Eric Charles Rolls
AM (1923–2007) was an Australian writer.
Life
Rolls was born in Grenfell, New South Wales
Grenfell is a town in Weddin Shire in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of Sydney. It is close to Forbes, New South Wales, Forbes, Cowra, New South Wales, Cowra and Young, New South Wal ...
in 1923, and died in Camden Haven
Camden Haven is a parish in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 30 km south of the major regional centre of Port Macquarie. The harbour is located where the Camden Haven River empties into the Tasman ...
in 2007.[ He attended the Sydney selective school of Fort Street High, before serving in the second world war in New Guinea,][ as a signaller.][ often spending long periods in Sydney, researching at the ]Mitchell Library
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.
History
The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...
.[ a second with Elaine van Kempen (1937–2019), whom he met when she came to work for him in 1985 as his research assistant,][ and married in 1988.][
]
Work
One of his most celebrated works is A Million Wild Acres of which Tom Griffiths (emeritus professor of history at the Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
) wrote:
" (Les) Murray considered A Million Wild Acres to be like an extended, crafted campfire yarn in which everyone has the dignity of a name, and in which the animals and plants have equal status with humans in the making of history: “It is not purely human history, but ecological history he gives us… one which interrelates the human and non-human dimensions so intimately.” Murray compared its discursive and laconic tone to the Icelandic sagas. Through his democratic recognition of all life, Rolls enchanted the forest and presented us with a speaking land, a sentient country raucous with sound."
Rolls' papers and sound recordings, including an interview with Hazel de Berg, are held by the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
."Miss Strawberry's Purse" was his most popular verse.
Publications
(incomplete)
Poetry
* 1967
Sheaf tosser and other poems
* 1977
The green mosaic : memories of New Guinea
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Books
* 1981 – A million wild acres : 200 years of man and an Australian forest
* 1984
The river : a chronicle of life on the land / illustrated by Marianne Yamaguchi.
* 1984
They all ran wild : the story of pests on the land in Australia
(13 editions)
* 1984/1998
Celebration of the senses
*1992/1993
Sojourners : the epic story of China's centuries-old relationship with Australia : flowers and the wide sea
* 1996
Citizens : flowers and the wide sea : continuing the epic story of China's centuries-old relationship with Australia
* 2002
Visions of Australia : impressions of the landscape 1642–1910
* 2011
A million wild acres : 200 years of man and an Australian forest/
foreword by Les Murray
Eric Rolls Memorial Lecture
Funded by his widow, Elaine van Kempen, the Eric Rolls Memorial Lecture was inaugurated in 2010 as a biannual lecture.
2010: "Fire in 1788: The closest ally" by Bill Gammage
William Leonard Gammage (born 1942) is an Australian academic historian, adjunct professor and senior research fellow at the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University (ANU).
Gammage was born in Orange, New South Wales, ...
2012: "A Meander Down a River or Two: How Water Defines Our Continent and Its Future" by Richard Kingsford
2014: "The Landscape Behind the Landscape" by Nicholas Rothwell
2016: "Gifts from China" by Nicholas Jose
2018: "Mother Earth" by Bruce Pascoe
Honours
* Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...
(AM), 1992
* Centenary Medal, 2001Australian Honours: Centenary Medal
Retrieved 13 October 2020
References
External links
Eric Rolls and the Pilliga
on ABC Earshot
Golden disobedience: the history of Eric RollsEric Rolls
readingaustralia.com.au
UQP authors: Eric RollsIn Bed with Phillip: Eric Rolls
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolls, Eric Charles
1923 births
2007 deaths
Australian writers
Members of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Centenary Medal