I appreciate reading the article on Silver Wattle’s ‘Fallow Year’, from Lisa Castanelli. The following is a personal note about just one part of the weekend.

For me, time at Silver Wattle (SW) is a bit special. Such a different, dramatic landscape, extraordinary bird life and free time after lunch to do what you need to do, be it resting, recreating, reading or reflecting.

On the weekend of 16-18th January, several Friends were brought together to consider what a ‘Fallow Year’ might look like for Silver Wattle in 2026 and I was pleased to be one of them. I now know that a fallow year in 2026 means that there will be fewer courses this year and that there will be physical renovations undertaken, such as the provision of access for wheel-chair users. 

In addition, Silver Wattle has been considering for some time how the collection of books at SW could be preserved, especially as the collection is continually being enlarged and enriched by donations of books, some very rare and dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

The collection could be preserved by the National library or a state library, but the proposal to be discussed at the weekend was that a special storage unit be established under the existing roof at SW with adjacent study space. The unit would be fire-proof, insect proof and no water pipes would be in the immediate vicinity.

This would have the disadvantage that one bedroom and a room used for office work would have to be sacrificed. 

A major constraint is that the local council of Queenbeyan does not allow new structures to be built on the property due to environmental concerns.

Much planning had been done, and now a group of Friends had been brought together at SW to consider the plan and give some support to the Board to make the decision.

I’m sure I was not the only one who had reservations and alternative suggestions and many of us wanted to present them to the meeting. Some of us had a concern whether this was a high priority for SW given that it had many other purposes (such as spiritual retreat and education, restoration of country, building of Quaker community). Others thought the proposed library should be housed in other locations, better known for archiving.

Comments were made in quick succession. I thought ‘this could go on forever’.