Hazel’s History

Paula Xiberras

With a name like Flynn you would think Hazel Flynn would feel right at home in Tasmania. Even though her husband is an actor as far as I know Hazel has no relation to Tassie’s famous Flynn! The name Hazel means commander which is appropriate to Hazel’s latest book of military engagements which we chatted about recently, ‘History’s most daring moments’.
Hazel does enjoy her visits to Tasmania calling it an ‘amazing experience’, enjoying ‘Cradle Mountain and the North West’’ and particularly the vibrancy of Salamanca and the classic sunny Christmas snow!’ but it’s been ‘too many years’ since her 1985 visit. Hazel’s husband grew up in Tasmania and the couple maintain many friends in Tassie’s arts and acting community

Hazel is an accomplished writer splitting her writing talents as a ghost writer, historical books and biography which have included biographies on another Hazel, Hazel Hawke in ‘My Mother’s Story’ and ‘Hazel’s journey : A personal experience of Alzheimers’ she collaborated with Hazel’s daughter Sue Pieters-Hawke. Hazel also worked with Lani Brennan on Lani’s Story. Hazel says she enjoys equally her eclectic writing and feels privileged to be a ghost writer in helping others who have a story to tell but might not know how to go about it.

Hazel wanted to write a book of popular history, that as well as being factual was easy to read and accessible for the general public, ‘History’s most daring moments’ is the result.

Some of Hazel’s favourite stories are Shackleton’s endurance of the Antarctic
and the story of the Trojan horse and how it is a mixture of mythology and historical fact, a story of god’s, ‘superior beings but earth driven’. Recent discoveries of cities on top of one another have identified a real historical city of Troy. It is believed the Trojan war lasted 10 years, yet in Homer it is condensed to only 41 days.

Its historical and mythological longevity lives on in the phrases associated with it, that have entered our language. Hazel outlines these, for example

‘Trojan Horse’, which designates something destructive, that doesn’t necessarily appear to be so.

‘Achilles Heel’ that denotes a fatal weakness

The famous ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts’ referring to the Trojan horse given as a gift to Troy when in fact there were motives other than gift giving!

And ‘The Face that launched a thousand ships’ describing Helen, the great beauty who instigated the Trojan war.

Another story that Hazel particularly likes is that of the battle of Thermopylae –
the story shows what a determined army can do in defending their nation with good preparation, even though their adversaries may have more efficient equipment and may be many times multiplied in number. The battle of Thermopylae was made up of an amalgamation of Greek states including 300 Spartans (so goes the legend) as well as a number of slaves and other Greeks. The invading Persians, after previously being defeated by the Greeks, were now in great numbers. The Greeks blocked the Persian army but were undone when a resident let the Persians know about a secret path.
Voltaire said of another bloody engagement featured in the book, that nothing is better known than ‘The siege of Malta’.
The engagement was the climax of control of the Mediterranean with Malta a strategic gateway to the east which gave fame to’ the Knights Hospitaller’,‘Knights of Malta ‘ or the Knights of St John’ whose influence has spread the world and whose name lives on today in the ‘St John’s ambulance’.

‘History’s most daring moments’ is out now published by Allen and Unwin.