The Arthur Ransome Society (TARS) was formed in 1990 for those of all ages who have enjoyed the famous Swallows and Amazons books. There are over 2000 members around the world enjoying regular contact and a variety of outdoor and literary activities.

TARS growth has accelerated in Australia following several recent initiatives. Several meetings of AusTars followed an inaugural meeting in November 1998 at Hobart. The first four issues of an Australian magazine and an Australian web page followed that meeting. Membership is between 40 and 50 individuals or families including several home-schooling families. Victorian TARS meet several times annually to walk, birdwatch, feast, row on the Amazon, lunch by the lake or dine. The fifth interstate meeting was held at Toronto, Lake Macquarie in 2003. We expect membership to continue increasing as AusTars derive greater benefits and contacts within Australia.

Furthest South is a quarterly magazine containing news and articles primarily for and by Australian members to supplement the international TARS publications. Tars can hoist signals in Furthest South to swap books, report adventures and arrange corroborees. They can also test their knowledge in quizzes and crosswords and complete some of Dorothea's unfinished Romances. Details of forthcoming AusTars events are published in each edition. A membership list (inclusion optional) has been circulated to members on the list to encourage signals.

Membership can be paid in Australian currency to an Australian liaison officer. Application forms with instructions can be printed from the linked APPLICATION FORM page or request one from Mr David Bamford, 03 9555 3598, Eel-mail davidbamford@netspace.net.au , 30 Fiddes Street, Moorabbin 3189. Subscriptions fall due at the end of December, but the membership of those who join between October to December will run to the following December 31.

• encourage children and others to engage, with due regard to safety, in adventurous pursuits;
• educate the public generally about Ransome and his work;
• sponsor research in relevant areas;
• be a communications link for those interested in any aspect of Arthur Ransome's life and works.

TARS places a strong emphasis on communication and high-quality publications. Members receive the literary journal Mixed Moss twice a year, the annual Despatches giving details of the coming international AGM and overseas and UK regional news in Signals three times a year. Juniors get The Outlaw instead of Mixed Moss but Family memberships receive both The Outlaw and Mixed Moss. In addition, Australian members receive the quarterly magazine Furthest South.

Amazon Publications publishes a book every year under the aegis of the Society. In 2000 this will be A Ransome Bookcase. Other Amazon publications provide access to Ransome's out-of-print writings, log books, drawings, homes, boats and biographic details.

As befits a literary society, TARS has established a substantial archive, which includes video and audio material.

TARS has an Internet Information and Discussion site called TARBOARD and supports the AR World Wide Web site, The Arthur Ransome Pages. Australian TARS have this supplementary web site for membership applications at https://www.angelfire.com/ar/swallow.

The Society's mail order shop offers members a variety of Ransome-associated material, including all available editions of his writings in English plus other Ransome-related titles, videos, cassettes, burgees and more. Several of the books are available on audiocassettes. Orders can now be sent to an Australian agent who will e-mail them to the UK. The items will be promptly mailed with an invoice including postage. You pay the local agent in Australian currency by cheque or money order. There is no need for expensive transfer of currency to the UK.

TARS has a wide range of activities, including literary discussion and research, sailing, camping, walking, and networking with other enthusiasts. Particular highlights are the AGM weekend and the Literary Weekend, which is held every other year. The 2000 AGM will be at Windermere in May. The United Kingdom has six regional groups each with its own program of meetings to which all members of the Society are welcomed. Junior members have their own national coordinator.

The Society has close links with the Windermere Steamboat Museum at Bowness where the original Amazon or Mavis is to be seen together with the Esperance, one of the prototypes for Captain Flint's houseboat. Ransome's dinghy Coch y Bonddhu, recently restored, which appears as Scarab in the books, is at present also at this Museum but will be moved to the Ruskin Museum in Coniston when the new extension there is completed.

A separate trust of TARS members, The Nancy Blackett Trust has purchased Ransome's1931 Hillyard cutter Nancy Blackett, the original of Goblin in We Didn't Mean to Go To Sea. Members have opportunities to sail on Nancy Blackett and to assist with her maitenance.

The Arthur Ransome room at Abbot Hall Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry in Kendal, Cumbria, is partly supported by the Society.