Senator David Van
Victorian senator of the Australian Parliament
澳大利亚维多利亚州参议员

Senator David Van was born and raised in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs.  Van was elected as a Victorian senator for a six-year term in the Australian Parliament in 2019 representing the centre-right Liberal Party.   

Prior to his election, Senator Van ran his own business specialising in crisis management.  His unique approach to solving reputational problems meant his skills were in demand in Australia and internationally, including Malaysia.   

“Australians and Malaysians share many values and this leads to better outcomes when working together.  I would like to work closely with Malaysia on areas of mutual interest and, where possible, bring Malaysian innovation and investment to Victoria.” 

Senator Van has been a long-time supporter of Victoria’s diverse and multi-cultural demography.  Since his election to the Senate, this experienced and well-liked politician used his position to try and bring the many communities together in Melbourne by regularly hosting consular round tables, ensuring all voices are heard.   

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Van called out on the racism facing international students in Australia.  In a letter to The Star he wrote, “It is unacceptable that anyone should have to put up with such cowardly and reprehensible racist behaviour.  It is utterly un-Australian and is condemned by all Australians.  Every person in Australia – whether they arrived here recently, or their families have walked these lands since time immemorial – should never face aggressive acts based on their heritage.”  

Senator Van also believes strongly that the best way to improve people’s lives is to give them the ‘dignity of work’ in secure, well-paid and safe jobs. A champion for small businesses, this dapper individual has a passion for helping them overcome many hurdles. “Small businesses are the engine room of the Australian economy and enabling them to thrive with lower taxes, less red tape and more opportunity is the best way to give more Australians a secure future.”

He enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities, especially diving and has dived in some of Malaysia’s best dive spots. 

David Van参议员出生和成长在墨尔本的海湾郊区。身为右派的自由党代表，自2019年开始，他当选为维多利亚州的参议员，并且在澳大利亚议会展开了6年的任期。  

在作为参议员前，David Van创立经营一家专门从事危机管理的公司。而解决信誉问题的独特方式也让他的技能在澳大利亚和国际上的获得热烈需求，其中包括在马来西亚。 

“我发现澳大利亚人和马来西亚人有许多趋同的价值观，双方的合作将产生最佳效益。我愿意与马来西亚在感兴趣的共同区域密切合作，并在可能的情况下，将马来西亚的创新和投资带到维多利亚。”

David Van一直以来都是维多利亚多样和多元文化构成的拥护者。他自当选参议员以来，试图运用本身职务之力将墨尔本众多社区联系在一起，定期举办领事圆桌会议，确保维多利亚社群的声音被聆听。  

在COVID-19大流行病期间，他也以参议员的身份呼吁关注在澳大利亚的国际学生面临种族歧视的现象。David在给《星报》的一封信中说:“任何人都无法容忍这种懦弱和应当受到谴责的种族歧视行为。这完全不是澳大利亚的风格，理应被每个澳大利亚人唾弃。在澳大利亚的每一个人，无论是近期抵达，或是他们的家人自古就在这片土地上生活，绝不该因本身传统而遭受类似侵略行为。”

他也坚信，改善人们生活的最好办法是提供一份有保障、报酬优厚、安全的工作，让他们有工作的尊严。他热心协助小型企业克服种种困难,“小型企业是澳大利亚经济的引擎室，使他们能够以较低的税收，减少繁文缛节和获得更多机会，这是给与更多澳大利亚人一个安全未来的最佳方式。”

另外，David Van爱好各种户外活动，尤其是潜水，他曾在马来西亚一些最好的潜水景点体验。

Douglas Stewart
Owner of the Douglas Stewart Fine Books Pty. Ltd
Douglas Stewart 精品书有限公司所有者

Douglas began buying and selling books in 1995, while still in high school. Fascinated with some of the oldest prints from the western world, he knew that the perks of doing something he enjoys, would not necessarily be about owning any books.

“Although I may not be able to afford to collect the books that I would want, the great joy about my job is that I get to surround myself with books all day. And then every now and again, one will leave and go into a collector’s home and another one will come in.” 

It gives him a real thrill when books they have rescued occasionally end up in the State or the National Library. What could be better than knowing they are placed into a collection where it will be preserved for future generations.

One of his most exciting moments as a bookseller was dealing with the buying and selling of a single page of the Gutenberg bible, regarded as the first book ever printed in the western world in 1455. While there are no complete copies of the Gutenberg bible left in private hands today, they are available in museums and libraries. 

Following the topics on old and rare books, Douglas further commented on works found closer to our shores, “In China, they had prints made from woodblock and moveable type far earlier than that, probably from the 8th and 9th centuries. And very occasionally you get examples of printings from Asia.”

According to Douglas, the most interesting books to do with Asia are the ones that document first contact. These books dictated some of the westerners’ first encounter with the people from China, Japan, the Philippines and even India. 

“Often the Europeans would bring over a printing press to print books on the ground, perhaps for missions in Japan, China or India. These books are rare because they only print a handful of them. And due to the climate and cultural conditions, only a few of them survived.”

Douglas and his team have also handled some rare books printed on rice paper by missionaries who were travelling around Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Australia also has some remarkable tales of its own. A legendary rarity believed to be the first book on Australia, is a copy of Francois Pelsaert’s  story of the shipwreck of the Batavia, one of Australia’s most gripping in all maritime history. This very first edition of Pelsaert is one of the rarest of Dutch voyages and a foundation book for Australia. Available for purchase for A$400,000, it is the most expensive book they have in stock at the moment. 

While first edition of a shipwreck printed in 1647 may instantly command an exquisite price tag, little ephemeral things from our daily lives can also be a collector’s item. 

“My favorite was an original concert program from Woodstock in 1969. The program was actually water stained because very famously the heavens opened and the rain came down and everybody was completely saturated. And this program obviously caught the rain in Woodstock,” said Douglas.

Between exhibiting at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair and other book fairs in Los Angeles, Tokyo or Paris, Douglas’ love for art often sees him visiting art galleries and exhibitions even during his travels. “ I love seeing what’s on display because I enjoy seeing what different people value in different parts of the world. And so, I’m always learning.”

For many years Douglas has been a member of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB), and is currently the President of ANZAAB. He is also a Mentor for the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.

Douglas Stewart并非一般的书商。他对艺术和旅游的兴趣已经超出大部分人所能享受的范畴。而渴望寻求发现首个被遗忘的长期航海旅行，他最近收购Ferdinand Mendez Pinto的记叙书，这些最早的目击者是巡游马来半岛、暹罗、南圻国，中国和日本的西方人，正是类似事迹激发他作为古董书商的兴致。

在澳大利亚墨尔本的Armadale大街上，他的精品书店-Douglas Stewart Fine Books与其他古董商、画廊和书店为邻，展示着全球各地最稀有的书籍、文本和艺术品。

Douglas从1995年开始进行书本买卖，那时他还在上高中。他着迷于西方世界一些最古老的画作，他知道即使自己非常享受工作，但并非一定能够拥有任何书籍。

“可能买不起我想要的书，但这个工作最大的乐趣是可以整天徜徉在书本的海洋中。然后，时不时有些书本会离我而去，到另外收藏者的家里，而一些书本会进驻。”

当他们所“拯救”的书籍偶尔被送到州或国家图书馆时，他感到非常兴奋。知道它们被妥善收藏，为下一代保存下来，还有比这个更好的事吗?

“在专业本能上来说，我会因为一本书找到合适的归宿而感到快乐。所以，在很多情况下，我们都能找到别人前所未见的书籍版本。”

作为一名身经百战的书商，他最激动人心的时刻之一就是完成古腾堡圣经（Gutenberg bible）单页的买卖交易。古腾堡圣经被认为是西方世界在1455年印刷的第一本书。虽然现在确认没有完整的古腾堡圣经存留在私人收藏者手中了，但是在博物馆和图书馆里都可以找到。

而在触及古老书籍和珍本书籍的话题后，Douglas进一步评论了在澳大利亚近岸发现的作品:“在中国，用木刻和活字印刷的画作远早于此，或是在8世纪和9世纪。偶尔还会收到一些来自亚洲的印刷品。”

根据他的说法，关于亚洲最有趣的部分是那些记录了第一次感受的叙事书籍。这些书籍记录西方人与来自中国、日本、菲律宾甚至印度人的初次接触。

欧洲人经常会带来一台印刷机，在地面上印刷书籍，也许是为了去日本、中国或印度执行任务。这些只印了几本的书很罕见，数量有限。由于气候和文化条件，只有少数能保存下来。”

Douglas和他的团队还经手了17、18世纪在亚洲旅居的传教士用宣纸印刷的珍本书籍。

而澳大利亚也有本身的传奇故事。被认为是关于澳大利亚的第一本书的传奇珍品，是由Francois Pelsaert所著关于巴塔维亚号海难故事的副本，巴塔维亚号海难是澳大利亚海运史上最扣人心弦的故事之一。Francois Pelsaert这本书的第一版是荷兰航海史上最罕见的作品之一，也是澳大利亚的根基书籍。这本书售价40万澳元，是他们目前库存中最昂贵的书籍。

纵然1647年出版的海难第一版书籍是肯定标价不菲，但实际上日常生活中那些记录着转瞬即逝的小东西也可能成为收藏者的珍藏品。

“我最喜欢的是伍德斯托克（Woodstock）1969年一个原创音乐会活动。这个节目演出是充满水渍的，因为当时最经典的是：天堂已经打开下雨了，每个人被雨水渗透。这个活动显然在伍德斯托克与雨水邂逅。”

在纽约国际古董书展（New York International Antiquarian Book Fair）和洛杉矶、东京或巴黎的其他书展之间，Douglas 对艺术的热爱让他经常流连于画廊和展览，甚至在旅行期间也是如此。“我喜欢看展览会，因为从中可以发现世界各地不同的人们所重视的珍品。所以，我一直在学习。”

多年来，Douglas Stewart一直是澳大利亚和新西兰古董书商协会(ANZAAB)的成员，目前是ANZAAB的会长。他也是国际古董书商联盟的导师。