Richard Rowe (9 March 1828 – 9 December 1879) was an English author, also active in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Biography

Grave of Richard Rowe in Highgate Cemetery

Rowe was born at Spring Gardens,

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, then in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England, the son of Thomas Rowe, a Wesleyan minister. Thomas Rowe died while Richard was still very young; the remaining family moved to

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, where Richard was educated at Mr Bradnack's school.Rosilyn Baxter,
Rowe, Richard (1828? - 1879)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 6, MUP, 1976, pp 67-68. retrieved 17 November 2009 Rowe came to the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

in 1853; by 1857 he was working on the ''Month'' and ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' sometimes using the pseudonym 'A Sassenach Settler'. In 1858 his ''Peter 'Possum's Portfolio'' was published in Sydney by Jacob Richard Clarke, a volume of prose and verse dedicated to his benefactor Nicol Drysdale Stenhouse. The prose included a short novel, ''Arthur Owen--An Autobiography'', and most of the verse consisted of translations. He belonged to a circle of writers which included Frank Fowler, William Wilkes and Sheridan Moore. Rowe returned to England, wrote for the newspapers and magazines, and was also the author of several books for young people, some of which did not appear until after his death on 9 December 1879 in

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

. Amongst his better works were ''Episodes in an Obscure Life'' (1871) and ''Friends and Acquaintances'' (1871). Rowe married in 1860 Mary Ann Yates, daughter of Jonathan Patten, who survived him with a son and three daughters. Rowe was in Australia for relatively short period, but two of his lyrics have been included in more than one anthology of

Australian verse Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, including '' An Anthology of Australian Verse'' (1907), and ''Peter 'Possum's Portfolio'' is one of the earliest books of serious literature published in Australia. E. Morris Miller lists 18 of Rowe's books in his ''Australian Literature from its Beginnings'', at least three of which have an Australian setting. He was buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

Publications

* ''The Boy in the Bush: A Tale of Australian Life'' * ''Roughing It'' * ''The Deserted Ship'' * ''A Haven of Rest''

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Richard 1828 births 1879 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Colony of New South Wales people English writers