Katrina Watson OAM & The 3 Capes
Katrina Watson OAM (received in 2018 for services to medicine) has been a doctor, researcher and now a writer. She was at university in the 1970s and was a regular at all the demonstrations. She became a doctor, specialised as a gastroenterologist and was awarded a Harkness Fellowship to work at Harvard University for 2 years.
The little flame of activism would not go out, and on return to Australia she continued to work with disadvantaged people, including a year as a volunteer doctor in the Pacific Islands. Life changed in her early forties when she was a single mum of four children, and out of the blue, was told she had Parkinson’s disease.
Katrina had to retire much earlier than she’d planned. She knew she had a few stories to tell, starting with her debut novel The Bones, and now has completed her second novel.
The Pack
Katrina recently came in for a pack (Deuter Aircontact Lite 45+10SL Hiking Pack) fitting with staff member Gerhard for the 3 Capes Track in Tasmania, just in time for her 70th birthday!
Gerhard is a lovely person who helped me choose the right pack. He was able to find the best frame, and then fitted it to accommodate the extreme curvatures in my spine. He got the pack to work for me. He also showed me the best walking poles and food at Bogong Equipment. I’ve been going to Bogong for at least 25 years - always the place to go, it’s been there such a long time.
How did you get into hiking?
I got into hiking when I was at university and was friends with the part-time staff at Bogong Equipment. I was friends with Mark Spain who was MUMC President but he, along with his mate Andy Kelso, tragically died after falling into a crevasse in New Zealand.
I became a doctor and had kids and wanted to get back on the tracks, but the Parkinson’s made it hard. But it turned out that I was eligible for an experimental brain stimulation procedure. It gave me hope to get back into bushwalking…
I made it! I did the 3 Capes Track with the strong support and encouragement of my brother and a group of friends. I can’t wait to report back to my specialist with the good news.
What do you love about 3 Capes and why?
It was so spectacular and beautiful, world class. Tasmanian bushwalking is wonderful - a long way from anywhere else. In the Alpine areas you have the glaciations, so jagged and sharp along with the magical pineapple plants aka Astelia Alpina (a perennial herb that typically dominates its environment by growing in dense clusters, called mats, in alpine bogs).
Photos starting from group photo:
1. 3 Capes Crew with Ranger Jacinta - Katrina is second from left in her historic Mont Goretex jacket
2. Katrina’s new Deuter Aircontact Lite 45+10SL Hiking Pack from Bogong Equipment is on the deck, ready to go
3. In between capes
4. Spectacular coastline
5. Clifftop walking
6. Annette and Phil chose the right coloured t-shirts
What have been your other favourite destinations and why?
- I started walking in Victoria - Wilsons Promontory and Grampians - easy walking compared with Tasmania!
- In Tasmania - Frenchman's Cap - My first Tasmanian walk. Rained continuously, horizontal scrub, muddy as hell, had to turn back.
- I became much better prepared with Mont gear - sleeping bag and Goretex jacket - both bought at Bogong Equipment, and both of which came to the 3 Capes. They are still great after 25 years or more.
- I did the South Coast walk with a food drop at Melaleuca and then up the Port Davey track as well as climbed Mount Hesperus.
- I also became involved in the fight to save the Franklin. We won the fight! South West National Park became World Heritage-listed, and the government couldn't build dams. Now the fight is on to save the Tarkine, and un-dam the Wild Rivers!
What do you love about hiking?
I love the feeling of being independent of the world. Actually to be frank, I wasn’t truly independent on the 3 Capes Track! I could not have done it without my brother and friends. It’s much, much harder for me now. I went to my gym a lot to prepare for this walk, but there were times when I thought I wouldn’t make it.
I am so grateful to many people - the PTs at the gym (FitMiss), my brother and friends, and also the Tasmanian National Parks staff who were incredibly encouraging. Having a goal - to complete the 3 Capes - was very good for me.
What inspired you to write The Bones?
We medical students had to own a box of human bones, but no-one ever asked where they came from. Years later this was still on my mind. I went to India and encountered tragic stories including murder and grave robbing, and bones obtained from beggars dropping dead in the street.
2 Million boxes of bones were exported from India over a 10 year period - a reflection of imperialism - “take what we want”. These bones are now impossible to repatriate. For over 40 years, the Australian government has made the sale of human remains illegal, but many medical professionals and their family members have been left with skeletons in their personal possession.
I would love to see plaques in medical institutions with disclaimers urging a sense of respect when handling the bones.
What is The Bones about?
Shelley Conway is a medical student with a keen social conscience. However, in 1970s Australia, her medical school has no social conscience at all. The coursework is inhumane, and students have to toughen up and shut up. Shelley is shocked to realise that not only is it compulsory for every student to purchase a box of human bones, but that nobody ever asks where the bones come from.
When Shelley finds a coded message in her box of bones, she is galvanised into action. She defies the Dean's threat to expel her from the course and goes to India to determine the origin of the bones. What she discovers is much, much worse than she'd ever imagined. The Bones is a gripping political mystery, wrapped up in questions of justice, trauma and humanity.
https://katrinawatsonauthor.com.au/
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