'It's the kind of place where history comes out to meet you.'

Annear writes history that is engaging, thoughtful and often witty - adjectives that apply equally to the woman herself. She reanimated early Melbourne in her much-loved debut book Bearbrass, then tore it down a decade later via a history of Whelan The Wrecker.

A resident of Castlemaine in the Goldfields region, 90 minutes northwest of Melbourne, for 15 years, she has also been inspired to write books about key local historical phenomena, the Eureka Stockade and the gold rush.

‘History provides depth, further meaning and fleshes life out, and that's what captivates me,’ Robyn says. ‘Places that give off an echo are what make me spark. Castlemaine has the strong echo of what built the town in the first place - the gold rush - and that is still evident everywhere. It's a genuine country town, but very welcoming to outsiders.’

She is also involved with Friends of the Mt Alexander Diggings. ‘We organise walks and historical events such as re-enactments. For example, we might reenact a scene from the first council elections. It sounds dull, but at the time it might have involved fisticuffs, drunken outbursts, ratbag hecklers and all that good stuff.’

Favourite Day Trip
Daylesford. Very pretty and great bookshops.

Favourite Food Experience
Bullboar sausages from Newstead Butchers (23 Lyons St, Newstead 03 5476 2217).

Favourite Object
An old pocket edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Virginibus Peurisque, held together with a brown bootlace.