1971 in Australian literature explained

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1971.

Major publications

Books

• Jon Cleary – Mask of the Andes
• Kenneth Cook – Piper in the Market-Place^[1]
• Dymphna Cusack – A Bough in Hell
• Frank Hardy – The Outcasts of Foolgarah^[2]
• Donald Horne – But What If There Are No Pelicans?^[3]
• David Ireland – The Unknown Industrial Prisoner
• George Johnston – A Cartload of Clay
• Thomas Keneally – A Dutiful Daughter
• Hal Porter – The Right Thing^[4]
• Judah Waten – So Far No Further^[5]
• Morris West – Summer of the Red Wolf

Short stories

• Elizabeth Jolley – "Bill Sprockett's Land"^[6]
• Hal Porter
  • "Brett"^[7]
  • Selected Stories^[8]

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Hesba Brinsmead – Longtime Passing^[9]
• David Martin – Hughie^[10]
• Christobel Mattingley – Windmill at Magpie Creek^[11]
• Elyne Mitchell – Light Horse to Damascus^[12]
• Ivan Southall – Josh
• P. L. Travers – Friend Monkey^[13]

Science fiction and fantasy

• John Baxter – The Second Pacific Book of Science Fiction^[14]
• A. Bertram Chandler
  • Alternate Orbits^[15]
  • To Prime the Pump^[16]
• Lindsay Gutteridge – Cold War in a Country Garden^[17]
• Lee Harding – "Fallen Spaceman"^[18]
• Jack Wodhams – The Authentic Touch^[19]

Poetry

See main article: 1971 in poetry.

• Robert Adamson – The Rumour^[20]
• Bruce Dawe – Condolences of the Season : Selected Poems^[21]
• Gwen Harwood – "Oyster Cove"^[22]
• A. D. Hope – "Inscription for a War"^[23]
• James McAuley – Collected Poems 1936-1970^[24]
• Dorothea Mackellar – The Poems of Dorothea Mackellar^[25]
• Geoff Page – "Smalltown Memorials"^[26]
• David Rowbotham – The Pen of Feathers : Poems^[27]
• T. G. H. Strehlow – Songs of Central Australia (edited)^[28]
• Chris Wallace-Crabbe
  • "Other People"^[29]
  • Where the Wind Came : poems^[30]
• Judith Wright – Collected Poems, 1942-1970^[31]

Drama

• Alex Buzo – Macquarie : A Play^[32]
• Dorothy Hewett – The Chapel Perilous
• Ray Lawler – The Man Who Shot the Albatross^[33]
• David Williamson
  • Don's Party
  • The Removalists

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal[34]	Colin Badger
Colin Roderick Award[35]	Geoffrey Serle	The Rush to be Rich	Melbourne University Press
Miles Franklin Award[36]	David Ireland	The Unknown Industrial Prisoner	Angus and Robertson

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers[37]	Ivan Southall	Bread and Honey	Angus and Robertson
	Picture Book	A. B. Paterson, illustrated by Desmond Digby	Waltzing Matilda	Collins

Science fiction and fantasy

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Australian SF Achievement Award[38]	Best Australian Science Fiction	A. Bertram Chandler	"The Bitter Pill"	Vision of Tomorrow
	Australian Fanzine	Noel Kerr	The Somerset Gazette

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry	Judith Wright[39]	Collected Poems, 1942-1970	Angus and Robertson
	James McAuley[40]	Collected Poems 1936-1970	Angus and Robertson

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1971 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 18 November – Leigh Redhead, novelist^[41]

Unknown date

• Libby Hart, poet^[42]
• James Ley, literary critic and founder of the Sydney Review of Books^[43]
• John Mateer, poet and author (in South Africa)^[44]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1971 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 19 January – Joe Walker, novelist and newspaper editor (born 1910)^[45]
• 3 February – Richard Harry Graves, poet and novelist (born 1897)^[46]
• 11 March – Frank Clune, novelist and travel writer (born 1893)^[47]
• 10 June – Maysie Coucher Greig, writer of romantic novels and thrillers (born 1901)^[48]
• 30 June – Kenneth Slessor, poet (born 1901)^[49]
• 11 September – Hilda Bridges, novelist and short story writer (born 1881)^[50]
• 7 November – Minnie Agnes Filson, poet (born 1898)^[51]

Unknown date

• G. C. Bleeck – novelist (born 1907)^[52]

See also

• 1971 in Australia
• 1971 in literature
• 1971 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: Piper in the Market-Place by Kenneth Cook. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
2. Web site: The Outcasts of Foolgarah by Frank Hardy. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
3. Web site: But What If There Are No Pelicans? by Donald Horne. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
4. Web site: The Right Thing by Hal Porter. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
5. Web site: So Far No Further by Judah Waten. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
6. Web site: "Bill Sprockett's Land" by Elizabeth Jolley. Austlit. 24 November 2024.
7. Web site: "Brett" by Hal Porter. Austlit. 24 November 2024.
8. Web site: Selected Stories by Hal Porter. National Library of Australia. 24 November 2024.
9. Web site: Longtime Passing by Hesba Brinsmead. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
10. Web site: Hughie by David Martin. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
11. Web site: Windmill at Magpie Creek by Christobel Mattingley. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
12. Web site: Light Horse to Damascus by Elyne Mitchell. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
13. Web site: Friend Monkey by P. L. Travers. National Library of Australia. 25 November 2024.
14. Web site: The Second Pacific Book of Science Fiction edited by John Baxter. ISFDB. 24 November 2024.
15. Web site: Alternate Orbits by A. Bertram Chandler. ISFDB. 24 November 2024.
16. Web site: To Prime the Pump by A. Bertram Chandler. ISFDB. 24 November 2024.
17. Web site: Cold War in a Country Garden by Lindsay Gutteridge. ISFDB. 24 November 2024.
18. Web site: "Fallen Spaceman" by Lee Harding. ISFDB. 24 November 2024.
19. Web site: The Authentic Touch by Jack Wodhams. ISFDB. 24 November 2024.
20. Web site: The Rumour by Robert Adamson. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
21. Web site: Condolences of the Season : Selected Poems by Bruce Dawe. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
22. Web site: "Oyster Cove" by Gwen Harwood. Austlit. 20 November 2024.
23. Web site: "Inscription for a War" by A. D. Hope. Austlit. 20 November 2024.
24. Web site: Collected Poems 1936-1970 by James McAuley. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
25. Web site: The Poems of Dorothea Mackellar by Dorothea Mackellar. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
26. Web site: "Smalltown Memorials" by Geoff Page. Austlit. 20 November 2024.
27. Web site: The Pen of Feathers : Poems by David Rowbotham. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
28. Web site: Songs of Central Australia edited by T. G. H. Strehlow. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
29. Web site: "Other People" by Chris Wallace-Crabbe. Austlit. 20 November 2024.
30. Web site: Where the Wind Came : poems by Chris Wallace-Crabbe. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
31. Web site: Collected Poems, 1942-1970 by Judith Wright. National Library of Australia. 20 November 2024.
32. Web site: Macquarie : A Play by Alex Buzo. National Library of Australia. 24 November 2024.
33. Web site: The Man Who Shot the Albatross by Ray Lawler. Austlit. 24 November 2024.
34. Web site: ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners . Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 31 August 2023.
35. https://www.jcu.edu.au/foundation-for-australian-literary-studies/colin-roderick-award/previous-winners2 "Colin Roderick Award - Previous Winners", James Cook University
36. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102206196 "Award", The Canberra Times, 29 March 1972, p3
37. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110666933 "1971 Awards", The Canberra Times, 10 July 1971, p15
38. Web site: "Ditmar Awards 1971" . SFADB. 21 November 2024.
39. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C270019 Austlit - Collected Poems, 1942-1970 by Judith Wright
40. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C62571 Austlit - Collected Poems 1936-1970 by James McAuley
41. Web site: Leigh Redhead . Austlit. 20 November 2024.
42. Web site: Libby Hart . 2024-03-05 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
43. Web site: James Ley . 2024-03-05 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
44. Web site: John Mateer . 2024-03-05 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
45. Web site: Joe Walker (1910-1971). Austlit. 20 November 2024.
46. Web site: Richard Harry Graves (1897-1971). Austlit. 3 July 2023.
47. Web site: Clune, Francis Patrick (Frank) (1893–1971) by Julian Croft . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1 September 2023.
48. Web site: Greig, Maysie Coucher (1901–1971) by Martha Rutledge . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 23 September 2023.
49. Web site: Slessor, Kenneth Adolf (1901–1971) by Dennis Haskell . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 23 June 2023.
50. Web site: Bridges, Hilda Maggie (1881–1971) by J. C. Horner . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 3 July 2023.
51. Web site: Minnie Agnes May Filson (1898-1971). 2023-09-01 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
52. Web site: G. C. Bleeck (1907-1971). Austlit. 9 November 2023.