John Blay, writer and naturalist, was born in Parramatta and since moving to the far south coast in 1970 has written extensively about south eastern Australia and its people in prose, drama and poetry. Art projects continue this focus on the region and its natural history.
His epic bushwalking trilogy of the south east forests includes Back Country (2017), On Track (2015) and Wild Nature (2020). It traces the region’s forests, peoples, natural history, and rediscovery of an important shared history pathway. Now heritage-listed – and thanks to the work of Blay, Aboriginal communities and local people – the Bundian Way is set to be one of the great Australian walks. His most recent publications look at the challenges of conserving the region’s wild nature, landscapes and Aboriginal cultural heritage.