In the Kelp Forest

Aunty Patsy Cameron grew up on Flinders Island and can trace her Aboriginal heritage through her mother’s line to four Ancestral grandmothers; Pleenpereener, Wyerlooberer, Teekoolterme and Pollerelbrener. Teekoolterme’s father, the revered Mannalargenna was a Pairrebeenne/Trawlwoolway Clan leader, and was a formidable warrior and seer. Patsy has a Master of Arts in Tasmanian Aboriginal History, an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Tasmania, inducted onto the Tasmanian Women’s Honour roll (2006) and was invested with an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)(2017).

Reena Balding is a Tasmanian-born writer and composer. Her recent collection of bilingual children’s songs, called Ayo! Let’s Go! Songs for children is written in both English and Indonesian. After living in Indonesia Reena was inspired to introduce Indonesian words and phrases to her young sons through song. She is based in Canberra, where she writes picture books and teaches yoga.

Belinda Casey is a proud great granddaughter of legendary Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, Fanny Smith, whose traditional homeland is Tebrakunna Country in North Eastern Trouwerner/Tasmania. Belinda graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from the School of Creative Arts, University of Tasmania in 2018 and was a finalist in both the 2025 John Glover Art Prize and the 2022 Hadley’s Art Prize. Belinda’s art practice honours the legacy of her ancestral grandmother and the strength and resilience of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, their culture and connection to Country. Belinda is honoured to have had the opportunity to illustrate In the Kelp Forest with Aunty Patsy Cameron and Reena Balding, her first book for young people. She hopes that she has done Grandmother Smith, her Elders and her extended Smith-Casey family proud.

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