1960 in Australian literature explained

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1960.

Events

• The first Adelaide Writers' Week was held as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts.

Major publications

Books

• Thea Astley – A Descant for Gossips
• Russell Braddon – The Proud American Boy^[1]
• Nancy Cato – Green Grows the Vine
• Jon Cleary – North from Thursday
• Charmian Clift – Walk to the Paradise Gardens^[2]
• Nino Culotta – Cop this Lot
• Catherine Gaskin – Corporation Wife^[3]
• Elizabeth Harrower – The Catherine Wheel^[4]
• George Johnston – Closer to the Sun^[5]
• Elizabeth O'Conner – The Irishman
• Nevil Shute – Trustee from the Toolroom
• Arthur Upfield – Valley of Smugglers^[6]

Short stories

• James Aldridge – Gold and Sand : Stories^[7]
• Ion Idriess – The Wild North
• Hal Porter – "Party 42 and Mrs Brewer"^[8]

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Nan Chauncy – Tangara
• John Gunn
  • The Humpy in the Hills^[9]
  • Peter Kent's Command^[10]
• Elyne Mitchell – Silver Brumby's Daughter^[11]
• Eleanor Spence – Lillipilly Hill
• Judith Wright – The Day the Mountains Played^[12]
• Patricia Wrightson – The Rocks of Honey^[13]

Poetry

See main article: 1960 in poetry.

• Christopher Brennan – The Verse of Christopher Brennan, edited by A. R. Chisholm and John Joseph Quinn^[14]
• David Campbell
  • "Town Planning"^[15]
  • "Under the Wattles"^[16]
  • "Windy Nights"^[17]
• Rosemary Dobson – "Ghost Town : New England"^[18]
• Geoffrey Dutton – Night Fishing^[19]
• R. D. Fitzgerald – "Bog and Candle"^[20]
• Gwen Harwood
  • "The Glass Jar"^[21]
  • "Group from Tartarus"^[22]
• A. D. Hope
  • "The Coasts of Cerigo"^[23]
  • Poems^[24]
• Colin Thiele – Man in a Landscape
• Judith Wright – Australian Bird Poems^[25]

Drama

• Alan Seymour – The One Day of the Year

Non-fiction

• F. J. Thwaites – Press on Regardless (travel book)

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal[26]	William Hart-Smith	Poems of Discovery	Angus and Robertson
Miles Franklin Award[27]	Elizabeth O'Conner	The Irishman	Angus and Robertson

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 1960 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 25 February – Narelle Oliver, award-winning children's author-illustrator, artist and print maker (died 2016)^[30]
• 4 August – Tim Winton, novelist^[31]
• 9 November – Michael Robotham, novelist^[32]

Unknown date

• Pamela Freeman, novelist^[33]
• Margo Lanagan, novelist and short story writer^[34]
• Fiona McIntosh, novelist^[35]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1960 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 12 January – Nevil Shute, novelist (born 1899)^[36]
• 14 June – E. V. Timms, novelist (born 1895)^[37]
• 6 November — John Lavington Bonython, newspaper editor and journalist (born 1875)^[38]

See also

• 1960 in Australia
• 1960 in literature
• 1960 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Proud American Boy by Russell Braddon. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
2. Web site: Walk to the Paradise Gardens by Charmian Clift. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
3. Web site: Corporation Wife by Catherine Gaskin. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
4. Web site: The Catherine Wheel by Elizabeth Harrower. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
5. Web site: Closer to the Sun by George Johnston. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
6. Web site: Valley of Smugglers by Arthur Upfield. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
7. Web site: Gold and Sand : Stories by James Aldridge. National Library of Australia. 16 October 2024.
8. Web site: "Party 42 and Mrs Brewer" by Hal Porter. Austlit. 16 October 2024.
9. Web site: The Humpy in the Hills by John Gunn. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
10. Web site: Peter Kent's Command by John Gunn. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
11. Web site: Silver Brumby's Daughter by Elyne Mitchell. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
12. Web site: The Day the Mountains Played by Judith Wright. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
13. Web site: The Rocks of Honey by Patricia Wrightson. National Library of Australia. 17 October 2024.
14. Web site: The Verse of Christopher Brennan edited by A. R. Chisholm and John Joseph Quinn. National Library of Australia. 28 May 2024.
15. Web site: Austlit — "Town Planning" by David Campbell . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
16. Web site: Austlit — "Under the Wattles" by David Campbell . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
17. Web site: Austlit — "Windy Nights" by David Campbell . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
18. Web site: Austlit — "Ghost Town : New England" by Rosemary Dobson . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
19. Web site: Night Fishing by Geoffrey Dutton. National Library of Australia. 28 May 2024.
20. Web site: Austlit — "Bog and Candle" by R. D. Fitzgerald . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
21. Web site: Austlit — "The Glass Jar" by Gwen Harwood . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
22. Web site: Austlit — "Group from Tartarus" Gwen Harwood . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
23. Web site: Austlit — "The Coasts of Cerigo" by A. D. Hope . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
24. Web site: Austlit — Poems by A. D. Hope . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
25. Web site: Australian Bird Poems by Judith Wright. National Library of Australia. 28 May 2024.
26. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C207901 Austlit - Poems of Discovery by William Hart-Smith
27. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54670429 "When 'The Irishman' Came to Town", The Australian Women's Weekly, 29 March 1978, p11
28. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137118152 "Kylie Tennant Wins Book of the Year Award", The Canberra Times, 11 July 1960, p3
29. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C104855 Austlit - Man in a Landscape by Colin Thiele
30. Web site: Narelle Oliver (1960-2016). 2024-02-14 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
31. Web site: Tim Winton . Austlit. 26 June 2023.
32. Web site: Michael Robotham . Austlit. 26 June 2023.
33. Web site: Pamela Freeman . Austlit. 26 June 2023.
34. Web site: Margo Lanagan . Austlit. 26 June 2023.
35. Web site: Fiona McIntosh . Austlit. 26 June 2023.
36. Web site: Norway, Nevil Shute (1899–1960) by Julian Croft . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 26 June 2023.
37. Web site: E. V. Timms (1895-1960). Austlit. 11 July 2023.
38. Web site: Bonython, Sir John Lavington (1875–1960) by W. B. Pitcher . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 3 August 2023.