This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1949.

Books

James Aldridge Harold Edward James Aldridge (10 July 1918 – 23 February 2015) was an Australian-British writer and journalist. His World War II despatches were published worldwide and he was the author of over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction works, ...

– ''The Diplomat'' *

Martin Boyd Martin à Beckett Boyd (10 June 1893 – 3 June 1972) was an Australian writer born into the à Beckett– Boyd family, a family synonymous with the establishment, the judiciary, publishing and literature, and the visual arts since the early 19t ...

– ''

Such Pleasure ''Such Pleasure'' (1949) is a novel by the Australian writer Martin Boyd Martin à Beckett Boyd (10 June 1893 – 3 June 1972) was an Australian writer born into the à Beckett– Boyd family, a family synonymous with the establishment, the ju ...

'' *

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

– '' The Long Shadow'' *

Charmian Clift Charmian Clift (30 August 19238 July 1969) was an Australian writer and essayist. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston. Biography Clift was born in Kiama, New South Wales in 1923. She married George Johnston ...

& George Johnston – ''High Valley'' *

Jean Devanny Jane (Jean) Devanny (7 January 1894 – 8 March 1962) was a New Zealand writer and communist. Born in Ferntown near Collingwood, New Zealand, Collingwood in the Nelson district of New Zealand to William and Jane Crook, she migrated to Australia i ...

– ''Cindie : A Chronicle of the Canefields'' *

Philip Lindsay Philip Lindsay (30 April 1906 – 4 January 1958) was an Australian writer, who mostly wrote historical novels. Life and writing He was the son of Norman Lindsay, an Australian artist and a younger brother of writer Jack Lindsay. He was ...

** ''All That Glitters'' ** ''The Loves of My Lord Admiral'' * Alan Marshall – ''How Beautiful Are Thy Feet'' *

Ruth Park Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 191714 December 2010) was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels ''The Harp in the South'' (1948) and ''Playing Beatie Bow'' (1980), and the children's radio serial ''Th ...

– ''

Poor Man's Orange ''Poor Man's Orange'' is a novel by New Zealand born Australian author Ruth Park. Published in 1949, the book is the sequel to ''The Harp in the South'' (1948) and continues the story of the Darcy family, living in the Surry Hills area of Sydne ...

'' *

E. V. Timms Edward Vivian Timms (1895–1960), better known as E. V. Timms, was an Australian novelist and screenwriter. He was injured serving in the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I and was an unsuccessful soldier settler before turning to writing. ...

– '' The Pathway of the Sun'' *

June Wright Dorothy June Wright (née Healy; 29 June 1919 – 4 February 2012) was an Australian writer. She wrote six popular crime novels between 1948 and 1966, all with recognisable settings in and around Melbourne. She also wrote many articles for Cath ...

– ''So Bad a Death''

Short stories

Vance Palmer Edward Vivian "Vance" Palmer (28 August 1885 – 15 July 1959) was an Australian novelist, dramatist, essayist and critic. Early life Vance Palmer was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, on 28 August 1885 and attended the Ipswich Grammar School. With ...

– "Mathieson's Wife" *

Dal Stivens Dallas George "Dal" Stivens (31 December 1911 – 15 June 1997) was an Australian writer who produced six novels and eight collections of short stories between 1936, when ''The Tramp and Other Stories'' was published, and 1976, when his last colle ...

– "The Pepper Tree" *

Judah Waten Judah Leon Waten Member of the Order of Australia, AM (29 July 191129 July 1985) was an Australian novelist who was at one time seen as the voice of Australian migrant writing. Life and career Born in Odessa to a History of the Jews in Russia ...

– "Neighbours"

Poetry

John Blight Frederick John Blight (30 July 1913 – 12 May 1995) was an Australian poet of Cornish origin, his ancestors having arrived in South Australia on the ''Lisander'', in 1851. In the 1987 recording ''John Blight'', he describes his Cornish backgro ...

– "Into the Ark" * David Campbell – ''Speak With the Sun'' *

Rosemary Dobson Rosemary de Brissac Dobson, AO (18 June 192027 June 2012) was an Australian poet, who was also an illustrator, editor and anthologist.Anderson (1996) She published fourteen volumes of poetry, was published in almost every annual volume of ''Au ...

** "Ampersand" ** "The Missal" *

Geoffrey Dutton Geoffrey 'Geppie' Piers Henry Dutton AO (2 August 192217 September 1998) was an Australian author and historian. Biography Dutton was born into a prominent pastoralist family of Anlaby Station near Kapunda, South Australia in 1922. His grandfat ...

– "Wool-Shed Dance" * Nan McDonald – "Wet Summer : Botanic Gardens" * Kenneth Mackenzie – "Table-Birds" *

Elizabeth Riddell Elizabeth Riddell (21 March 1910 – 3 July 1998) was an Australian poet and journalist. Life Born in Napier, New Zealand, Elizabeth Richmond Riddell came to Australia in 1928 where she worked at ''Smith's Weekly'' and won a Walkley Award. She ...

** "News of a Baby" ** "Wakeful in the Township" * Roland Robinson – ''Language of the Sand : Poems'' *

David Rowbotham David Harold Rowbotham (27 August 1924 – 6 October 2010) was an Australian poet and journalist. Early life Rowbotham was born in the Darling Downs of Queensland, in the city of Toowoomba. He attended Toowoomba Grammar School and studied at ...

– "Nine O'Clock : By the Bunya Mountains" *

Douglas Stewart Douglas Stewart may refer to: *Douglas Stewart (poet) (1913–1985), Australian poet *Edward Askew Sothern (1826–1881), English actor who was sometimes known as Douglas Stewart * Douglas Stewart (equestrian) (1913–1991), British Olympic equestri ...

** "Nodding Greenhood" ** "Terra Australis" *

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New Sou ...

** "The Old Prison" ** '' Woman to Man''

Drama

Max Afford Malcolm R. Afford (8 April 1906 – 2 November 1954) known as Max Afford, was an Australian playwright and novelist. Biography Early years Afford was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the youngest son of Robert D. Afford of "Glenleigh", Sta ...

– ''Dark Enchantment''

Awards and honours

Literary

Children's and Young Adult

Poetry

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1949 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death. * 8 February –

Nigel Krauth Nigel Krauth (born 1949) is an Australian novelist and academic. he is a professor at Griffith University. He has published several novels and co-authored a number of young adult works. Early life and education Krauth was born in Cremorne, New ...

, novelist and academic * 22 March –

Alan Gould Alan Gould (born 22 March 1949) is a contemporary Australian novelist, essayist and poet. Life and career Gould was born in London to an English father and an Icelandic mother. His family lived in Northern Ireland, Germany and Singapore before ...

, novelist * 7 April –

Jennifer Maiden Jennifer Maiden (born 1949) is an Australian poet. She was born in Penrith, New South Wales, and has had 36 books published: 28 poetry collections, 6 novels and 2 nonfiction works. Her current publishers are Quemar Press in Australia and Blooda ...

, poet * 30 April –

Nadia Wheatley Nadia Wheatley is an Australian writer whose work includes picture books, novels, biography and history. Perhaps best known for her classic picture book ''My Place'' (illustrated by Donna Rawlins), the author's biography of Charmian Clift was ...

, biographer and writer for children * 15 August –

Garry Disher Garry Disher (born 15 August 1949, in Corporate Town of Burra, South Australia) is an Australian author of crime fiction and children's literature. Awards *The Canberra Times National Short Story Competition, 1986: winner for "Amateur Hour" ...

, novelist * 6 November –

Barry Dickins Barry Dickins (born 6 November 1949) is a prolific Australian playwright, author, artist, actor, educator and journalist, probably best known for his historical dramas and his reminisces about growing up and living in working class Melbourne. H ...

, author and playwright Unknown date *

Ken Bolton Ken Bolton (born 1949) is an Australian poet. He was born in Sydney and studied fine arts at the University of Sydney, where he also tutored. In the late 70s he edited the poetry magazine ''Magic Sam'' and began the small press Sea Cruise Books ...

, poet *

Judith Brett Judith Brett (born 1949, Melbourne) is an Emeritus Professor of politics at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. She retired from La Trobe in 2012, after a restructuring of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in which the School of ...

, historian and academic *

Steven Carroll Steven Carroll (born 1949) is an Australian novelist. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria and studied at La Trobe University. He has taught English at secondary school level, and drama at RMIT. He has been Drama Critic for ''The Sunday Age'' new ...

, novelist *

Jennifer Compton Jennifer Compton (born 1949) is a New Zealand-born Australian poet and playwright. Biography She was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1949 and attended Wellington East Girls' College. In the 1970s she emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her ...

, poet and playwright (in New Zealand) *

Laurie Duggan Laurence James Duggan (born 1949), known as Laurie Duggan, is an Australian poet, editor, and translator. Life Laurie Duggan was born in Melbourne and attended Monash University, where his friends included the poets Alan Wearne and John A. Sc ...

, poet * John Jenkins, poet *

Don Watson Don Watson (born 1949) is an Australian author, screenwriter, former political adviser, and speechwriter. Early life Watson was born in 1949 at Warragul in the Gippsland region of Victoria, and grew up on a farm in nearby Korumburra. Academia ...

, author

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

) of deaths in 1949 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth. * 3 April — Ada Augusta Holman, journalist and novelist (born

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – E ...

) * 15 August –

Roderic Quinn Roderic Joseph Quinn (26 November 1867 – 15 August 1949) was an Australian poet. Early life Quinn was born in Sydney the seventh child of Irish parents: Edward Quinn, letter-carrier, and his wife Catherine. He was educated at Catholic school ...

, poet (born

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

) * 16 September – Marion Knowles, novelist, poet and journalist (born

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

) * 11 October –

Sydney Ure Smith Sydney George Ure Smith OBE (9 January 188711 October 1949) was an Australian arts publisher, artist and promoter who "did more than any other Australian to publicize Australian art at home and overseas". Unlike most of his contemporaries, he ...

, publisher (born

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

)

References

{{Years in Australian literature

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Australian literature by year 20th-century Australian literature 1949 in literature

Books

Short stories

Poetry

Drama

Awards and honours

Literary

Children's and Young Adult

Poetry

Births

Deaths

See also

References