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 Anlaby or Anlaby Station is a pastoral lease located about south east of Marrabel and north of Kapunda in the state of South Australia. History The locality was first explored by Europeans in March 1838 by the party of Hill, Wood, Willis, ...

near

Kapunda, South Australia Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance t ...

in 1922. His grandfather was

Henry Dutton Henry Dutton may refer to: * Henry Dutton (politician) (1796–1869), American politician, governor of Connecticut * Henry Dutton (pastoralist) (1844–1914), pastoralist in South Australia * Henry Hampden Dutton (1879–1932), his son, South Austra ...

, the "Squire of Anlaby"; his parents were adventurer

Henry Hampden Dutton Henry Hampden Dutton (13 February 1879 – 15 June 1932), often referred to as Harry Dutton, was a South Australian pastoralist, remembered for in 1908 making the first automobile journey from Adelaide to Port Darwin. He was born in North Adelai ...

and talented socialite

Emily Dutton Emily Dutton (13 November 1884 – 11 May 1962) was a businesswoman, musician and socialite of South Australia, wife of Henry Hampden Dutton. She was for many years manager of Anlaby Station and managing director of Anlaby Pastoral Company. H ...

. For his relationship to these and other people prominent in the history of South Australia see Dutton family of South Australia. Geoffrey grew up in four houses owned by his parents:

near Kapunda; Kalymna (or Kalimna) House, on the edge of the east parklands,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

; Ooraminna, on the foreshore at Victor Harbor; and Rocky Point, a limestone house overlooking Eastern Cove,

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

. He was taught French as a young boy. At age eight, Geoffrey was sent to Wykeham Preparatory School near Belair, Adelaide. A year later, in 1931, his mother, Emily, sent him to

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ty ...

, Victoria. He studied at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, where he wrote for the student newspaper ''

On Dit ''On Dit'' is a student newspaper funded by the Adelaide University Union and advertising revenue which is published fortnightly during semester time. Founded in 1932, it is the third oldest student newspaper in Australia along with ''Semper Fl ...

'' and avant-garde magazine ''

Angry Penguins ''Angry Penguins'' was an art and literary journal founded in 1940 by surrealist poet Max Harris, at the age of 18. Originally based in Adelaide, the journal moved to Melbourne in 1942 once Harris joined the Heide Circle, a group of avant-garde ...

''. He later studied at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. During his career, Dutton wrote or edited over 200 books, including poetry, fiction, biographies, art appreciation, art and literary history, travel books, novels for children and critical essays. In 1965, together with Max Harris and Brian Stonier, he co-founded the Australian paperback publishing company Sun Books. In June 1968, Dutton was appointed as an inaugural member of the

Australian Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

. He was appointed 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 Gove ...

in 1976, and died in 1998.

Awards and nominations

Grace Leven Prize for Poetry The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry was an annual poetry award in Australia, given in the name of Grace Leven who died in 1922. It was established by William Baylebridge who "made a provision for an annual poetry prize in memory of 'my benefactress ...

, 1958: winner for ''Antipodes in Shoes'' * FAW

Christopher Brennan Award The Christopher Brennan Award (formerly known as the Robert Frost Prize) is an Australian award given for lifetime achievement in poetry. The award, established in 1973, takes the form of a bronze plaque which is presented to a poet who produces w ...

, 1993: winner

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Mortal and the Marble'' (Chapman & Hall, 1950) * ''Andy'' (Collins, 1968) * ''Tamara'' (Collins, 1970) * ''Queen Emma of the South Seas'' (Macmillan, 1976) * ''The Eye Opener'' (University of Queensland Press, 1982) * ''Flying Low: A Novel'' (1992)

Short stories

* ''The Españo''

Poetry

* ''Night Flight and Sunrise'' (Reed & Harris, 1944) * ''

Antipodes in Shoes ''Antipodes in Shoes'' (1958) is a poetry collection by Australian poet Geoffrey Dutton. It won the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry in 1958. The collection consists of 51 poems, most of which were previously published in various Australian poetr ...

'' (Edwards & Shaw, 1958) * ''Flowers and Fury: Poems'' (F. W. Cheshire, 1962) * ''On My Island: Poems'' ( F. W. Cheshire, 1967) * ''Poems Soft and Loud'' (F. W. Cheshire, 1967) * ''Findings and Keepings: Selected Poems, 1939-1969'' (Australian Letters, 1970) * ''North West: Fifteen Poems from the Pilbara and Kimberley'' (The author, 1971?) * ''New Poems to 1972'' (Australian Letters, 1972) * ''A Body of Words'' (Edwards & Shaw, 1977) * ''Selective Affinities: New Poems'' (Angus & Robertson, 1985) * ''New and Selected Poems'' (Angus & Robertson, 1993) * ''New York Nowhere'' (Lytlewode Press, 1998)

Children's

* ''Tisi and the Yabby'' (Collins, 1965) * ''Seal Bay'' (Collins, 1966) * ''Tisi and the Pageant'' (Rigby, 1968) * ''The Prowler'' (Collins, 1982)

Non-fiction

* ''A Long Way South'' (Chapman & Hall, 1953) * ''Founder of a City: The Life of Colonel William Light, First Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia: Founder of Adelaide 1786-1839'' (F. W. Cheshire, 1960) * ''Patrick White'' (Lansdowne Press, 1961) * ''Australia and the Monarchy'' (Sun Books, 1966) * ''Edward John Eyre: The Hero as Murderer'', Collins/F. W. Cheshire, Sydney (1967); reprint, Penguin Books, Melbourne (1977) * ''In Search of Edward John Eyre'' (Macmillan, 1982) * ''Snow on the Saltbush: The Australian Literary Experience'' (Viking, 1984) * ''The Squatters'' (Currey O'Neil, 1985) The author's life at

* ''Sun, Sea, Surf and Sand : The Myth of the Beach'' (Oxford University Press, 1985) * ''The Innovators: The Sydney Alternatives in the Rise of Modern Art, Literature and Ideas'' (Macmillan, 1986) * ''Kenneth Slessor: A Biography'' (Viking, 1991) * ''Out in the Open: An Autobiography'' (University of Queensland Press, 1994) * ''A Rare Bird: Penguin Books in Australia 1946-96'' (Penguin Books, 1996)

Edited

* ''Australia's Censorship Crisis'' (Sun Books, 1970) - with Max Harris * ''Australian Verse from 1805 : A Continuum'' (Rigby, 1976) * ''Republican Australia?'' (Sun Books, 1977) * ''Seven Cities of Australia'' (J. Ferguson, 1978) * ''Sir Henry, Bjelke, Don Baby and Friends'' (Sun Books, 1971) - with Max Harris * ''The Vital Decade: Ten Years of Australian Art and Letters'' (Sun Books, 1968) - with Max Harris * ''The Australian Bedside Book: A Selection of Writings from The Australian Literary Supplement'' (Macmillan, 1987) - preface by

Morris West Morris Langlo West (26 April 19169 October 1999) was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1959), ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (1963) and ''The Clowns of God'' (1981). His books were publ ...

; contributors include

Elizabeth Jolley Monica Elizabeth Jolley AO (4 June 1923 – 13 February 2007) was an English-born Australian writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s and forged an illustrious literary career there. She was 53 when her first book was publishe ...

Dianne Highbridge Dianne may refer to: People *Dianne Brushett * Dianne Buswell *Dianne Byrum *Dianne Chandler * Dianne Cunningham * Dianne de Leeuw *Dianne Feinstein * Dianne van Giersbergen, Dutch singer *Dianne Haskett *Dianne Heatherington *Dianne Holum * Dianne ...

, Les A. Murray,

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles ...

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for '' The Idea of Perfection ...

References

* ''The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History'' * ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' * ''Who's Who in Australia 1999''

References

External links

Obituary: Geoffrey Dutton

Brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Geoffrey Australian biographers Male biographers Australian travel writers Australian art historians Australian literary critics Australian art critics Australian children's writers Australian essayists Male essayists Officers of the Order of Australia 1922 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Australian poets Australian male poets 20th-century biographers People from Kapunda Writers from South Australia 20th-century essayists 20th-century Australian male writers