Steele Rudd was the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
of Arthur Hoey Davis (14 November 1868 – 11 October 1935) an Australian author, best known for his short story collection ''
On Our Selection
''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd.
The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...
''.
In 2009, as part of the
Q150 celebrations, Rudd was named one of the
Q150 Icons for his role in Queensland literature.
Early life
Davis was born at
Drayton near
Toowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...
, the son of Thomas Davis (1828–1904), a blacksmith from Abernant in south Wales who arrived to Australia in 1847 due to a five-year conviction for petty theft, and Mary, née Green (1835–1893) an Irishwoman from Galway who was driven to emigrate by the
Great Famine.
The boy was the eighth child and fifth son in a family of 13 children. The father later on took up a selection at Emu Creek, and there Davis was educated at the local school. He left school before he was 12 and worked at odd jobs on a station, and at 15 years of age became a junior stockrider on a station on the Darling Downs. When he was 18 he was appointed a junior clerk in the office of the curator of intestate estates at
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.
In 1889, Davis was transferred to the sheriff's office and in his spare time took up rowing and when he began writing a column on rowing in a weekly paper and needed a pseudonym he adopted "Steele Rudder", the first name from the English essayist
Richard Steele
Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''.
Early life
Steele was born in D ...
, the second chosen because he wanted to bring into his name some part of a boat. Later it was shortened to "Steele Rudd".
During his time as under sheriff,
Davis had to give the signal at the hanging of
Patrick Kenniff
Patrick Kenniff (28 September 1865 – 13 January 1903) was an Australian bushranger who roamed western Queensland, Australia, with his brother James Kenniff (1869–1940). They were primarily cattle thieves, but the brothers were found guilty ...
which left him nervous and irritable for months after the event.
Writing career
Towards the end of 1895 Davis sent a sketch based on his father's experience 'Starting the selection' to ''
The Bulletin''. The sketch was published on 14 December 1895. This afterwards became the first chapter of ''On Our Selection'' when it was published in 1899. Encouraged by
J. F. Archibald, Davis continued the series of sketches, 26 of which were included in the volume. Within four years 20,000 copies had been printed. It afterwards appeared in numerous cheap editions and by 1940 the number of copies sold had reached 250,000. The stories have also been the basis of a play and several films.
In 1903 ''
Our New Selection
Our or OUR may refer to:
* The possessive form of " we"
* Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
* Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium
* Our, Jura, a commune in France
* Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulat ...
'' appeared and in the same year Davis, who had reached the position of under-sheriff, retired from the public service. In January 1904, Davis brought out ''Rudd's Magazine'', a monthly magazine published at 6d. a copy, which continued for nearly four years. It was issued first from Brisbane and was afterwards transferred to Sydney. It had a much longer life than most Australian magazines, but there was not then a large enough public in Australia to enable a cheap popular magazine to be successful. It was revived under various names between 1923 and 1930.
Davis published a long series of volumes continuing the ''On Our Selection'' series, as listed below. Most were successful, but there could not have been a great deal of profit for the author from the cheap editions. Towards the end of his life appeared two capable books ''The Romance of Runnibede'' (1927), and ''Green Grey Homestead'' (1934). But Davis found that having established a reputation in one direction, it was difficult to find a public for books written in more serious vein, and during his last years he had to struggle to make a living. He died at Brisbane on 11 October 1935. Davis was twice married and was survived by three sons and a daughter by the first marriage. In addition to the volumes mentioned others will be found listed in ''Miller's Australian Literature''.
Davis was a tall, ruddy-faced man of mercurial temperament, fiery of temper, an excellent talker and a charming companion. He had a great love for horses and for 20 years was a well-known polo player. His books were written largely from the experiences of his own early days, and they were thoroughly appreciated by a generation that was familiar with characters on the land who had all the courage, optimism and humour of dad and mum and the other members of the family.
His reputation was established by his short stories of country life. The 1920 movie ''On Our Selection'' and 1932–1952 radio series ''
Dad and Dave
''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd.
The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...
'' helped turn the characters into Australian cultural icons.
Davis, however, detested his struggling but admirable family being made into comic yokels, and had nothing to do with the radio program. There is no character called 'Mabel' attached to Dave anywhere in the entire Rudd
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of fiction: Dave briefly had a girlfriend called Fanny in one story, and he eventually married a girl called Lily. Davis had a profound respect for the pioneering Australian woman, and he was particularly incensed by the use of 'Mum' when referring to Mrs Rudd. "'It is 'Mother', 'Mother', Mother!' he would shout, flushed in the face."
Examples of popular 'Dad and Dave' jokes that did not originate from Rudd:
''Dad: Where's Dave gone, Mum?''
''Mum: Dave's out
Condobolin
Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,486.
History
Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...
, Dad.''
''Dad: Out Condobolin? Cripes, I didn't think Dave had any time for the womenfolk!''
''Dave: Hey Dad! Them telephone blokes are silly coots! One of them just rung up to say it's a long distance from Sydney!''
![A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/A._Davis%2C_C._Lilley_and_E._Miller_statues_in_Brisbane_01.JPG)
The humour of Rudd's ''Selection'' stories arises from character and situation, and never involves wisecracks like these.
A replica of Rudd's
shingle hut can still be seen at the town of
Nobby, Queensland
Nobby is a rural town and locality on the Darling Downs in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located halfway between Toowoomba and Warwick. It is known for its association with Steele Rudd (author) and Sister Elizabeth Kenny ( ...
.
[The replica hut is situated onSteele Rudd Rd at East Greenmount not Nobby]
3. Half Day – Steele Rudd Country Drive
— Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers There is a
statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of Steele Rudd at the Speakers' Corner in
King George Square
King George Square is a public square located between Adelaide Street and Ann Street (and between two sections of Albert Street) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Brisbane City Hall is adjacent to the square.
On 1 January 2004, King Ge ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.
[King George Square]
— Your Brisbane Past and Present There is also a residential college named "Steele Rudd" at the
University of Southern Queensland
The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...
campus.
[Steele Rudd College]
— University of Southern Queensland
The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...
There are copper statues of Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel at
Gundagai
Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Hon ...
.
[Dad, Dave, Mum & Mabel]
— Gundagai Shire Council
Gundagai Shire was a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On 12 May 2016, Gundagai Shire was abolished and merged with the neighbouring Cootamundra Shire to establish Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Counci ...
Bibliography
Novels
* ''In Australia'' (1908)
* ''Duncan McClure : Being Part II of 'The Poor Parson' ''(1909)
* ''The Book of Dan'' (1911)
* ''The Old Homestead'' (1913)
* ''Memoirs of Corporal Keeley'' (1918)
* ''We Kaytons'' (1919)
* ''On Emu Creek'' (1922)
* ''Me an' th' Son'' (1924)
* ''The Miserable Clerk'' (1924)
* ''The Romance of Runnibede'' (1927)
* ''Green Grey Homestead'' (1934)
Short story collections
* ''On Our Selection'' (1899) (sold over 250,000 copies)
* ''Our New Selection'' (1903)
* ''Sandy's Selection'' (1904)
* ''Back at Our Selection'' (1906)
* ''The Poor Parson'' (1907)
* ''Dad in Politics and Other Stories'' (1908)
* ''For Life and Other Stories'' (1908)
* ''Stocking Our Selection'' (1909)
* ''From Selection to City'' (1909)
* ''On an Australian Farm'' (1910)
* ''The Dashwoods'' (1911)
* ''Grandpa's Selection'' (1916)
* ''The Rudd Family'' (1926) illustrated by Percy Lindsay
Quotation
In his 1908 book, ''Dad in Politics'', Davis satirises political life in the opening sentence:
This quotation is often used to illustrate the cynicism of Australians towards the political class. FitzHenry notes that Davis's satirical depiction of individual members of the Queensland Parliament was so close to reality that he was almost called to the Bar of the House of Parliament for breach of parliamentary privilege.
Dramatisation
* 1912 ''Our Selection'' was performed as adapted by actor Bert Bailey ( 1868-1935)
A play titled ''The Execution of Steele Rudd'' by Australian playwright
Harry Reade
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
was first staged in 1981 by the
National Theatre at the Playhouse, Perth, directed by
Stephen Barry
Stephen Leon Reid Barry (4 July 1945 – 18 October 2000) was a British arts administrator, drama producer, and artistic director. He was chief executive of two Edinburgh theatres, the Festival and the King's, prime venues of the fam ...
. It portrays the character and actions of Davis who is employed in the sheriff's office, managing arrangements for the execution of two criminals. The play was also staged by Melbourne's
Playbox Theatre in 1983.
See also
*
Selection (Australian history)
Selection is the act of choosing and acquiring a subdivided tract of land for farming purposes in Australia. A selection is also descriptive of the plot of land that was selected. The term derived from "free selection before survey" of crown la ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
* Listen to the first episode of 'Dad and Dave from Snake Gully' from 1937 o
australianscreen online* 'Dad and Dave from Snake Gully' was added to the
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
's
Sounds of Australia
The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...
registry in 2007
Dad & Dave at Snake Gully – film & TV series*
Julieanne Lamond 'The Ghost of Dad Rudd, On the Stump' ''JASAL'' 6 (2007)at
Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudd, Steele
1868 births
1935 deaths
Australian male short story writers
People from Toowoomba
Burials at Toowong Cemetery
19th-century Australian short story writers
20th-century Australian short story writers
20th-century Australian novelists
20th-century Australian male writers