Ken White
IN 1996 I decided to fulfil a long held ambition to write but having no formal training I decided a good start would be to write of something I had a working knowledge.

In my leisure time I was interested in outdoor activities like bush-walking and cycling touring so why not combine these activities along the way by writing a cycling guide book.

My only plus in the literary world was some experience in the marketing of books.

After buying a Mackintosh, and knowing only how to plug the three pins into the electricity socket, I then learnt how to touch type at a centre for the unemployed — Colony 47 in Davey Street, Hobart.

Then I decided to research a new track I had heard about titled The Tasmanian Trail which I then traversed many times on my bicycle from Devonport in the far north of the state to an outpost of civilization called Cockle Creek in the far south; a distance of over 550km via the Central Plateau; much of which was off-road tracks.

I wrote the book of my adventures as a travel guide and titled it, “Cycle the Tasmanian Trail”

My foregoing plans were not the hardest part of the project as it turned out.

My biggest problem in producing the accompanying maps turned out to be obtaining permission to produce such maps using the raw data owned by the Government agency known as Tas Maps (Land Information Service). In my naivety I thought that if I was prepared to pay a fair commercial rate Tas Maps would do this job for me as it was work that would produce an economic benefit for the state by way of bringing extra tourists that would require services in parts of the state that unfortunately saw too-few such travellers.

The Tasmanian Trail in ‘96 was driven by an alliance of a horsey group and Forestry Tasmania for in fact much of the said route went through forestry country while the ‘official’ guide book was written in Forestry Tasmania’s head office.

I know this because a year or so later one of the Forestry staff so employed was interested to meet me when on a walking club trip as “so you’re the Ken White.” There were other incidents to confirm my assertion.

Now this is where it gets interesting … as in the alliance between Forestry Tasmania, the ‘official trail committee’ and Tas Maps — to the exclusion of myself.

My first shock was when I applied to the Land Information Service in September 6 1996; from whom I received a reply on September 17 1996. I knew from that reply to my letter that I had a battle on my hands.

The short letter went thus:

Dear Ken,
I am responding to your letter requesting the procedures for acquiring 1:100 000 mapping to produce your cyclist guide book for the proposed Tasmanian Trail.

I have contacted the official Trail committee through Lynne Dean of Forestry Tasmania who advised me that the Trail committee is an incorporated body with all rights over the Trail, the name and publications to support it.

The Land Information Services Division has been contracted to produce maps for the official Trail book and we are, in fact, part of the committee. We cannot supply any mapping to support other guide books for the Trail without the written permission of the committee.

The current chairperson is Mrs Susan Henry with address and phone number supplied.

I suggest you contact Mrs Henry to obtain approval for your project to enable us to proceed.

Yours faithfully signed for Olaf Hedberg A/General Manager, Land Information Services.

So there it was with my fame having preceded me to the Land Information Services; plus it established beyond doubt that Forestry Tasmania was involved in a public relations scheme to massage the public’s image of Forestry.

Part of my reply to Land Information of October 10 ‘96 went thus:

Following your suggestion I wrote to Susan Henry who informed Mr. Simon Cubit who quickly wrote to me asking that I phone him. He had the erroneous impression that I wanted to use, in his words, “our maps.” to which I replied this was not so.

From a phone conversation a meeting was arranged at Forestry Tasmania Macquarie St. headquarters for 9.30 a.m. October 1.

During the meeting Simon agreed that the project had stalled but now there was a new revitalised committee. He asked would I join the ranks. I said I would consider it.

Simon agreed to send me an application form which I never received though subsequently I joined as an ordinary member for $15.00 just to receive their newsletters.

The rest of this letter to Tas Maps makes interesting reading which concludes with myself asking Simon about the alleged copyright on the Trail as pointed out to myself by the Land Information Service to which Simon feigned not knowing about such a situation.

When pressed further I could not get an answer.

My letter on file has a note on the bottom. ‘No reply to this letter (From Tas Maps as Lands Information Service.)’

Through a long process I got to know a cartographer, Rocco, within Land Management who offered to make my maps for a commercial fee which I accepted; whereupon he was carpeted by management who said to Rocco, ‘Look Rocco we understand you are doing a private job for Ken White — right; well we can’t stop you but we advise you not to do it’ to which Rocco replied something like. ‘You can get stuffed.’ or words to that affect.

Not long after, Rocco resigned to take up a better job in Queensland drawing maps for a large mining company and as far as I know he and his family have lived happily ever after.

When at last my book was produced I received, in relative terms, an enormous amount of publicity; so much in fact that an incredulous Clive of Fullers Bookshop Hobart remarked that he had never known a first time author to get so much publicity.

Instead of the Trail committee taking this as good additional publicity they took offence.

It was the day after my book was launched that Mrs Susan Henry, as the chairperson for the Trail committee, came around to my place in Sandy Bay waving a copy of my book to my startled partner, saying I would hear more about this and that I would be sued. Unfortunately I was not home that day. My partner was a little shaken and I became apprehensive.

The threat of me being sued was just that, a threat mentioned more than once; however after several long months it was dropped and I heard that when the suit was presented to the lawyer the advice was something along the lines of, ‘Don’t be so silly.

Over this matter I appealed to the Ombudsman, Elizabeth-Anne Nixon, which did me no good but it enhanced my learning.

I wrote:

Att. Elisabeth-Anne Nixon, Office of the Ombudsman 23 Kirksway Place Hobart 7000.
11/11/’98
Dear Elisabeth,

I am calling on the Ombudsman to ask a Government employee in his capacity as the co-ordinator of The Tasmanian Trail Committee to refrain from using my name or anything associated with my name in the public domain.

I contend that this Trail committee and Government employee is grossly unfair, constituting a restriction of trade, is defamatory bordering on harassment .

I have put up with this situation for 12 months however I feel it is about time a stop is called before it gets out of hand.

You can see from my records supplied that I have been subjected to an extraordinary amount of pressure in my commercial efforts. These folk have no right under any charter, moral or legal to pursue me in this way even though I am capable of taking more. This situation (for me) has no precedent. I am only unduly upset when it affects my friends, my commercial interests and the economy of the state.

You can see that my philosophy in like circumstances is to ignore such barbs; therefore this is not a kneejerk reaction but one borne out of frustration.

I would like a signed statement through your office addressed to me acceding to my wishes.

I, in return, will continue to get on with my business without bad mouthing publicly any other person connected within or without the Tasmanian Trail.

My final plea is that any public servant that has given me information be not mentioned or alluded to.

Considering the track record of this person, Chris Boden. I would like an assurance before this goes any further. Yours Sincerely, Ken White.

The Ombudsman refused my plea on the grounds that Chris Boden was not employed by the Government but by The Tas Trail Committee. Furthermore she gave me some motherly advice.

In this period a long standing friend of mine, not being involved in the politics of the matter, wrote a glowing review in the public domain of my book after which he got a phone call from a person involved saying his text was unfortunate and ‘he had let the side down’

Another instance was several years later an officer from Tas Maps pulled me up in the street and apologised to me for the bad time he had to give me. He was sincerely sorry but I had not felt any ill to him then, before or after. I understood this man for he was always a decent honourable person corrupted by a rotten system.

And again, because of my network I became involved with a Cycle Tour operator from South Australia called Tony Hansen of ‘Rolling On Tours’. As Tony was planning to do cycling tours in Tasmania he researched my book and also asked for information from The Tasmanian Trail Committee.

He was so startled with the bad-mouth tirade about myself from the then co-ordinator of the Trail Chris Boden that he wrote, “Hey Ken; what’s going on down there?”
He never brought a tour to Tasmania after that incident.

John Shoobridge of ‘Cleveland’ Ouse, for whom I classed wool for many years and considered myself a family friend, he being a member of The Trail Committee rang me up and hassled me no end while Bicycle Tasmania secretary Paul Gregory told me one evening that the Trail meeting he attended last week was the only meeting for a year that my name had not been mentioned. We both laughed.

Eventually I decided to discontinue my association with the Tasmanian Trail because of its limited appeal. Once I stopped my promotion of the Trail for my newer route titled Cycle the Tasmanian Way The Trail fell into disuse and was all but finished except in name.

The last I heard of the Tasmanian Trail was early this year of 2006 I heard Chris Wisbey of ABC Radio interviewing Simon Cubit on how Simon had winkled a sum of money to finance him seeking out if The Tasmanian Trail could be made viable — again.

Chris Wisbey mentioned my name during the interview but it did not get a rise.

There must be many such cases like mine and many far worse that go unpublicised for (they) hold all the cards and even if you win, you lose something, if not all.

Ken White.