DOCSLIB.ORG

PR8022 C5B3 1984.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
PR8022 C5B3 1984.Pdf 'PR C60d.a.. •CS�� lq81t- � '"' �r,;,�{ cJ c::_,.:;;J ; �· .;:,'t\� -- -- - - -- -2-fT7UU \�1\\�l\1�\\�1\l�l\\\\\ I 930171 3\ �.\ 3 4067 00 4 ' PR8022. C5B3198 D e CENG __ - Qv1.1T'n on Pn-oU.t::t!. C 5831984 MAIN GEN 04/04/85 THE UNIVERSI'IY OF QUEENSlAND LIBRARIES Death Is A Good Solution THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND PRESS SCHOLARS' LIBRARY Death Is A Good Solution The Convict Experience in Early Australia A.W. Baker University of Queensland Press First published 1984 by University of Queensland Press Box 42, St Lucia, Queensland, AustraW. ©A.W.Bakerl984 This book is copyright. Aput &om my fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher. Typeset by University of Queensland Press Printed in Hong Kong by Silex Enterprise & Printing Co. Distributed in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbe1n by Prentice Hall International, International Book DistnOutors Ltd, 66 Wood Lane End, Heme! Hempstead, Herts., England Distributed in the USA and Canada by Technical lmpex Corporation, 5 South Union Street, Lawrence, Mass. 01843 USA Cataloauing ia Publication Data Nt�tiorralLibraryoJAustrtJ!ia Baker, A.W. (Anthony William), 1936- Death is a good solution. Bibliography. .. ---· ---- ��· -�No -L' oRAR'V Includes index. � OF C\ :��,t;�,�k'f· I. Aumalim litera�- History mdl>AAI�. � �· 2. Convicts in literature. I. Title (Series: University of Queensland Press scholars' library). A820.9'3520692 LibrtJryofCortgrtss Baker, A.W.(Anthony William), 1936- Death is a good solution. (Tbe University of Queensland Pren scholars' library) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Australian literature - History and criticism. 2. Prisoners in literature. 3. Penal colonies in literature.4. Australia- History- 1788-1900 I. Title.II. Series. PR9605.6.P75B3 1984 820'.9'994 83-23556 ISBN 0 7022 1685 2 II est utile que je m'en aille; Ia mort est un bon arrangement. Victor Hugo, Les Misirables Contents Publisher's Note ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations xvii The Background 1788-1829: The Beginnings of Convict Literature in Australia 31 1830--68: The End of Transportation; The Beginning of Fiction 78 4 After 1868: Transportation in Retrospect 124 Appendixes I Factual British Criminal Biographies 148 II Fictional British Criminal Biographies 150 III Factual Convict Accounts and Biographies (1792-1830) 152 IV Factual Convict Accounts and Biographies (1830-68) 156 V Fictional Convict Accounts and Biographies (1830 to the Present) 160 Notes 164 Bibliography 183 Index 215 Publisher's Note This bookis in a series designed by tbe University of Queensland Press to make available reference and specialist works. Titles in tbe series normally will not be stocked by booksellers and may be obtained by writing directly to tbe publisher. Preface "Truth of fact", Virginia Woolf is said to have written, "and truth of fiction are incompatible." This work examines aspects of a body of literature where there does appear to be a variation between the truth of fact and the truth of fiction, for the book deals with "convict literature": writings by or about the convicts of the trans­ portation era in Australia. For a considerable period of our short history. convicts were the focus of life here. Their concerns and the concerns of those set over them formed the substance of what was written. In the nation's formative years the ambit of life and the ambit of writing were virtually identical. Faithful records were kept of the truth of facts: durations of tours of duties; lengths of sentences; pounds of flour; heads of sheep. Other details were also se� down: the conduct of the convicts; the nature of the native-born; convict reformation. These latter "facts" were obviously less amenable to objectivity. Objectivity was even more at risk because an accepted code was being used to describe phenomena incompatible with it. The official frame of reference, with components like industry and reformation, did not match the reality of the convicts' outlook and activities. Official versions of convict life formed a species of fiction. There was another level of fiction of which the convicts were conscious, and this was the long-standing popular xii Preface method of describing a criminal's life. This provided a fo rmula the convicts could use to describe their life before transportation. It also provided a tone �nd perspective which would eventually impose a pattern on popular accounts of the life of a convict in the colonies. Frequently, the resulting tale was more fiction than fact. It is not surprising that witnesses of transportation dis­ agreed about the nature of the reality they perceived. In the 1830s, for example, Archbishop Richard Whately believed that transportation was, in effect, a free passage "to a country whose climate is delightful".' Father (later, Bishop) William Ullathorne bemoaned the pouring of "scum upon scum, dregs upon dregs building up with them a nation of crime" 2 Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur, on the other hand, having presided over Van Diemen's Land, was content to believe that transportation relieved "England of the depraved individual and, in a majority of cases [it would] effect a reformation of his character" Captain Alexander Maconochie, penal reformer and one-time commandant of Norfolk Island, admitted that the administration of convicts was "able" but believed that the principle of the system was ''vicious'' It is not surprising, either, that attempts to represent trans­ portation in literature caused disagreements. Henry Parkes, who spent much energy over a long period in debates about transportation, objected to William Astley (Price Warung) that a "healthy spirit would scarcely seek enjoyment" in Astley's stories. The latter explained that the Convict System was an historical episode and if it is to be dealt with in the guise of fiction, the spirit of that episode must be presented with vraisemblance I did not make my subject. All I sought to do was interpret it. 3 In life, many surviving convicts became an embarrassment, best eliminated by death. As late as 19 39, Miles Franklin and Dymphna Cusack in their Pioneers on Parade found a subject for satire in some people's efforts to hide their convict "connections" Indeed today, while many Australians would Preface xiii agree with R.D. FitzGerald when he wrote of convict Maurice FitzGerald "could I announce that Maurice was my kin I say aloud I I'd take his irons for heraldry and be proud" ,4 others would be moved to litigation were such ancestry to be imputed to them. This work, then, seeks to make a contribution to an under­ standing of interpretations of our origins. In general, it seeks to trace the sources of these interpretations, and their mutations. Appendixes at the end of the book set out summaries of tales about criminals at various stages of this development. While the study concentrates on the period 1788-1868 (the years during which convicts were transport­ ed to Australia), the bibliography contains a representative range of texts from the beginnings of transportation until 1970. In the body of the text there is an attempt to convey the substance of the convict experience. Some accounts of it are summarized. The summaries should be used in conjunction with the appendixes. In seeking to describe the substance of the convicts' lives, I have drawn heavily upon the work of historians, much of whose work is "convict literature" I gratefully acknowledge my debt to the historians. I hope that I have not trespassed upon their domain; I trust that they do not begrudge this view through the lattices. Australians have formulated an experience for themselves in a variety of ways, so that the truth of fact does not always coincide with the truth of interpretation or fiction. Perhaps this is how all nations account for their beginnings. Many people have helped me during the writing of this book. I trust that I have sufficiently thanked them all. I am particularly grateful to my family, who have endured a form of captivity with the convicts for so long. Notes 1. Richard 'Whately, "Tran!portation" in Select Documentsin Au.stTalian History xiv Preface 1788-1850, ed. C.H.M. Clark (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1958), p.157. 2. William Ullathorne, The CAtholic Mission in AustralUz (Liverpool: Rackliffe and Duckworth, 1837), p.12. 3. William Asdey to Sir Henry Parkes, 2 November 1892, in Parkes Papers ML. 4. R. D. FitzGerald and Alexandra Hasluck, Unwilling Emlgr•nts: A Stl<dy of the Convict Period in Western Australia (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1960), p. 43. Acknowledgments The author gratefully acknowledges the helpfulness of the following authors, owners of copyrights, and publishers who have given permission for quotations to appear in this book: Australian National University Press for quotations from Hobart Town by Peter Bolger; Cat and Fiddle Press for a quotation from The Tasmanian Gallows by Richard P. Davis; Curtis Brown (Aust.) Pty Ltd, Penguin Books, Eyre & Spottiswoode and Jonathon Cape for quotations from Voss and from A Fringe of Leaves by Patrick White ; Faber and Faber Ltd for quotations from Convicts and the Colonies by A. G. L. Shaw; The Grolier Society for a quotation from "Convicts and Transportation" by A. G. L. Shaw in the Australian Encyclopedia; Melbourne University Press for a quotation from The Convict Settlers of Australia by Dr Lloyd Robson, and for a quotation from Quest for Authority in Eastern Australia by Dr Michael Roe; Oxford University Press, Australia for quotations from Australian Painting 1788-1960 by Bernard Smith; Reed Books Pty Ltd and the estate of Charles Bateson for quotations from The Convict Ships by Charles Bateson; Review Publications Pty Ltd for quotations from Notes d'un Condamne Politique by Fran.yois­ Xavier Prieur, translated by George Mackaness; Sydney University Press for quotations from Pressmen and Governors by E.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Convict Labour and Colonial Society in the Campbell Town Police District: 1820-1839
    Convict Labour and Colonial Society in the Campbell Town Police District: 1820-1839. Margaret C. Dillon B.A. (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) University of Tasmania April 2008 I confirm that this thesis is entirely my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis. Margaret C. Dillon. -ii- This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Margaret C. Dillon -iii- Abstract This thesis examines the lives of the convict workers who constituted the primary work force in the Campbell Town district in Van Diemen’s Land during the assignment period but focuses particularly on the 1830s. Over 1000 assigned men and women, ganged government convicts, convict police and ticket holders became the district’s unfree working class. Although studies have been completed on each of the groups separately, especially female convicts and ganged convicts, no holistic studies have investigated how convicts were integrated into a district as its multi-layered working class and the ways this affected their working and leisure lives and their interactions with their employers. Research has paid particular attention to the Lower Court records for 1835 to extract both quantitative data about the management of different groups of convicts, and also to provide more specific narratives about aspects of their work and leisure.
    [Show full text]
  • METHODIST PIONEERS in the SOUTH PACIFIC by Rev
    METHODIST PIONEERS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC By Rev. Dr F. Baker The first chaplain appointed to New South Wales in 1786 was a Methodist in the secondary sense of being a devout evangelical clergyman, and was deliberately sponsored as such by William Wilberforce, friend and admirer of the Wesleys. The second who arrived under Wilberforce's auspices, Samuel Marsden (1765-1838),1 was similar in spirituality, but much tougher both in spirit and in body. His Methodism was even nearer to that of Wesley, for he had been born into a Yorkshire Wesleyan family. and apparently became one of their lay preachers.2 He was educated for the Anglican ministry at the expense of the Elland Clerical Society, an evangelical group founded in 1767 by Wesley's friend the Rev. Henry Venn, vicar of Huddersfield.3 By them he was sent to Hull Grammar School (aged 23!) and then on to Magdalene College. Cambridge, where he was befriended by Rev. Charles Simeon, after whom he named one of his children.4 The dire straits of the Chaplain in New South Wales, however, undoubtedly stressed by Governor Phillip in person as well as by Johnson himself in letters, made Wilberforce and his friends extremely anxious to secure another evangelical candidate as quickly as possible. Therefore they exerted pressure on Marsden, even to the extent of persuading him to leave Cambridge without graduating. His agreement was a measure of his Christian dedication, and also proof that they had indeed chosen the right man, eminently qualified by spiritual gifts, by robust strength, and by practical training.
    [Show full text]
  • Parramatta's Archaeological Landscape
    Parramatta’s archaeological landscape Mary Casey Settlement at Parramatta, the third British settlement in Australia after Sydney Cove and Norfolk Island, began with the remaking of the landscape from an Aboriginal place, to a military redoubt and agricultural settlement, and then a township. There has been limited analysis of the development of Parramatta’s landscape from an archaeological perspective and while there have been numerous excavations there has been little exploration of these sites within the context of this evolving landscape. This analysis is important as the beginnings and changes to Parramatta are complex. The layering of the archaeology presents a confusion of possible interpretations which need a firmer historical and landscape framework through which to interpret the findings of individual archaeological sites. It involves a review of the whole range of maps, plans and images, some previously unpublished and unanalysed, within the context of the remaking of Parramatta and its archaeological landscape. The maps and images are explored through the lense of government administration and its intentions and the need to grow crops successfully to sustain the purposes of British Imperialism in the Colony of New South Wales, with its associated needs for successful agriculture, convict accommodation and the eventual development of a free settlement occupied by emancipated convicts and settlers. Parramatta’s river terraces were covered by woodlands dominated by eucalypts, in particular grey box (Eucalyptus moluccana) and forest
    [Show full text]
  • William Buelow Gould--Convict Artist in Van Diemen's Land
    PAP~:<:Rs AND PRoCE::8DJNGS OF THE ROYAL Sf.tf"IETY oF TASMANIA, VoLUME 9:3 WILLIAM BUELOW GOULD--CONVICT ARTIST IN VAN DIEMEN'S LAND By !SABELLA MEAD* (With 1 Plate) When I came first to the Launceston Museum I brought William Buelow Gould to Van Diemen's found very many paintings by a convict named Land. He writes of him:- Gould. Very soon visitors were asking me questions about him and I proceeded to read what had been " This poor wretch is another example of the written. It seemed very little. In fact, it amounted baneful effects produced by gambling. He to the notes that had been put together by Mr. has been a pupil of Mulreadys-his true name Henry Allport for an exhibition of Tasmanian art is Holland-his friends residing in Stafford are held in Hobart in 1931. These notes were published chinaware manufacturers. in the " Mercury " newspaper and then put together He got into a gambling set in Liverpool, lost in pamphlet form. Every subsequent writer on his money and to redeem it and being fond Gould has used them. of play he got initiated and became a regular When people said, however," vVhen was he born? member of the set of sharpers. When did he die? Was he marri.ed? Did he leave In the course of his practices he came to any family? Did he paint only in oil?", I had to London and was at one time intimate with reply, "I do not know." I am still not certain when the notorious Thurthill, the murderer, and he was born, but I know when he died.
    [Show full text]
  • A Fringe of Leaves”
    Cicero, Karina R. Time and language in Patrick White's “A fringe of leaves” Tesis de Licenciatura en Lengua y Literatura Inglesa Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Este documento está disponible en la Biblioteca Digital de la Universidad Católica Argentina, repositorio institucional desarrollado por la Biblioteca Central “San Benito Abad”. Su objetivo es difundir y preservar la producción intelectual de la Institución. La Biblioteca posee la autorización del autor para su divulgación en línea. Cómo citar el documento: Cicero, Karina R. “Time and language in Patrick White's A fringe of leaves” [en línea]. Tesis de Licenciatura. Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Lenguas, 2010. Disponible en: http://bibliotecadigital.uca.edu.ar/repositorio/tesis/time-and-language-patrick-white.pdf [Fecha de Consulta:.........] (Se recomienda indicar fecha de consulta al final de la cita. Ej: [Fecha de consulta: 19 de agosto de 2010]). Universidad Católica Argentina Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Departamento de Lenguas “Time and Language in Patrick White’s A Fringe of Leaves. ” Student: Karina R. Cicero Tutor: Dr. Malvina I. Aparicio Tesis de Licenciatura Noviembre, 2010 1 Introduction A Fringe of Leaves starts, just like two of the most significant events in Australian history - colonisation and immigration- with a journey across the sea. Journeys often entail changes in one’s personality. Sometimes, radical ones. Travellers have always ventured to meet the unexpected in order to find answers to unasked questions having as a consequence a different approach to existence. In A Fringe of Leaves (1976), written by 1973 Nobel Prize- winner Patrick White, the character of Ellen Roxburgh assesses her whole existence through the hardships she faces during her journey to and within Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Colonial Burial Practices for Perinates at the Parramatta Convict
    Early colonial burial practices for perinates at the Parramatta convict hospital, NSW Author(s): DENISE DONLON, MARY CASEY, WOLFGANG HAAK, CHRISTINA ADLER and Wolfgang Hack Source: Australasian Historical Archaeology, Vol. 26 (2008), pp. 71-83 Published by: Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29544594 Accessed: 15-01-2016 13:36 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29544594?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Australasian Historical Archaeology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 194.94.206.16 on Fri, 15 Jan 2016 13:36:22 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Early colonial burial practices for perinates at the Parramatta convict hospital, NSW. DENISE DONLON, MARY CASEY,WOLFGANG HAAK AND CHRISTINAADLER The skeletal remains of sixperinatal infantswere found during archaeological excavation of theParramatta convict hospital. Perinatal refers to theperiod around birth,from 24 weeks gestation to 7postnatal days.
    [Show full text]
  • Genealogical Society of Tasmania Inc
    GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA INC. Volume 18 Number 1—June 1997 GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA INC. PO Box 60 Prospect Tasmania 7250 Patron: Emeritus Professor Michael Roe Executive: President Mr David Harris (03) 6424 5328 Vice President Mrs Anne Bartlett (03) 6344 5258 Vice President Mr Rex Collins (03) 6431 1113 Executive Secretary Mrs Dawn Collins (03) 6431 1113 Executive Treasurer Ms Sharalyn Walters (03) 6452 2845 Committee: Mrs Betty Calverley Miss Betty Fletcher Mr Doug Forrest Mrs Isobel Harris Mrs Pat Harris Mr Ray Hyland Mrs Denise McNeice Mrs Christine Morris Mrs Colleen Read Mrs Rosalie Riley Exchange Journal Coordinator Mrs Thelma McKay (03) 6229 3149 Journal Editor Mrs Rosemary Davidson (03) 6278 2464 Journal Coordinator Mr David Hodgson (03) 6229 7185 Library Coordinator Huon Branch (03) 6264 1335 Members’ Interests and AGCI Mr Allen Wilson (03) 6244 1837 Membership Secretary Ms Vee Maddock (03) 6243 9592 Publications Coordinator Mrs Anne Bartlett (03) 6344 5258 Public Officer Mr Jim Wall (03) 6248 1773 Research Coordinator Mr John Dare (03) 6424 7889 Sales Coordinator Mrs Pat Harris (03) 6344 3951 TAMIOT Coordinator Mrs Betty Calverley (03) 6344 5608 VDL Heritage Index Mr Neil Chick (03) 6228 2083 Branches of the Society Burnie: PO Box 748 Burnie Tasmania 7320 Devonport: PO Box 587 Devonport Tasmania 7310 Hobart: GPO Box 640 Hobart Tasmania 7001 Huon: PO Box 117 Huonville Tasmania 7109 Launceston: PO Box 1290 Launceston Tasmania 7250 Volume 18 Number 1 June 1997 ISSN 0159 0677 Journal Committee Rosemary Davidson, Cynthia O’Neill, Maurice Appleyard, Jeannine Connors, David Freestun, David Hodgson, Charles Hunt, Lucy Knott, Vee Maddock, Denise McNeice and Kate Ramsay.
    [Show full text]
  • The News Caster Volume XXVIII, Issue 1 March 2010 GC.0.05.02 M' Great Grandfather John Ericson Castor 1866-1944 and His Ancestors by Janice C
    Castor Association ofArnerica The News Caster Volume XXVIII, Issue 1 March 2010 GC.0.05.02 M' Great Grandfather John Ericson Castor 1866-1944 and his Ancestors by Janice C. Butz My great grandfather, John Ericson Castor, was born 22 Nov 1866 in Philadelphia, PA to George Washing- ton Castor and Susanna Ireland. I am not positive of Susanna's maiden name, but on John's Death Certificate, her name is listed as Susan Ireland. He died on 16 Mar 1944, his cause of death was cerebral thrombosis due to chronic myocarditis, and his occupation was farmer. The death certificate also states that John was born on Pattys Island, NJ, but I have seen other documents that state he was born in Philadelphia at 1232 Ann St., Port Richmond, Philadelphia County, PA. He is buried at Goshen Methodist Church cemetery in Goshen, NJ. John's father died in 1873 when John was 6 years old. In October 1873 John's mother and uncle John Cas- tor applied for John to be placed at Girard College For Orphans and he was admitted on 30 Dec 1875. Susan- na's address listed on the application is 1430 Richmond Street, Port Richmond. Question 7 on the application asks "what has been his general moral conduct? "Requires control was the answer." I was told that he ran away from Girard College, but Girard College has him listed as Expelled. I do not have a date for when that hap- pened. John was married to Mary E. Elliott on 23 March 1891 at 4th & New Street in Philadelphia by Geo.
    [Show full text]
  • CONCLUSION This Literary Study and Close Account of Her Social
    224 CONCLUSION This literary study and close account of her social philosophy has demonstrated that the novelist, Eleanor Dark, was also a vigorous social protester and moralist, both concerned with pressing contemporary problems and with their psychological origins, and bent on showing in her fiction a close connection between political forces and individual lives. It has been made clear in this critical treatment .:hat, with a romantics revolutionary turn of mind, she was determined to open her readers eyes to so many social injustices. These were all too often perpetrated by mediocre leaders, and yet the people, in their ignorance and apathy, were hardly aware of them. To illustrate this she created a series of idealistic, independently thinking characters who set out to right social wrongs by exercising heroic personal integrity, by being true to their own consciences, and by establishing ideals which would enrich, rather than constrict, both the individual and society as a whole. The study has shown, however, that Dark always emphasised the need to put theory into action, and to curb simplistic idealism with a measure of lived practicality. There was presented in Chapter 2 the writers perception of human existence as a progression or journey, with her questing protagonists energetically engaging with all aspects of life as they struggled toward the goal of social harmony and the desired realisation of personal potential. Throughout, there has been critical emphasis upon the novels impressive celebration of life, and I have endeavoured to show that the vitality of Darks daring protagonists became a means of judging the behaviour of others, as she contrasted them with those lesser and more timid characters who refused Ito participate willingly in the mortal contest.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit 2 Marcus Clarke : the Seizure of the Cyprus
    UNIT 2 MARCUS CLARKE : THE SEIZURE OF THE CYPRUS Structure Objectives Introduction Marcus Clarke 2.2.1 From Foreign OfZce to Foreign Shore 2.2.2 Man of Many Talents His Natural Life Themes in Clarke " 2.4.1 Marcus Clarke in the 20&Century The Szimre of the Cyprus- Text 2.5.1 Analysing The Seizure of the Cyprus 2.5.2 Action in The Seizure of the Cyprus 2.5.3 Characterisation 2.5.4 Narrative Technique 2.5.5 Contextualising The Seizure of the Cyprus 2.5.6 Highlights Let us Sum up Questions Suggested Reading 2.0 OBJECTIVES The primary motive behind this unit is to provide you with some of the critical information surrounding the life and works of a great writer like Marcus Clarke. We shall, look into his biographical details, the circumstances related to the birth of his creativity, his position amongst the other short fiction writers of the age, and hs contribution to the development of Australian short fiction. 2.1 INTRODUCTION It is generally believed that the short story in Australia began with the writings of Henry Lawson. For most literary critics writing (of the short story 1 short fiction) before Lawson was not worth much critical attention. H M Green states in his introduction to the short story between 1850 to 1890 that, "the short stories of the period were many in number but poor in quality." He regards most of the short fiction before Lawson as mere 'sketches' in comparison with Lawson's stories. The short story as a genrc gained popularity chiefly on account of it being published regularly in the Sydney Bulletin of the 1890s.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Food and Its Significance in the Australian Novels of Christina Stead, P
    F.O.O.D. (Fighting Order Over Disorder): An Analysis of Food and Its Significance in the Australian Novels of Christina Stead, Patrick White and Thea Astley. Jane Frugtneit A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Humanities James Cook University August 2007 ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to find a correlation between food as symbol and food as necessity, as represented in selected Australian novels by Christina Stead, Patrick White and Thea Astley. Food as a springboard to a unique interpretation of the selected novels has been under-utilised in academic research. Although comparatively few novels were selected for study, on the basis of fastidiousness, they facilitated a rigorous hermeneutical approach to the interpretation of food and its inherent symbolism. The principle behind the selection of these novels lies in the complexity of the prose and how that complexity elicits the “transformative powers of food” (Muncaster 1996, 31). The thesis examines both the literal and metaphorical representations of food in the novels and relates how food is an inextricable part of ALL aspects of life, both actual and fictional. Food sustains, nourishes and, intellectually, its many components offer unique interpretative tools for textual analysis. Indeed, the overarching structure of the thesis is analogous with the processes of eating, digestion and defecation. For example, following a discussion of the inextricable link between food, quest and freedom in Chapter One, which uncovers contrary attitudes towards food in the novels discussed, the thesis presents a more complex psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders related to food in Chapter Two.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Assembly Hansard 1985
    Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly TUESDAY, 9 APRIL 1985 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy 4898 9 April 1985 Papers TUESDAY, 9 APRIL 1985 Mr SPEAKER (Hon. J. H. Warner, Toowoomba South) read prayers and took the chair at 11 a.m. ASSENT TO BILLS Assent to the foUowing Bills reported by Mr Speaker— City of Brisbane Town Planning Act and Another Act Amendment Bill; Noise Abatement Act Amendment Bill; Police Act Amendment Bill; Primary Producers' Organisation and Marketing Act and Another Act Amendment BiU; Railways Act Amendment Bill; State Govemment Insurance Office (Queensland) Act Amendment Bill; Valuation of Land Act and Other Acts Amendment Bill. RESERVATION OF BILL FOR ROYAL ASSENT Governors' Pensions Act Amendment Bill Mr SPEAKER reported the receipt of a message from His Excellency the Govemor intimating that the Govemors' Pensions Act Amendment Bill had been reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure. Mr R. J. Gibbs interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I wam the member for Wolston. FILMING AND VIDEOTAPING OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS Mr SPEAKER: Order! I advise the House that further videotaping of proceedings for the educational film on the Parliament of Queensland will be undertaken from 11 a.m. on Wednesday, 10 April 1985, by a departmental film unit. I seek the co-operation of all honourable members in that matter. PAPERS The following paper was laid on the table, and ordered to be printed— Report of the Co-ordinator-General, Queensland, for the year ended 30 June 1984. The following
    [Show full text]