‘In the Kelp Forest’ Book Launch

Presented by Magabala Books

Event Details:
Thursday 7 May, 2026
5:30pm – 6:30pm
Doors open 30 minutes early

Tickets:
$5, redeemable as a voucher to purchase the book

Join Aunty Patsy Cameron, Reena Balding and illustrator Belinda Casey at the Salamanca Arts Centre for the launch of their new picture book, ‘In the Kelp Forest.’

This event also celebrates the opening of Belinda’s exhibition, “In the Kelp Forest – Beneath the Waves”. This exhibition showcases the original illustrations and preparatory drawings for the book, and can be viewed in the Top Gallery at the Salamanca Arts Centre between 29th April and 25th May 2026.

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About ‘In the Kelp Forest’

A stunning picture book that explores the beauty and strength of Country beneath the waves and celebrates the living kelp forests, their creatures, and deep Cultural knowledge of Tasmania’s First Nations people. Kelp forests have intricate lives and play a key role in the balance of our oceans and seas. Myerlee, the giant kelp, sways beneath the waves, her forests alive with creatures that make her their home. Myerlee lives with the elements, shelters life, provides sustenence to those on the land and in the ocean and whispers her secrets to those who will listen.

Discover the wonders of the ocean and ancient connections that sustain all life.

About Aunty Patsy Cameron

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. At the head of her family is Teekoolterme’s father, the revered Pairrebeenne/Trawlwoolway Clan leader, formidable warrior and seer, Mannalargenna.

Patsy has a Master of Arts in Tasmanian Aboriginal History and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Tasmania. She was inducted onto the Tasmanian Women’s Honour roll in 2006 and was invested with an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2017 for distinguished service to Indigenous communities in Tasmania. Her first picture book, with Lisa Kennedy, was Sea Country, also published by Magabala Books.

About Reena Balding

Reena Balding grew up in Tasmania and left to travel the world where she worked for a newspaper in Turkey and became a yoga instructor in Bali. Now living with her family in Hobart, Reena publishes books for the Australian government and writes for children and adults.

About Belinda Casey

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.