Photo caption: Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton (right) met with Dubbo author Poli Sansey to congratulate her on receiving a $7,264 grant under the Saluting Their Service Program.

A Dubbo writer will be able to publish a book of poetry and art inspired by the Battle of Crete, thanks to a Federal Government grant.

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton this week met with the author Paulette (Poli) Sansey to congratulate her on being awarded $7,264 in funding under Batch 2 of the Saluting Their Service (STS) Commemorative Grants Program.

“This funding will be used by Poli to publish her book, ‘Into the Moonlit Village – The Battle of Crete’, which is a collaboration of her poetry and artwork by artist Michael Winters,” Mr Coulton said.

“The book is all about the Battle of Crete which occurred during World War II in 1941, resulting in a four-year occupation of the Greek island by Nazi German soldiers.

“The book is deeply personal for Poli who was born in the Cretan prefecture of Rethymno and grew up hearing stories of the war and occupation from her mother who was a child at the time. Poli’s own grandfather was tragically executed in what was known as the Holocaust of Kedros at the very end of the occupation on August 22,1944 as part of a reprisal campaign mounted by Nazi German soldiers, leaving her grandmother a widow with five teenaged children. Like so many others in the Amari villages, the family house was dynamited.

“Ever since returning to the family village as an adult, Poli knew she wanted to write a body of work about the occupation and resistance, but it wasn’t until she met artist Michael Winters whose linocuts about the Battle of Crete inspired her poetry, that the project took shape.

“Australian soldiers played a critical role during the battle and occupation – in fact, it was the first time the Anzacs were reformed following Gallipoli – and this book is a way of honouring them, as well as the local resistance effort.

“This book will be an invaluable historical resource and I congratulate Poli for her efforts in shining a spotlight on Australia’s role during the Battle of Crete.”

Ms Sansey said the grant is a wonderful endorsement of the book and will go a long way to helping with the costs of publishing.

“This project was of enormous importance to both me and the artist featured in the book, Michael Winters, whose art was very inspiring to work with,” Ms Sansey said.

“Growing up, my mother spoke to me and my sisters of her childhood memories during the battle and occupation in Crete. High up in the mountains of Rethymno she met Australian soldiers throughout the 1940s, never knowing that 20 years later she would be emigrating to Australia.

“To this day Australians are welcome throughout Crete for the courage they displayed on the battlefield. Australians need to know about this place over there that just loves Australia so much.

“It was a great honour and a long-held ambition to work on a book of this kind.”

‘Into the Moonlit Village – The Battle of Crete’ will be published in the coming months before Ms Sansey and Mr Winters embark on a book tour. To pay tribute to her Cretan family, Ms Sansey will be publishing under her maternal name, Poli Tataraki.

The Saluting Their Service (STS) Commemorative Grants Program is designed to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australia’s service personnel in wars, conflicts and peace operations, and their families.

Grants of up to $10,000 are available for community-based commemorative projects and activities.

The STS Program is an ongoing program, with 2023-24 Batch 1 applications currently open until 20 June 2024. For more information, visit dva.gov.au/about/overview/consultations-and-grants/grants-and-bursaries/saluting-their-service-sts-commemorative-grants-program