Christopher John Koch AO (16 July 1932 – 23 September 2013) was an Australian novelist, known for his 1978 novel '' The Year of Living Dangerously'', which was adapted into an award-winning film. He twice won the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

(for '' The Doubleman'' in 1985, and for '' Highways to a War'' in 1996). In 1995, he was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for his contribution to Australian literature, and was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from his alma mater, the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, in 1990.

Early life and education

Koch was born in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

, in 1932. He was educated at Clemes College,

St Virgil's College St Virgil's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1911 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the College ha ...

, Hobart High School and at the

.Koch, Christopher
''AustLit''. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1954, he joined the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) as a cadet journalist. He left Hobart to travel in south Asia and Europe, and ended up in London where he worked for several years. He returned to Australia to avoid

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the British Army.

Career

While working in London as a waiter and a teacher, Koch began working on his first novel, '' The Boys in the Island'', which he left with his agent when he returned to Australia.Christopher Koch: The Year of Living Dangerously author opened our eyes to Indonesia
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', 24 September 2013. Koch's first published works were several poems published in '' The Bulletin'' and the literary journal '' Southerly''. While back at the ABC as a radio producer, ''The Boys in the Island'' was published in the UK. The positive reviews encouraged Koch to eventually take up writing full-time in 1972.The voice of generations: Christopher Koch dies of cancer
''The Age'', 23 September 2013. In the early 1960s, Koch was awarded a writing fellowship to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, where he taught literature and was associated with

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

(author of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''). His novel '' The Year of Living Dangerously'', set in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

during the fall of the

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

regime, was made into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

and starring

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

and

Linda Hunt Lydia Susanna "Linda" Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American actress of stage and screen. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in ''Popeye'' (1980). Hunt portrayed the male character Billy Kwan in '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' ...

. The book was loosely inspired by his brother's (Philip Koch) experience as an Australian journalist in Indonesia during that period. Koch himself had worked for two months in Jakarta in 1968 as an adviser to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Death

Koch died at his home in Hobart on 23 September 2013, aged 81. He had been diagnosed with cancer twelve months earlier.

Personal life

Koch married his first wife, Irene Vilnois, in 1959. Their son,

Gareth Koch Gareth Koch (born 6 April 1962) is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist of German/Anglo-Irish/ Lithuanian heritage. Biography Gareth Koch was born in Milan to novelist Christopher Koch and Irene Vilnonis, a Conservatorium-tr ...

(born 1962), is a classical guitarist. He married his second wife, Robin Whyte-Butler, in the late 1990s, and she lived with him in Sydney and Tasmania,At home with Christopher Koch
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 30 September 2012. and was with him when he died in 2013.

Awards and honours

Published works

* '' The Boys in the Island'' (1958, revised ed, Angus & Robertson, 1974) * ''Across the Sea Wall'' (Heinemann, 1965) * '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' (Nelson, 1978) * '' The Doubleman'' (Chatto and Windus, 1985) * ''Crossing the Gap: a novelist's essays'' (Hogarth Press, 1993) * '' Highways to a War'' (Heinemann, 1995) * '' Out of Ireland'' (Doubleday, 1999) * ''The Many-Coloured Land: A Return to Ireland'' (Picador, 2002) * ''The Memory Room'' (2007) * ''Lost Voices'' (2012)

References

External links

*
Christopher Koch at Random House Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Christopher 1932 births 2013 deaths Writers from Tasmania Miles Franklin Award winners Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 5th Class Australian people of English descent Australian people of German descent University of Tasmania alumni People from Hobart 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Deaths from cancer in Tasmania Articles containing video clips Australian male novelists