The Valley

Steve Hawke grew up in Melbourne but found his way to the Northern Territory and then to the Kimberley as a nineteen-year-old in 1978. Captivated by the country, the history and the people, he stayed for almost fifteen years working for Aboriginal communities and organisations. He now lives in the hills outside Perth, but continues his strong association with the Kimberley, returning most years. His writings on the Kimberley include Noonkanbah: Whose Land, Whose Law (1989), the children’s novel Barefoot Kids (2007), the play Jandamarra that premiered at the Perth International Arts Festival in 2008 and toured the Kimberley in 2011, and A Town Is Born: The Fitzroy Crossing Story (2013). The Valley is his first novel for adults. 

He has also written a biography of the great Aussie Rules footballer, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, and has published short fiction and occasional feature journalism, and has three other manuscripts at various stages of their journeys. 

If he had his rathers he would be out bush somewhere; preferably in a remote corner of the Kimberley. But the jarrah and grass tree scrub near home is a decent substitute on a Perth morning.