The story across the river

For storyteller Anne Stewart, Docklands holds a lot of familial connections.

As a child, Anne (pictured above) and her family would catch the ferry across the Yarra to Williamstown before heading to Torquay on holidays.

Her father also ran a bottle yard nearby and knew a lot of people in the area and often came home with stories from the docks.

Perhaps the most poignant connection is the plaque at the Channel 7 headquarters in Docklands, which remembers her brother Tony.

Tony was just 21 when he was murdered in East Timor, one of the Balibo Five journalists killed in 1975.

“In my last year of high school my brother Tony was murdered in East Timor, I just checked recently and Channel 7 has a plaque that they’ve moved from Dorcas St to the newsroom here.”

“So it’s a tenuous connection, but it’s the only monument to my brother anywhere.”

On the 39th anniversary of Tony’s death next month, Anne will present a storytelling event at Library at the Dock.

Anne is one of a series of storytellers who have been sharing tales at the Library at the Dock as part of a free series of storytelling shows.

She said her show “Crossing the River” will share family anecdotes, her introduction to indigenous Australia in the Northern Territory, legends, folktales and her Scottish heritage, all the while relating to Docklands’ history.

“Docklands is a place of arrival and comings and goings,” Anne said. “It seems really important to acknowledge that.”

“Crossing the River” is on at the Library at the Dock on October 16. Doors open at 5.30 pm for a 6pm start.