1954 in Australian literature explained

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1954.

Events

• Charlotte Jay (pseudonym of Geraldine Halls) won the inaugural Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel for Beat Not the Bones

Books

• James Aldridge – Heroes of the Empty View
• Jon Cleary – The Climate of Courage
• Miles Franklin – Cockatoos : A Story of Youth and Exodists
• Catherine Gaskin – Sara Dane
• T. A. G. Hungerford – Sowers of the Wind : A Novel of the Occupation of Japan
• Eric Lambert
  • The Five Bright Stars
  • The Veterans
• Eve Langley – White Topee
• Kenneth Mackenzie – The Refuge
• Alan Moorehead – A Summer Night
• E. V. Timms – The Fury
• Judah Waten – The Unbending

Crime and mystery

• Charlotte Jay — Beat Not the Bones
• Arthur Upfield
  • Death of a Lake
  • Sinister Stones

Short stories

• A. Bertram Chandler – "Shadow Before"
• David Martin – "Where a Man Belongs"
• John Morrison – "The Incense-Burner"
• Dal Stivens – "In the Depths"
• Judah Waten – "Well, What Do You Say to My Boy?"

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Nan Chauncy – A Fortune for the Brave
• Joan Phipson – Six and Silver
• Norman B. Tindale & Harold Arthur Lindsay – The First Walkabout, illustrated by Madeleine Boyce

Poetry

See main article: 1954 in poetry.

• Thea Astley – "Droving Man"^[1]
• Dorothy Auchterlonie – "The Tree"^[2]
• John Blight
  • "The Anchor"^[3]
  • "Death of a Whale"^[4]
  • "Nor'-Easter"^[5]
  • "Rope"^[6]
  • The Two Suns Met : Poems^[7]
• R. D. Fitzgerald
  • "Beginnings"^[8]
  • "Edge"^[9]
• Mary Gilmore – Fourteen Men : Verses
• A. D. Hope – "The Return of Persephone"^[10]
• Christopher Koch – "The Boy Who Dreamed the Country Night"^[11]
• James McAuley
  • "An Art of Poetry"^[12]
  • "New Guinea"^[13]
  • "To the Holy Spirit"^[14]
• Kenneth Mackenzie – "An Old Inmate"^[15]
• David Rowbotham – "Mullabinda"^[16]
• Douglas Stewart – "Spider-Gums"^[17]
• Colin Thiele – "The Mushroomer"^[18]
• John Thompson – Thirty Poems^[19]
• Judith Wright
  • "At Cooloolah"
  • "Flying Fox on Barbed Wire"^[20]

Drama

Theatre

• James Workman – Eternal Night

Biography

• Nevil Shute – Slide Rule : The Autobiography of an Engineer^[21]
• David Unaipon – My Life Story^[22]

Non-Fiction

• Vance Palmer – The Legend of the Nineties^[23]

Awards and honours

Poetry

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1954 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 12 January
  • Brian Caswell, writer for children^[27]
  • Lee Tulloch, novelist^[28]
• 26 March – Dorothy Porter, poet (died 2008)^[29]
• 21 May – Paul Collins, author and editor^[30]
• 17 June – Kerry Greenwood, novelist^[31]
• 5 July – Kevin Hart, poet^[32]
• 20 September – James Moloney, writer for children^[33]
• 1 November – Andrew Lansdown, poet^[34]

Unknown date

• Russell Blackford, novelist and critic^[35]
• Rory Harris, poet^[36]
• Shane McCauley, poet^[37]
• Rosemary Sorensen, journalist, editor and critic^[38]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1954 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 16 May — Jack McLaren, novelist (born 1884)^[39]
• 28 June — Nancy Francis, poet, journalist and short story writer (born 1873)^[40]
• 19 September – Miles Franklin, novelist (born 1879)^[41]
• 2 November – Malcolm Afford, playwright and novelist (born 1906)^[42]

See also

• 1954 in Australia
• 1954 in literature
• 1954 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: Austlit — "Droving Man" by Thea Astley . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
2. Web site: Austlit — "The Tree" by Dorothy Auchterlonie . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
3. Web site: Austlit — "The Anchor" by John Blight. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
4. Web site: Austlit — "Death of a Whale" by John Blight. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
5. Web site: Austlit — "Nor'-Easter" by John Blight. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
6. Web site: Austlit — "Rope" by John Blight. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
7. Web site: The Two Suns Met by John Blight. National Library of Australia. 13 May 2024.
8. Web site: Austlit — "Beginnings" by R. D. Fitzgerald . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
9. Web site: Austlit — "Edge" by R. D. Fitzgerald . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
10. Web site: Austlit — "The Return of Persephone" by A. D. Hope . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
11. Web site: Austlit — "The Boy Who Dreamed the Country Night" by Christopher Koch . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
12. Web site: Austlit — "An Art of Poetry" by James McAuley. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
13. Web site: Austlit — "New Guinea" by James McAuley. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
14. Web site: Austlit — "To the Holy Spirit" by James McAuley. Austlit. 13 May 2024.
15. Web site: Austlit — "An Old Inmate" by Seaforth Mackenzie . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
16. Web site: Austlit — "Mullabinda" by David Rowbotham . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
17. Web site: Austlit — "Spider-Gums" by Douglas Stewart . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
18. Web site: Austlit — "The Mushroomer" by Colin Thiele . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
19. Web site: Thirty Poems by John Thompson . National Library of Australia. 13 May 2024.
20. Web site: Austlit — "Flying Fox on Barbed Wire" by Judith Wright . Austlit. 13 May 2024.
21. Web site: Slide Rule : The Autobiography of an Engineer by Nevil Shute. National Library of Australia. 18 April 2024.
22. Web site: My Life Story by David Unaipon. National Library of Australia. 18 April 2024.
23. Web site: The Legend of the Nineties by Vance Palmer. National Library of Australia. 18 April 2024.
24. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C36004 Austlit - Fourteen Men : Verses by Mary Gilmore
25. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C423598 Austlit - Australian Legendary Tales by K. Langloh Parker
26. Web site: Austlit — Thirty Poems by John Thompson . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
27. Web site: Austlit — Brian Caswell . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
28. Web site: Austlit — Lee Tulloch . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
29. Web site: Dorothy Porter (1954-2008). 2024-02-21 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
30. Web site: Austlit — Paul Collins . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
31. Web site: Austlit — Kerry Greenwood . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
32. Web site: Austlit — Kevin Hart . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
33. Web site: Austlit — James Moloney . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
34. Web site: Andrew Lansdown . 2024-02-21 . Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
35. Web site: Austlit — Russell Blackford . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
36. Web site: Austlit — Rory Harris . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
37. Web site: Austlit — Shane McCauley . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
38. Web site: Austlit — Rosemary Sorensen . Austlit. 18 April 2024.
39. Web site: McLaren, John (Jack) (1884–1954) by Cheryl Taylor . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 14 August 2023.
40. Web site: Austlit - Nancy Francis (1873-1954). Austlit. 29 July 2023.
41. Web site: Franklin, Stella Maria Sarah Miles (1879–1954) by Jill Roe . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 8 August 2023.
42. Web site: Lindsay, Philip (1906–1958) by Bernard Smith . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 10 July 2023.