When phoning to speak with Helen one evening, her grandson replied, saying that she was not around at that moment. "Is she asquare then?" "No way," he stated emphatically, "my grandmother was never a square!"
If Helen had not been around, it would be unlikely that there would have been an Australian Kite Association, even now. For the past 16 years her commitment to kites has seen the birth and growth of the Association, with Robert Hart, Tony Johnston and herself as the prime movers in an endeavour to infect the population with the joy of kiting.
In those early days it was an unusual sight to see mature folk, much less women, flying kites, and certainly this behaviour would have indicated that Helen was far from square, and in fact, even as recently as 2 years ago, one could sometimes be ridiculed by the unitiated teenager for such activity. None of this has deterred Helen, who instigated and produced the newsletter for years, compiled her book, educated teachers and children in the making and flying of kites, organized "butterfly days", displays at the Royal Melbourne Show, and made sure of the advertising of' these, while encouraging so many of us in our own efforts. Through her have come the overseas contacts with groups of like mind, and hence the opportunities to attend the Festivals held by them in so many different countries.
A true facilitator, Helen has, with a most generous spirit sown the seeds of enthusiasm for making and improving kites, in all who have sought her help, and she has been so successful in her self imposed task, that she has almost flown herself out of the sky on occasions, as the crowds have joined her and jammed the air space.
Quietly carrying the responsibility for the growth of a kiting fraternity-sorority, Helen has worked at providing children's kites on "Special Days", and in fact has created both kites and days, and the financial return necessary to support the newsletter and occasional stall hire, at festivals and shows in order to stimulate further the interest and pleasure of kiting. She has not always received recognition for this effort, and at times, little assistance, but has perservered in working towards her original goal, as people have come and gone from the A.K.A. It is largely due to her continuing work in these ways that Australia is now on the kiting map.
Helen worked for a while on developing the Hewitt flexform kite, and it's extensions.
Most kiters know of her development and patenting of the "Trefoil", for which she is known in world kiting communities. At that time kiting was not taken as a serious activity in Australia, and Helen turned to her knowledge of sailing, and also sought knowledge of aerodynamics from the aeronautical buffs.
Through the years, Helen has worked towards having the kite recognized as a potential art-form, and it is really only recently that Western kitemakers have focussed on this aspect, although Tal Streeter's direction appears never to have been in doubt on this score.
Helen has lately graduated in Anthropology, with a special interest in Mythology and its symbols, particularly the Aboriginal 'Rainbow Serpent', Asian fertility symbols and those relating to the'Earth Mother' in various cultures. This interest has led her to a belief that she may be able to trace a trail of' transformations in the visual arrangements of the components of these symbols, through a maze of metamorphoses which lead out of Australia rather than into it, as has been the theory until recently. Looking first at the'Rainbow Serpent' and its eggs, Helen feels that the shapes contained in examples of this symbol can be found in changed relationships in the decorative markings on Asian kites and artefacts, and through movement around the Pacific rim, may even have influenced the earliest Chinese calligraphic characters, and that kites may have been the vehicle which carried these symbols. Her interest has caused her to build a number of serpent kites over the years.
Significantly, in the years of her commitment to building the level of interest which now exists here in kiting, she has in a way, become a symbol herself, and perhaps a fitting title to bestow on her would be 'Australia's Kite Mother'.
