Elizabeth O'Conner (1913 – 6 May 2000), born under the name Barbara Willard Lowe, was an Australian novelist. Elizabeth O'Conner was born in

Dunedoo Dunedoo ( ) is a village of 1,021 inhabitants situated within the Warrumbungle Shire of central western New South Wales, Australia. Dunedoo is well known to Australian travellers due to its distinctive name (''Dunny'' is a colloquial Australian ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. After a childhood spent in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, she studied art in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, before teaching at a

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

girls' boarding school.Austlit - Elizabeth O'Conner
/ref> She married Philip Birmingham McNamara, manager of a cattle station in March 1942 and moved to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

's Gulf Country, where she had four children.Australian Women's Weekly 03.12.1958
/ref> She died in

Atherton, Queensland Atherton is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Atherton had a population of 7,724 people. Geography Atherton is on the Atherton Tableland in ...

in 2000.

Bibliography

Novels

* '' The Irishman'' (1960) * ''Find a Woman'' (1963) * ''The Chinee Bird'' (1966) * ''The Winds of Fate'' (1977) - published under the pseudonym Anne Willard * ''Spirit Man'' (1980) * ''Darling Caroline'' (1980) - published under the pseudonym Anne Willard

Autobiography

* ''Steak for Breakfast'' (1958) * ''A Second Helping'' (1969)

Awards

* 1960 — winner

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

for ''The Irishman''

References

1913 births 2000 deaths Miles Franklin Award winners Writers from New South Wales 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian women writers Australian women novelists {{Australia-writer-stub