University Archives
& Special Collections

Australian Literature Collection

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION | COLLECTION HISTORY | MAJOR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

The first decades after European settlement in Australia in 1788 were primarily devoted to procuring the necessities of life. The first literature described life in this extraordinary and harsh new land---memoirs, fictionalized autobiographies, and descriptive accounts of all aspects of pioneer life. Marcus Clarke's For the Term of his Natural Life (1874) told of life in the convict colonies, while Rolf Boldrewood painted a more romanticized view of bushranger life in his Robbery Under Arms (1888). Colonial poets Charles Harpur and Henry Kendall imitated the English romantic poetic style in their work as they attempted to come to terms with their new environment. As Australian writers became more comfortable in their strange new land, their writing matured and developed a distinctive Australian style and flavour.

The bush ballad emerged as the first literary form in which writers interpreted the Australian experience for their fellow countrymen. In The Man from Snowy River Banjo Paterson depicted the rugged individualism of pioneering Australians in a vast and desolate land. The themes presented in the ballad poems carried on in the short stories of Henry Lawson and Barbara Baynton. Indigenous novels, spurred on by deepening Australian nationalism and a respect for country life, began to appear. Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career was published in 1901. Joseph Furphy produced his critically acclaimed Such is Life in 1903. The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (1917-29) by H.H. Richardson carried the pioneering spirit into urban Australia with stark realism. Katherine Prichard and Aeneas Gunn began to explore the complex relationship between the European settlers and the Aborigines.

With the arrival of modern transportation and communication, Australian writers began to travel and their work began to reflect a broader view of life. The poetry of Christopher Brennan, who had become familiar with modernist literary techniques while living in Europe, introduced a new sophistication into Australian writing. Vance Palmer, Martin Boyd, and Christina Stead also travelled abroad. While their work reflected a widening in scope and more innovation in style, subject matter was still firmly rooted in the Australian experience. Frank Davison set his stories in the cattle country of Queensland; William Hatfield used the northern interior as his backdrop. The first major novel of Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, focused on the lives of the Aboriginals. Eleanor Dark based her psychological novels on Australian urban life in Prelude to Christopher (1934) and Return to Coolami (1936).

A developing sense of cultural independence from Great Britain and the maturing effects of World War II influenced the quality and quantity of literature being produced. The important literary journal Meanjin was founded in 1940. In poetry, the vivid imagery of Robert Fitzgerald and Kenneth Slessor influenced the work of internationally acclaimed authors Judith Wright, A.D. Hope, and Douglas Steward. The metaphysical prose of Patrick White dominated the postwar literary scene. He successfully used traditional Australian themes to explore the much larger universal issues of suffering, survival and success. White's The Tree of Man (1955) and Voss (1957) had a major impact on his fellow writers and the international literary scene. Randolph Stow's To the Islands (1958) and Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972) reflect White's influence.

Contemporary Australian writers have skilfully incorporated international styles and concerns into their work. Readers world-wide are finally beginning to understand and appreciate the unique Australian perspective.