Ursula A. Ciller

I was born in NZ and when very young emigrated to Australia. I still remember the orange lights of the underground tunnels and the fountain in Lake Burley Griffin at Canberra – these are some of my earliest memories of Terra Australis. We moved to WA for a few years and then did an epic journey across the Nullarbor Plain in a HQ Kingswood towing 3 tons with a trailer as Halley’s Comet past us above. We got a lot of advice from friends, “You will never make it...” but we did. That is my attitude to life - if you try and believe, then you will succeed whatever the obstacles may be.

Growing up in the bush has given me an appreciation of the natural world. I had the opportunity to learn responsibility, to pull my weight, and to dream of love and life. During my school years I spent my spare time bird watching in the mornings, going for walks, riding out with my siblings into the common paddocks to find and bring back the cows, learning karate, painting and drawing. One of my enchanting artistic creations was a picture story of a unicorn called Crystal. When I was a young kid, Crystal went out into the world. Now the world can finally meet Crystal!

These days I occupy my time being a mum, researcher, and writer.