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1988
Settlement story
Barry Levy
Graduate Diploma in Education
Barry Levy has recently published his third
book in seven years while continuing to work
for the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre
as a publications editor.
His latest book, Shades of Exodus
(Interactive Publications) is a fictional view
on migration from a South
African perspective, though
its themes are intended to be
universal.
Mr Levy himself worked in
South Africa as a newspaper
journalist from 1974, before
emigrating to Australia 10
years later.
He said he had always
planned to return to South
Africa once Apartheid ended,
but, by that time, his two
children and Australian-born
wife, Gael, were happily
settled in Brisbane.
“Thousands of South
Africans have been arriving
in Australia, particularly since 1994, many of
them coming to live in Queensland,” he said.
“My latest book is a soul-searching portrait
of South Africans who have emigrated to
Australia, a country where a fair few arrive
considering themselves ‘above the bunch’,
only to find they have to start, more or less,
from square one again.
“It encapsulates universal dilemmas
common to all migrants:
identity, loss, the search for
meaning, and revolves around
the true story of a South African
family who were the victims of
a vicious and violent crime in
Australia while trying to flee the
violence of South Africa.”
The “true story” he mentions
is the brutal 1991 Gold Coast
home invasion and murder
of 19-year-old South African
woman Michelle Cohn.
Ironically, Ms Cohn and
her family had just arrived in
Australia to escape escalating
violence in South Africa.
Mr Levy is an award-winning
journalist. He has won an Anning Barton
Award for Outstanding Journalism (Central
Queensland) for a series of freelance articles
on child sex abuse, an Australian Human
Rights Award for Journalism, and was also a
Queensland State finalist for a Walkley Award
for a series on homelessness.
To learn more about Shades of Exodus,
visit www.ipoz.biz/
1989
Dental defence
Michael Lines
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Psychology (honours)
One of the specialists keeping Australia’s
Defence Force men and women in good
health is UQ alumnus Michael Lines. The
science graduate has been working for the
Australian Army for the past 21 years as a
psychologist and, most recently, as a dentist.
Following the completion of his degrees
in science and psychology at UQ, Dr Lines
enlisted in the Australian Defence Force,
working as a psychologist for 11 years.
During this time, he completed
deployments in East Timor, the Solomon
Islands and throughout Australia.
While serving in various army hospitals, Dr
Lines’ passion for dentistry was rekindled and
he decided to enrol at the University of Sydney
via the Defence University Sponsorship.
“I had a long-term interest in dentistry,
which began from my own experiences as a
teenager,” Dr Lines said.
“I am very passionate about the role that
the military plays and I also feel that dentistry is
a great, dynamic and challenging profession,”
he said.
“Being a dentist in the army allows me
to combine these two great passions of
mine.”
He said the major difference between
private practice dentistry and work in the
service was the level of financial flexibility.
“In the army, the treatment is provided
free-of-charge, so this means we can
provide the patient with the best treatment
plan possible, without needing to take any
cost issues into account,” he said.
“Also, we provide dental services in
operational environments, so we are trained
and equipped to work in austere field
environments – often under canvas.”
One of Dr Lines’ most memorable
experiences was his deployment with the
Army Aboriginal Community Aid Program to
central South Australia.
“We provided a full dental service and
were able to issue dentures to patients who
had been missing a number of teeth for
years,” Dr Lines said.
“It was personally rewarding as we were
making a real difference in these people’s
lives.”
36 UQ – CONTACT // Winter 2012