said.
"Kids pick up on the fears and worries of their parents and of the world generally, but are often bad at understanding or expressing those fears."
The book mentions upheavals around the world - the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Hillsborough disaster.
Closer to home, the Kempsey and Grafton bus crashes are mentioned.
As Michael's mother in the novel is a Herald journalist, he picks up on these events and becomes more worried and fearful about the world.
"But when the earthquake happens and he finds himself caught up in real events, he discovers that he is actually stronger and more powerful than he thinks.
"He learns that when real disaster strikes, ordinary people find the strength to cope and emerge even stronger.
"This was the story of the real earthquake for the people of Newcastle, who rose to the occasion. I wanted to reflect that."
Children now have to deal with the stresses and worries of Covid-19.
"The parallels are obvious. So I wanted the kids who read my book to realise that when bad things happen, they can find ways to cope and emerge stronger."
Mr Sunderland said it was sometimes easy to forget that "no matter how hard we try to protect them, kids live in the same world as us".
As such, they have to "deal with the same events, issues and fears".
"When I was researching the earthquake, what struck me the most was the memories of young people and children."
He said there was no doubt that "news can breed fear". "That is one reason why we often tend to protect our children from hearing or watching or reading too much news," he said.
"But in my experience they inevitably hear about things one way or another, and so there is a limit to how much of a protective cocoon you can leave them in.
"What is more important is ensuring that they hear things in the right way, and in ways that they can understand and process."
One theme of the book is "the importance of allowing kids to deal with the world in their own way and confront rather than suppress their fears and emotions".
The book fosters the idea that "they have the power within themselves to act".
Another theme is diversity. "Michael's best friend is Anil, a Sikh boy who is teased because of the patka (turban) he wears, but meets and overcomes that challenge."
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