Vale Graeme Barrow
<p><a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/tim-the-yowie-man-hydro-hike-to-guthega-power-station-and-horse-camp-hut--in-the-snowy-mountains-20170522-gwapcw.html" rel="nofollow">Canberra Times MAY 27 2017</a>, <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/by/Tim-the-Yowie-Man-hvf8o" rel="nofollow">Tim the Yowie Man</a></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/vale_graeme_barrow.jpg" style="width:100%" /><small>Graeme Barrow on a Canberra bushwalk in 1999. Photo: Max Lawrence</small></p>
<p>This column was saddened to learn of the recent death of Graeme Barrow, aged 80. A good friend of this column, Barrow was a prolific author, penning almost 30 books, mostly about exploring the Canberra region, either on foot or by car. Many of these easy to read,matter-of-fact books were published by Dagraja Press – his own self-styled publishing house, which was named after the first letters of the names of each of his three children: David, Grant and Jane.</p>
<p>Writing was Barrow's passion. "I'll never stop [writing], I'm just not sure how many more books I've got time to finish," he prophetically told this column in 2014. In fact, just a week before his death Barrow sent me an email to express his disappointment that he was unlikely to finish two of his pet projects – a book on the Kings Highway, and his personal quest for Lake George to be recognised by its indigenous name 'Weereewa'. "I am unlikely to get much further, a pity because I think I could have pulled it off, even as a dual name," he wrote of his Lake George crusade.</p>
<p>Barrow was a true gentleman, a gentle giant of the publishing scene and an author who inspired a generation of Canberrans to explore beyond their backyards. I bet there's hardly a household in the ACT without at least one of Barrow's books crammed into their bookshelf. Barrow's memorial service was held earlier this week and he is survived by his wife Nora and three children.</p>
<p>RIP Graeme.</p>