I’m sure many were sad to see the shutdown of the website novelactivist.com. However, it should be understood that it was not shuttered because of controversial content. It’s founder, Ray Harris, established the site to assist in his research for his novels, especially Navaratri. In the long run Harris said, “it became a financial burden and a distraction from writing.” This site was important to me because it was one of the first I encountered when I began to study the cult of the girl child in earnest. A handful of posts stand out in my mind and I felt it important that public attention be brought to them. So this is one of many “rescues” that I plan to post on this site.

The timing of my early research coincided with the controversy over Bill Henson’s photographs of young people around 2009 (more on that later). One of the things affected was this statue commissioned from Karin Tulloch in Perth in 1936 to be displayed publicly.

Karin Tulloch – Judith (1936)

Karin Tulloch – Judith (1936) (overhead closeup)

Because of the outcry over Hensen’s work at the time, the council found it prudent to temporarily relocate this statue to a more discreet area. The model, Judith Anketell, then 80 continued to defend the statue as a legitimate work of fine art. You can also see images of the work in progress here.