As The Walrus Said ... The Time Has Come ... by Colin Russell Bevan, Published 2005 The Ancient Mariner is not the only man with a story to tell. It is as true as ever that every man and woman has. This is the story of one man's eighty-four years of existence woven somewhere into the fabric of the history of one of Australia's relatively young states, Queensland. It took him some years to verbalise a sentiment that rumbled around somewhere deep within his psyche. He had heard many times the cliché, "There but for the grace of God go I", but it was never the palliative he needed and sought. Although religion had never loomed large in his ruminations, he felt that statement attributed to the Almighty a degree of partiality of which He should not be capable. One that finally made sense was, "There but for the grace of greatly altered circumstances go I". He was deep down conscious that his own early life circumstances could have set his life on a much less satisfying course except for his fortunate membership of a close-knit, caring, highly solicitous family that refused to be daunted and damaged by the baleful economic atmosphere occasioned by the severe 1920's and 30's world-wide depression. Forced by lack of finance into a profession that was originally not of his choosing, but which he soon embraced with all the enthusiasm he could muster, he gradually became more and more convinced and concerned that there are so many people in this world born into circumstances that condemned them to become, through little or no fault of their own, the grist for the mill of the criminal justice system, caught in the revolving door of gaol and court appearances, almost from the moment of their conception. This book is the story of the author's progress from attempting to provide young people with the wherewithals to encompass their own learning to attempting to educate judges and magistrates, police, prison-officers, court officials, lawyers - in short all persons involved with the administration of all criminal justice systems - into a greater understanding of the mainsprings of human behaviour and delinquent behaviour in particular. Thus he hoped to influence such people into applying in the course of their duties, without necessarily excusing them altogether, a greater measure of understanding and compassion towards the people they were dealing with. Woven throughout are moving human interest stories of his own interactions with some of the persons committed to the care and supervision of his department. Colin Bevan
About the Author: Colin Bevan was born in a small country town named Pittsworth on the fertile Darling Downs in south-east Queensland. Following the destruction of their jewellery business by fire, the family was forced to move to Brisbane where he was educated to university entrance standard. His first employment was as a young head teacher of small country schools in North Queensland, followed by a short period as a Queensland Department of Education Research and Guidance Officer, then appointment as that State's first Chief Probation and Parole Officer for the Department of Justice, finally retiring as Assistant Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology in the nation's capital, Canberra, ACT. He is twice married with five children and a step-son and now lives happily in retirement on his two-acre property in the hinterland of Queensland's Gold Coast.