George Collingridge (29 October 1847 – 1 June 1931) was an Australian writer and illustrator best known today for his early assertions of
Portuguese discovery of Australia
The theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia claims that early Portuguese navigators were the first Europeans to sight Australia between 1521 and 1524, well before the arrival of Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606 on board the who is ...
in the 16th century.
Early life
He was born in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, educated in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
(in the
15th arrondissement), served in the
Papal Zouaves
The Papal Zouaves ( it, Zuavi Pontifici) were an infantry battalion, later regiment, dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist ...
(alongside his brother Alfred, who died in the
Battle of Mentana
The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who wer ...
), and migrated to Australia in 1879 aboard the ''Lusitania'' (not the
ship of the same name that sank in 1915). He settled in the then isolated area of
Berowra, before moving to nearby
Hornsby, New South Wales
Hornsby is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, approximately north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local ...
.
Career
Since his French academic qualifications as a "Professeur" were not recognised by Australian universities, he worked as an artist and art teacher, and contributed drawings and articles to local newspapers. He founded the first Australian art magazine,
Australian Art: a Monthly Magazine & Journal, and was one of the founders of the
Royal Art Society of New South Wales
The Royal Art Society of New South Wales, or Royal Art Society of NSW, was established in 1880 as the Art Society of New South Wales by a group of artists including Arthur and George Collingridge, with the aim of creating an Australian school of p ...
.
His publication of ''The Discovery of Australia'' in 1895 earned him accolade as a "genius" and as "an authority on geographical matters" from members of the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
as well as foreign honours: in 1908 he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of Santiago by the King of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. In 1917 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Isabella la Catolica by the King of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. However, not everyone was as complimentary; his official biographer, O.H.K. Spate, described him as of "undisciplined intellect" and lacking a "rigorously judicial habit of mind"; the book was a financial failure; and a proposed scheme to use a simplified version of the book, ''The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea'' (1906), in schools was withdrawn.
Collingridge published "Alice in One Dear Land" in 1922. It is a handmade book with numerous small tipped in plates. Alice is depicted in the Australian bush with a koala, this is the first depiction of "
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
" in an Australian setting.
Collingridge's distant relative,
Vanessa Collingridge
Vanessa Jane Collingridgehttps://theses.gla.ac.uk/8601/1/2017CollingridgePhD.pdf (born 12 January 1968) is a British author and Television presenter, broadcaster.
Early life and education
Youngest of the five children of Gordon Ernest Collingrid ...
, published a book on
Captain Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
, entitled ''Captain Cook'' (2002), and the publication of this book has caused a certain resurgence of interest in George Collingridge in recent years.
Works
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References
External links
George Alphonse Collingridge papers, ca. 1890-ca. 1920 at the State Library of New South WalesGeorge Collingridge SocietyPapers of George Collingridge at the National Library of Australia*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collingridge, George
1847 births
1931 deaths
Colony of New South Wales people
Writers from Sydney
English emigrants to Australia
19th-century Australian writers
Australian historians
European exploration of Australia
Australian maritime historians