Thomas Arthur Guy Hungerford, AM (5 May 191519 June 2011) was an Australian writer, noted for his World War II novel ''

The Ridge and the River ''The Ridge and the River'' (1952) is the debut novel by Australian writer Tom Hungerford. It won the 1952 ALS Gold Medal. Plot summary The novel is based on the author's experiences serving with the Australian army fighting the Japanese in Pap ...

'', and his short stories that chronicle growing up in South Perth, Western Australia during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Early life

Hungerford was born in Perth, Western Australia on 5 May 1915. He grew up in South Perth, known then as the Queen Suburb, when the area was semi-rural, with market gardens.

World War Two

Hungerford served with the Australian Army in

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

, New Guinea, Bougainville, Morotai and with the Occupation Forces in Japan. He was a sergeant in 2/8 Australian Commando Squadron. In 2005 the ABC's '' 7.30 Report'' reported his "unflinching depictions of jungle fighting are acknowledged as some of the best writing to come out of the war". Hungerford told the program he wasn't a hero: "I was one of a group of men all doing the same bloody thing. Sticking the head up, hoping to Christ it wouldn't be shot off." He left the army in 1947.

Journalism

After the war, Hungerford was a press secretary for

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

for three weeks. Upon leaving, Hungerford wrote to Hughes: "I will never work for you again. I'd rather go to bed with a sabre-toothed tiger". He then joined the Australia News and Information Bureau, and afterwards was a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

. He later worked as a press secretary to Western Australian Premiers John Tonkin and Sir Charles Court.

Writing

Hungerford began writing as a teenager and had his first published short story in 1942 in the ''

Sydney Bulletin ''The Bulletin'' was an Australian weekly magazine first published in Sydney on 31 January 1880. The publication's focus was politics and business, with some literary content, and editions were often accompanied by cartoons and other illustrat ...

''. His first volume of short fiction, ''Stories from Suburban Road'', depict life during the Great Depression in the Perth riverside suburb of South Perth.

Novels

* ''

'' (1950) * ''Riverslake'' (1953) * ''Sowers in the Wind'' (1954) * ''Shake the Golden Bough'' (1963) ''Sowers in the Wind'', was held back by publisher

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

because it dealt with the economic and sexual exploitation of the Japanese after the War by Australian occupation forces. The novel won the 1949 ''

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 i ...

'' prize for literature but was not published until 1954. Monash University's Robin Gerster told '' The Age'' in 2002: "Hungerford... wrote very perceptively and affectionately about the Japanese, which is not a bad effort for someone who fought them."

Short stories

* ''Wong Chu and the Queen's Letterbox'' (1976) * ''The Only One Who Forgot'' (1951) * ''What Happened to Joseph?'' (2005, a collection of short stories & poems)

Drama

* ''Stories from Suburban Road'' * ''The Day It All Ended''

Children's books

* ''Swagbelly Birdsnatcher and the Prince of Siam''

Autobiography

* ''Stories From Suburban Road'' (1983) * ''A Knockabout with a Slouch Hat'' * ''Red Rover All Over''

Non-fiction

* ''Fremantle, Landscapes and People'' (with photographer Roger Garwood) (1976)

Book reviews

* Selby, David. ''Hell and High Fever'' – reviewed in '' Quadrant'' 1/1 (Sum 1956/57): 93, 95.

Prizes and other honours

Hungerford won the Crouch Gold Medal for Literature (1951), the Patricia Hackett Short Story prize (1962), the WA Weekly Literature Prize for Fiction (1964), and the Patrick White Award (2002). He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1987. A portrait of him, c.1963, by Kate O'Connor is in the National Library of Australia. In 2004, he was pronounced a Living Treasure of Western Australia by the Western Australian Government Michael Crouch's biography of Hungerford is called ''Literary Larrikin''. The

T. A. G. Hungerford Award The City of Fremantle T.A.G. Hungerford Award is given biennially to a full-length manuscript of fiction or narrative non-fiction by a Western Australian author previously unpublished in book form. It is sponsored by the City of Fremantle, Fremantl ...

is named for him and is awarded every two years to an unpublished author in Western Australia.an example being – ''Winner of T.A.G. Hungerford Award, 1996, for his novel Jacob's Air'' (Russell, Bruce L.) in Campus news (University of Western Australia), 9 September 1996, p. 10

References

External links

Portrait of Hungerford in National Library of Australia

Article
'' InterSector'', Government of Western Australia; 2005
Interview, Late Night Live, ABC; 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungerford, Tom 1915 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian male short story writers Writers from Perth, Western Australia Members of the Order of Australia Patrick White Award winners Australian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights ALS Gold Medal winners 20th-century Australian short story writers 20th-century Australian male writers Australian Army soldiers