Dorothea Mackellar

Dorothea Mackellar
Dorothea Mackellar

Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar, OBE (1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer.[1]

The only daughter of noted physician and parliamentarian Sir Charles Mackellar, she was born in Sydney in 1885. Although raised in a professional urban family, Mackellar's poetry is usually regarded as quintessential bush poetry, inspired by her experience on her brothers' farms near Gunnedah, North-West New South Wales.

Her best-known poem is My Country, written at age 19 while homesick in England, and first published in the London Spectator in 1908 under the title Core of My Heart. The second stanza of this poem is amongst the most well-known in Australia. To many[who?] this is a overtly romanticised version of "The Australian condition" as Mackellar's family were of considerable fortune and social favour. The poem reflects the romanticised and somewhat idealised reflection of a writer yearning to be taken back to Gunnedah. Four volumes of her collected verse were published: The Closed Door (published in 1911, contained the first appearance of My Country under its present name); The Witch Maid, and Other Verses (1914); Dreamharbour (1923); and Fancy Dress (1926).

In addition to writing poems, Mackellar also wrote novels, one by herself, Outlaw's Luck (1913), and at least two in collaboration with Ruth Bedford. These are The Little Blue Devil (1912) and Two's Company (1914). According to Dale Spender, little has been written or is yet known about the circumstances behind this collaboration.[2]

In the New Year's Day Honours of 1968, Dorothea Mackellar was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to Australian literature.[3] She died two weeks later. She is buried with her father and family in Waverley Cemetery overlooking the open ocean. Also her favorite poem 'colour' was read at her service.[4] A federal electorate covering half of Sydney's Northern Beaches and a street in the Canberra suburb of Cook are named in her honour. (The Canberra suburb of McKellar was not named after her, but is often assumed to have been.)

On Australia Day, 26 January 1983, a statue was unveiled in ANZAC Park in Gunnedah to commemorate Dorothea Mackellar. In conjunction with the unveiling, there was an exhibition of a series of 34 water colour paintings by Jean Isherwood illustrating the writer's most famous poem, My Country. The watercolours were eventually put on permanent display in the Gunnedah Bicentennial Regional Gallery. Isherwood set about painting a series of oils based on the watercolours which were exhibited at the Artarmon Galleries in Sydney in 1986.

In 1984, Gunnedah resident Mikie Maas created the "Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards", which has grown into a nationwide poetry competition for Australian school students.

References

  1. ^ "Mackellar, Isobel Marion Dorothea (1885–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mackellar-isobel-marion-dorothea-7383. Retrieved 9 Novmember 2011. 
  2. ^ Spender, Dale (1988) Writing a New World: Two Centuries of Australian Women Writers, London: Pandora p. 219
  3. ^ "MACKELLAR, Isobel Marion Dorothea". It's an Honour. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1108726&search_type=advanced&showInd=true. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
  4. ^ Waverley Cemetery - A Walk Through History No. 1

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dorothea mackellar — Dorothea Mackellar Activité(s) poète Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dorothea Mackellar — Activités poète Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mackellar — is the surname of: * Dorothea Mackellar, influential bush poet * Michael MacKellar, former Member for WarringahIn addition, Mackellar may refer to: * The Division of Mackellar, an Australian Federal electorate first held by William Wentworth IV * …   Wikipedia

  • MACKELLAR, Sir Charles Kinnaird (1844-1926) — physician and public man son of Dr Frank Mackellar, was born at Sydney, on 5 December 1844. He was educated at Sydney grammar school and on leaving school had some experience on a station. About 1866 he went to Glasgow, did a distinguished course …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • Mackellar — /məˈkɛlə/ (say muh keluh) noun 1. Sir Charles Kinnaird, 1844–1926, Australian physician and sociologist. 2. his daughter, (Isobel Marion) Dorothea, 1885–1968, Australian poet; author of My Country (1908). Dorothea Mackellar was born in Sydney.… …  

  • Division of Mackellar — Mackellar Australian House of Representatives Division Division of Mackellar (green) in New South Wales Created: 1949 …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Mackellar — Sir Charles Mackellar KCMG Senator for New South Wales In office 8 October 1903 – 30 November …   Wikipedia

  • Circonscription de Mackellar — 33° 40′ 08″ S 151° 15′ 11″ E / 33.669, 151.253 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • My Country — Mackellar s notebook with first two verses For other uses, see Naenara. See also Má vlast ( My Country ) a set of six symphonic poems by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana My Country is an iconic patriotic poem about Australia, written by… …   Wikipedia

  • Jean Isherwood — Jean de Courtenay Isherwood OAM, FRAS, AWI, (1911 2006), was an Australian watercolour and oil painter, renowned for her colourful depictions of the Australian countryside. Biography Isherwood was born in Marrickville, Sydney in 1911. At the age… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”