Olivia Osborn

Olivia Osborn; born in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia 1951, attended Bendigo Institute of Technology to become a graphic artist. Worked as a background artist for Hanna Barbera in Sydney, in the early seventies, before returning to Bendigo to open a restaurant. Renovating a 100 year old butcher shop to become one of Victoria's top ten, country restaurants; Then Olivia took on Bendigo's 54 hotels to acquire a liquor license. Holidaying in Darwin in the early seventies, Olivia returned in the early eighties with her husband to live and work in the Northern Territory. It was here, she fell deeply in love with it's eccentric characters, and the Territory's unique out-back life style, it's freedom and it pristine beauty and its wild, untamed land and people. Also, she discovered the need for the Territory's unique, historical story to be told. So, Olivia enrolled in a creative writing, remote, correspondence course at James Cook University and the first chapter of 'Kututu' was born as three thousand word assignment. Her lecturer and mentor, Chris Van Roy insisted, she should write a novel. In the nineties, after her divorce, Olivia returned to live in Melbourne, with her small daughter. Desperately missing life in the Territory, and upon her father's death in 1999. Chris Van Roy was visiting, he and his wife was doing the 'Grey Nomad' thing, and once again, he insisted Olivia write a novel. It was then, Olivia and her daughter moved to Noosa, Queensland. Which is where they reside today in a natural 1000 year old rainforest, surrounded by animals and nature. And where Olivia finished 'Kututu' and is continuing to work on it's sequel, 'Rapa Kututu'