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{{short description|New Zealand-Australian writer}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
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| caption = Ruth Park, ca. 1942
| pseudonym =
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| birth_name = Rosina Ruth Lucia Park
| birth_name = Rosina Ruth Lucia Park
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| birth_place = [[Auckland]], New Zealand
| birth_place = [[Auckland]], New Zealand
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2010|12|14|1917|8|24}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2010|12|14|1917|8|24}}
| death_place = Sydney, Australia
| death_place = [[Sydney]], Australia
| resting_place =
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| occupation = Author, novelist
| occupation = Author, novelist
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'''Rosina Ruth Lucia Park''' [[Member of the Order of Australia|AM]] (24 August 1917{{spaced ndash}}14 December 2010)<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/sydneys-dickens-ruth-park-dies-leaving-her-mark-on-nations-psyche/story-e6frg6nf-1225972951293 The Australian, 18 December 2010]</ref><ref name="Obituary">{{Cite news | last = Maunder | first = Patricia | title = Novelist shone a light on slums | newspaper = Sydney Morning Herald | date = 17 December 2010 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/novelist-shone-a-light-on-slums-20101216-18zid.html | accessdate = 17 December 2010}}</ref><ref name = "Austlit">{{cite web |title= Ruth Park Biography |publisher= Austlit Agent Details |url= http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A$q8 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref><ref>She always refused to confirm the actual date, and the published information varies from 1917 to 1924 (Source: [http://www.bookorphanage.com/park.html Pegasus Book Orphanage])</ref> was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels ''[[The Harp in the South]]'' (1948) and ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]'' (1980), and the children's radio serial ''[[The Muddle-Headed Wombat]]'' (1951–1970), which also spawned a book series (1962–1982).
'''Rosina Ruth Lucia Park''' [[Member of the Order of Australia|AM]] (24 August 1917{{spaced ndash}}14 December 2010)<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/sydneys-dickens-ruth-park-dies-leaving-her-mark-on-nations-psyche/story-e6frg6nf-1225972951293 The Australian, 18 December 2010]</ref><ref name="Obituary">{{Cite news | last = Maunder | first = Patricia | title = Novelist shone a light on slums | newspaper =[[Sydney Morning Herald]]| date = 17 December 2010 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/novelist-shone-a-light-on-slums-20101216-18zid.html | access-date = 17 December 2010}}</ref><ref name = "Austlit">{{cite web |title= Ruth Park Biography |publisher= Austlit Agent Details |url= http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A$q8 |access-date= 1 August 2007}}</ref><ref>She always refused to confirm the actual date, and the published information varies from 1917 to 1924 (Source: [http://www.bookorphanage.com/park.html Pegasus Book Orphanage])</ref> was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels ''[[The Harp in the South]]'' (1948) and ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]'' (1980), and the children's radio serial ''[[The Muddle-Headed Wombat]]'' (1951–1970), which also spawned a book series (1962–1982).


==Personal history==
==Personal history==
Park was born in [[Auckland]] to a Scottish father and a Swedish mother. Her family later moved to the town of [[Te Kuiti]] further south in the [[North Island]] of New Zealand, where they lived in isolated areas.<ref name="Austlit"/>
Park was born in [[Auckland]] to a Scottish father and a Swedish mother. Her family later moved to the town of [[Te Kūiti]] further south in the [[North Island]] of New Zealand, where they lived in isolated areas.<ref name="Austlit"/>


During the [[Great Depression]] her working-class father laboured on bush roads and bridges, worked as a driver, did government relief work and became a sawmill hand. Finally, he shifted back to Auckland, where he joined the workforce of a municipal council. The family occupied public housing, known in New Zealand as a [[State housing|state house]], and money remained a scarce commodity. Ruth Park, after attending a [[Catholic school|Catholic primary school]], won a partial scholarship to secondary school, but her high-school education was broken by periods of being unable to afford to attend.<ref name="Obituary"/> She also completed an external degree course at [[University of Auckland|Auckland University]].<ref name="Becoming">Ruth Park: "Becoming a Writer" [http://www.ruth-park.com.au/ Retrieved 5 November 2015]</ref>
During the [[Great Depression]] her working-class father laboured on bush roads and bridges, worked as a driver, did government relief work and became a sawmill hand. Finally, he shifted back to Auckland, where he joined the workforce of a municipal council. The family occupied public housing, known in New Zealand as a [[State housing in New Zealand|state house]], and money remained a scarce commodity. Ruth Park, after attending St Benedict's School, a [[Catholic school|Catholic primary school]], won a partial scholarship to [[Marcellin College, Auckland|St Benedict's secondary school]], but her high-school education was broken by periods of being unable to afford to attend.<ref name="Obituary"/> Nevertheless, she completed her studies at St Benedict's as Head Girl.<ref>Tony Eyre, "The Book Collector: Reading and Living with Literature"", Mary Egan, Dunedin, 2023, pp. 183 and 184.</ref> She completed an external degree course at [[University of Auckland|Auckland University]].<ref name="Becoming">Ruth Park: "Becoming a Writer" [http://www.ruth-park.com.au/ Retrieved 5 November 2015]</ref>


Park's first break as a professional writer came when she was hired by the ''[[Auckland Star]]'' newspaper as a journalist, but she found the assignments she was given unchallenging. Wishing to expand her horizons, she accepted a job offer from the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'', but the tightening of United States' entry requirements after the bombing of [[Pearl Harbor]] forced a change of plan. Instead, she moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1942, where she had lined up a job with another newspaper.
Park's first break as a professional writer came when she was hired by the ''[[Auckland Star]]'' newspaper as a journalist, but she found the assignments she was given unchallenging. Wishing to expand her horizons, she accepted a job offer from the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'', but the tightening of United States' entry requirements after the bombing of [[Pearl Harbor]] forced a change of plan. Instead, she moved to [[Sydney]], Australia, in 1942, where she had lined up a job with another newspaper.


That same year she married the budding Australian author [[D'Arcy Niland]] (1917–1967), with whom she had been corresponding as pen pals for some years, and whom she had finally met on a previous visit to Sydney. There she embarked on a career as a freelance writer. Park and Niland had five children, of whom the youngest, twin daughters [[Kilmeny Niland|Kilmeny]] and [[Deborah Niland|Deborah]], went on to become book illustrators.<ref name="Becoming"/> (Park was devastated when Niland died in Sydney at the age of 49 from a heart ailment; Kilmeny also predeceased her — see the ''Herald'' obituary.) Park had eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The writer [[Rafe Champion]] is her son-in-law. In addition, Darcy Niland's brother Beresford married Ruth Park's sister Jocelyn.
That same year she married the budding Australian author [[D'Arcy Niland]] (1917–1967), with whom she had been corresponding as pen pals for some years, and whom she had finally met on a previous visit to Sydney. There she embarked on a career as a freelance writer. Park and Niland had five children, of whom the youngest, twin daughters [[Kilmeny Niland|Kilmeny]] and [[Deborah Niland|Deborah]], went on to become book illustrators.<ref name="Becoming"/> (Park was devastated when Niland died in Sydney at the age of 49 from a heart ailment; Kilmeny also predeceased her — see the ''Herald'' obituary.) Park had eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The writer [[Rafe Champion]] is her son-in-law. In addition, D’Arcy Niland's brother Beresford married Ruth Park's sister Jocelyn.


==Writing career==
==Writing career==
When contracted in 1942 by [[Ida Elizabeth Osbourne]] to write a serial for the [[Argonauts' Club|ABC Children's Session]], she wrote the series ''The Wide-awake Bunyip''. When the lead actor [[Albert Collins (painter)|Albert Collins]] died suddenly in 1951, she changed its direction and ''[[The Muddle-Headed Wombat]]'' was born, with first [[Leonard Teale]] then [[John Ewart]] in the title role. The series ended when the radio program folded in 1970. Such was its popularity that between 1962 and 1982 she wrote a series of children's books about the character.<ref>''The Golden Age of the Argonauts'' Rob Johnson, Hodder & Stoughton 1997 {{ISBN|0-7336-0528-1}}</ref>
When contracted in 1942 by [[Ida Elizabeth Osbourne]] to write a serial for the [[Argonauts' Club|ABC Children's Session]], she wrote the series ''The Wide-awake Bunyip''. When the lead actor [[Albert Collins (painter)|Albert Collins]] died suddenly in 1951, she changed its direction and ''[[The Muddle-Headed Wombat]]'' was born, with first [[Leonard Teale]] then [[John Ewart]] in the title role. The series ended when the radio program folded in 1970. Such was its popularity that between 1962 and 1982 she wrote a series of children's books about the character.<ref>''The Golden Age of the Argonauts'' Rob Johnson, Hodder & Stoughton 1997 {{ISBN|0-7336-0528-1}}</ref>


Her first novel was ''[[The Harp in the South]]'' (1948) – a graphic story of Irish slum life in Sydney, which has been translated into 37 languages. Even though it was acclaimed by literary critics, the book proved controversial with sections of the public due to its candour, with some newspaper letter-writers calling it a cruel fantasy because as far as they were concerned, there were no slums in Sydney. However, the newly married Park and Niland did live for a time in a Sydney slum located in the rough inner-city suburb of [[Surry Hills, New South Wales|Surry Hills]] and vouched for the novel's accuracy. It has never been out of print. Sydney slum life recurs in her novel for children, ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]'' (1980).
Her first novel was ''[[The Harp in the South]]'' (1948) – a graphic story of Irish slum life in Sydney, which has been translated into 37 languages. Even though it was acclaimed by literary critics, the book proved controversial with sections of the public due to its candour, with some newspaper letter-writers calling it a cruel fantasy because as far as they were concerned, there were no slums in Sydney. However, the newly married Park and Niland did live for a time in a Sydney slum located in the rough inner-city suburb of [[Surry Hills]] and vouched for the novel's accuracy. It has never been out of print. Sydney slum life recurs in her novel for children, ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]'' (1980).


Park built on her initial success with the 1949 publication of a follow-up novel titled the ''[[Poor Man's Orange]]''. During the 1950s, despite the demands of raising a family, she wrote tirelessly. According to a 2010 tribute article printed in ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' and written by her literary agent Tim Curnow, she produced more than 5,000 radio scripts alone during this decade, as well as contributing numerous articles to newspapers and magazines and penning weightier works of fiction.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/so-much-more-than-wombats-mum-20101217-190sk.html |title=So much more than Wombat's mum |first=Tim |last=Curnow |date=18 December 2010 |work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref>
Park built on her initial success with the 1949 publication of a follow-up novel titled the ''[[Poor Man's Orange]]''. During the 1950s, despite the demands of raising a family, she wrote tirelessly. According to a 2010 tribute article printed in the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' and written by her literary agent Tim Curnow, she produced more than 5,000 radio scripts alone during this decade, as well as contributing numerous articles to newspapers and magazines and penning weightier works of fiction.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/so-much-more-than-wombats-mum-20101217-190sk.html |title=So much more than Wombat's mum |first=Tim |last=Curnow |date=18 December 2010 |work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref>


She subsequently wrote ''Missus'' (1985), a prequel to ''The Harp in the South'', among other novels, and created scripts for film and television. Her autobiographies, ''A Fence Around the Cuckoo'' (1992) and ''Fishing in the Styx'' (1993), deal with her life in New Zealand and Australia respectively. She also penned a novel set in New Zealand, ''One-a-pecker, Two-a-pecker'' (1957), about gold mining in [[Otago]]. (It was later renamed ''The Frost and The Fire''.)
She subsequently wrote ''Missus'' (1985), a prequel to ''The Harp in the South'', among other novels, and created scripts for film and television. Her autobiographies, ''A Fence Around the Cuckoo'' (1992) and ''Fishing in the Styx'' (1993), deal with her life in New Zealand and Australia respectively. She also penned a novel set in New Zealand, ''One-a-pecker, Two-a-pecker'' (1957), about gold mining in [[Otago]]. (It was later renamed ''The Frost and The Fire''.)
Park never remarried. Between 1946 and 2004, she received numerous awards for her contributions to literature in both Australia and internationally.<ref name="awards">{{cite web |title=Ruth Park: A Celebration |publisher=National Library of Australia |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/friends/ruth/award.html |accessdate=1 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906225629/http://www.nla.gov.au/friends/ruth/award.html |archivedate=6 September 2006 }} <br>[http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/ruth_park_a_celebration.pdf ''Ruth Park: A Celebration'' (1996)], PDF, 41 pages.</ref> She was made a Member of the [[Order of Australia]] in 1987. (Her awards and honours are listed below.)
Park never remarried. Between 1946 and 2004, she received numerous awards for her contributions to literature in both Australia and internationally.<ref name="awards">{{cite web |title=Ruth Park: A Celebration |publisher=National Library of Australia |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/friends/ruth/award.html |access-date=1 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906225629/http://www.nla.gov.au/friends/ruth/award.html |archive-date=6 September 2006 }} <br>[http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/ruth_park_a_celebration.pdf ''Ruth Park: A Celebration'' (1996)], PDF, 41 pages.</ref> She was made a Member of the [[Order of Australia]] in 1987. (Her awards and honours are listed below.)


From 1974 to 1981 Park dwelt on [[Norfolk Island]], where she was the co-owner of a shop selling books and gifts. Her later years, however, were spent living in the Sydney harbourside suburb of [[Mosman]]. She died in her sleep on 14 December 2010, at the age of 93.
From 1974 to 1981 Park dwelt on [[Norfolk Island]], where she was the co-owner of a shop selling books and gifts. Her later years, however, were spent living in the Sydney harbourside suburb of [[Mosman]]. She died in her sleep on 14 December 2010, at the age of 93.


==Awards==
==Awards==
*1946 Inaugural ''Sydney Morning Herald''-sponsored writers' competition: Best Novel award for ''[[The Harp in the South]]'' (published 1948)
*1946: Inaugural ''Sydney Morning Herald''-sponsored writers' competition: Best Novel award for ''[[The Harp in the South]]'' (published 1948)
*1954 Catholic Book Club Choice selected: ''Serpent's Delight''
*1954: Catholic Book Club Choice selected: ''Serpent's Delight''
*1961 Inaugural [[Commonwealth Television Play Competition]]: British award for television play won for ''No Decision'', with [[D'Arcy Niland]]
*1961: Inaugural [[Commonwealth Television Play Competition]]: British award for television play won for ''[[No Decision]]'', with [[D'Arcy Niland]]
*1962 [[List of CBCA Awards|Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA)]]: highly commended for ''The Hole in the Hill''
*1962: [[List of CBCA Awards|Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA)]]: highly commended for ''The Hole in the Hill''
*1975 CBCA [[Children's Book of the Year Award Winners]]: highly commended for ''Callie's Castle''
*1975: CBCA [[Children's Book of the Year Award Winners]]: highly commended for ''Callie's Castle''
*1977 [[Miles Franklin Award]] for ''Swords and Crowns and Rings''
*1977: [[Miles Franklin Award]] for ''Swords and Crowns and Rings''
*1977 [[National Book Council]]: highly commended for ''Swords and Crowns and Rings''
*1977: [[National Book Council]]: highly commended for ''Swords and Crowns and Rings''
*1979 Children's Book of the Year Award Winners: highly commended for ''Come Danger, Come Darkness''
*1979: Children's Book of the Year Award Winners: highly commended for ''Come Danger, Come Darkness''
*1981 Children's Book of the Year Award Winners: won for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1981: Children's Book of the Year Award Winners: won for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1981 [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards#Ethel Turner Prize for young people's literature: won for ''When the Wind Changed''
*1981: [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards#Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature|Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature (NSW Premier's Literary Awards)]]: won for ''When the Wind Changed''
*1982 [[Parents' Choice Award for Literature]]: won for ''Playing Beatie Bow''
*1982: [[Parents' Choice Award for Literature]]: won for ''Playing Beatie Bow''
*1982 [[Boston Globe-Horn Book Award]]: for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''<ref name="globe">{{cite web |title= Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present |publisher= The Horn Book Inc. |url= http://www.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp |accessdate= 1 August 2007 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080710130321/http://www.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp |archivedate= 10 July 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
*1982: [[Boston Globe-Horn Book Award]]: for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''<ref name="globe">{{cite web |title= Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present |publisher= The Horn Book Inc. |url= http://www.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp |access-date= 1 August 2007 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080710130321/http://www.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp |archive-date= 10 July 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
*1982 [[International Board on Books for Young People]] (Australia): Honour Diploma for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1982: [[International Board on Books for Young People]] (Australia): Honour Diploma for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1982 [[Guardian First Book Award|Guardian Fiction Prize]] (UK): runner-up for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1982: [[Guardian First Book Award|Guardian Fiction Prize]] (UK): runner-up for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1986 [[Young Australians' Best Book Award]] for picture book ''When the Wind Changed'' (illustrated by [[Deborah Niland]])
*1986: [[Young Australians' Best Book Award]] for picture book ''When the Wind Changed'' (illustrated by [[Deborah Niland]])
*1987 [[Member of the Order of Australia]] (AM): for services to literature<ref>{{cite web |title= It's an Honour |publisher= Australian Government |url= http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=870077&search_type=advanced&showInd=true |accessdate = 1 August 2007}}</ref>
*1987: [[Member of the Order of Australia]] (AM): for services to literature<ref>{{cite web |title= It's an Honour |publisher= Australian Government |url= https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870077 |access-date = 1 August 2007}}</ref>
*1992 [[The Age Book of the Year#Non-fiction Award]]: won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo''<ref name=":0" />
*1992: [[The Age Book of the Year#Non-fiction Award]]: won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo''<ref name=":0" />
*1992 [[Colin Roderick Award]]: won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo'', presented with the H.T. Priestley Meda(Townsville Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Award)<ref name=":0" />
*1992: [[Colin Roderick Award]]: won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo'', presented with the H.T. Priestley Meda(Townsville Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Award)<ref name=":0" />
*1993 [[Tilly Aston Award]] for Braille Book of the Year: won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/ruth_park_a_celebration.pdf|title=Ruth Park: A Celebration|last=Hooton|first=Joy|date=1996|publisher=Friends of the National Library of Australia|page=34|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref>
*1993: [[Tilly Aston Award]] for Braille Book of the Year: won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/ruth_park_a_celebration.pdf|title=Ruth Park: A Celebration|last=Hooton|first=Joy|date=1996|publisher=Friends of the National Library of Australia|page=34|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref>
*1993 [[Talking Book of the Year Award]] (Royal Blind Society) won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo''<ref name=":0" />
*1993: [[Talking Book of the Year Award]] (Royal Blind Society) won for ''A Fence around the Cuckoo''<ref name=":0" />
*1993 Talking Book of the Year Award (Royal Blind Society) won for ''Fishing in the Styx''<ref name=":0" />
*1993: Talking Book of the Year Award (Royal Blind Society) won for ''Fishing in the Styx''<ref name=":0" />
*1993 [[Lloyd O'Neil Magpie Award]] for services to the Australian book industry<ref name=":0" />
*1993: [[Lloyd O'Neil Magpie Award]] for services to the Australian book industry<ref name=":0" />
*1994 CBCA [[COOL Award Winners|COOL Award]]): won for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1994: CBCA [[COOL Award Winners|COOL Award]]): won for ''[[Playing Beatie Bow]]''
*1994 Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of New South Wales<ref name=":0" />
*1994: Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of New South Wales<ref name=":0" />
*1994 [[Fellowship of Australian Writers]], [[Christina Stead Award]]: won for ''Home Before Dark''<ref name=":0" />
*1994: [[Fellowship of Australian Writers]], [[Christina Stead Award]]: won for ''Home Before Dark''<ref name=":0" />
*1996 [[Bilby Award#Younger Readers|Bilby Award, Young Reader Award]]: won for ''When the Wind Changed'' (illustrated by Deborah Niland)
*1996: [[Bilby Award#Younger Readers|Bilby Award, Young Reader Award]]: won for ''When the Wind Changed'' (illustrated by Deborah Niland)
*2004 [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards#Special Award]] won
*2004: [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards#Special Award]] won
*2006 listed in ''Bulletin's 100 most influential Australians''<ref name = "bulletin">{{cite news |title= The 100 most influential Australians |publisher= The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 2006 |url= http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-100-most-influential-australians/2006/06/26/1151174135442.html |accessdate= 1 August 2007 | date=27 June 2006}}</ref>
*2006: listed in ''Bulletin's 100 most influential Australians''<ref name = "bulletin">{{cite news |title= The 100 most influential Australians |publisher= The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 2006 |url= http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-100-most-influential-australians/2006/06/26/1151174135442.html |access-date= 1 August 2007 | date=27 June 2006}}</ref>
*2008 [[Dromkeen Medal]]<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/national/so-much-more-than-wombats-mum-20101217-190sk.html So much more than Wombat's mum] Sydney Morning Herald obituary</ref>
*2008: [[Dromkeen Medal]]<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/national/so-much-more-than-wombats-mum-20101217-190sk.html So much more than Wombat's mum] Sydney Morning Herald obituary</ref>
*2020: a [[River-class ferry]] on the [[Sydney Ferries]] network was named in her honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nswis.com.au/nswis-news/nswis-alumni-celebrated-on-new-river-class-ferries/|title=NSWIS alumni celebrated on new River Class ferries|publisher=[[New South Wales Institute of Sport]]|date=6 October 2020|access-date=6 October 2023}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
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*''Things in Corners'' (1989) – short stories
*''Things in Corners'' (1989) – short stories
*''James'' (1991)
*''James'' (1991)
===Radio plays===

*''[[The Bagman Stories]]'' (1943-1948)
*''[[Stumpy (radio serial)|Stumpy]]'' (1947)
*''[[Far from the Land]]''
*''[[Early in the Morning (radio play)|Early in the Morning]]''
*''[[I'll Meet You in Botany Bay]]''
*''[[Gulliver's Cousin]]''
*''[[One Man's Kingdom]]'' (1957) - with D'arcy Niland
*''[[A Little South of Heaven]]'' (1959) - with D'arcy Niland
===TV plays===
*''[[No Decision (film)|No Decision]]'' (1962) - with D'arcy Niland
===Non-fiction===
===Non-fiction===
*''Der Goldene Bumerang'' (1955), or ''The Golden Boomerang''
*''Der Goldene Bumerang'' (1955), or ''The Golden Boomerang''
Line 152: Line 164:


==External links==
==External links==
* {{official website }}
* {{official website}}
* [http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/collection_info.php?searchtype=basic&searchstring=ruth%20park&irn=123&acno=2000.5&onshow=no ''Ruth Park'' (1999–2000) by Kilmeny NILAND] National Portrait Gallery (Australia) (Retrieved 11 June 2014)
* [http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/collection_info.php?searchtype=basic&searchstring=ruth%20park&irn=123&acno=2000.5&onshow=no ''Ruth Park'' (1999–2000) by Kilmeny NILAND] National Portrait Gallery (Australia) (Retrieved 11 June 2014)
* [http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0583b.htm Park, Ruth (1917–2010)] in ''The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia''
* {{Australian Women and Leadership|WLE0583b|Park, Ruth (1917–2010)}}
* {{isfdb name|3520}}
* {{isfdb name|3520}}
* [https://nla.gov.au/anbd.aut-an35409194 Ruth Park] at Libraries Australia Authorities, with catalogue search (login required)
* [https://nla.gov.au/anbd.aut-an35409194 Ruth Park] at Libraries Australia Authorities, with catalogue search (login required)
* {{LCAuth|n80063010|Ruth Park|48|ue}}
* {{LCAuth|n80063010|Ruth Park|48|ue}}
*{{OL author|513406A}}
* {{OL author|513406A}}
{{Ruth Park}}

{{Miles Franklin Literary Award}}
{{Miles Franklin Literary Award}}


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[[Category:Miles Franklin Award winners]]
[[Category:Miles Franklin Award winners]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:People from Auckland]]
[[Category:Writers from Auckland]]
[[Category:People from Te Kuiti]]
[[Category:People from Te Kūiti]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian novelists]]
[[Category:Australian women children's writers]]
[[Category:Australian women children's writers]]
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[[Category:New Zealand people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:New Zealand people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:New Zealand people of Swedish descent]]
[[Category:New Zealand people of Swedish descent]]
[[Category:People educated at Marcellin College, Auckland]]

Latest revision as of 08:46, 30 March 2024

Ruth Park
Ruth Park, ca. 1942
Ruth Park, ca. 1942
BornRosina Ruth Lucia Park
(1917-08-24)24 August 1917
Auckland, New Zealand
Died14 December 2010(2010-12-14) (aged 93)
Sydney, Australia
OccupationAuthor, novelist
LanguageEnglish
Notable worksThe Harp in the South
Playing Beatie Bow
The Muddle-Headed Wombat
Notable awardsMiles Franklin Award (1977)
SpouseD'Arcy Niland

Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 1917 – 14 December 2010)[1][2][3][4] was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels The Harp in the South (1948) and Playing Beatie Bow (1980), and the children's radio serial The Muddle-Headed Wombat (1951–1970), which also spawned a book series (1962–1982).

Personal history[edit]

Park was born in Auckland to a Scottish father and a Swedish mother. Her family later moved to the town of Te Kūiti further south in the North Island of New Zealand, where they lived in isolated areas.[3]

During the Great Depression her working-class father laboured on bush roads and bridges, worked as a driver, did government relief work and became a sawmill hand. Finally, he shifted back to Auckland, where he joined the workforce of a municipal council. The family occupied public housing, known in New Zealand as a state house, and money remained a scarce commodity. Ruth Park, after attending St Benedict's School, a Catholic primary school, won a partial scholarship to St Benedict's secondary school, but her high-school education was broken by periods of being unable to afford to attend.[2] Nevertheless, she completed her studies at St Benedict's as Head Girl.[5] She completed an external degree course at Auckland University.[6]

Park's first break as a professional writer came when she was hired by the Auckland Star newspaper as a journalist, but she found the assignments she was given unchallenging. Wishing to expand her horizons, she accepted a job offer from the San Francisco Examiner, but the tightening of United States' entry requirements after the bombing of Pearl Harbor forced a change of plan. Instead, she moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1942, where she had lined up a job with another newspaper.

That same year she married the budding Australian author D'Arcy Niland (1917–1967), with whom she had been corresponding as pen pals for some years, and whom she had finally met on a previous visit to Sydney. There she embarked on a career as a freelance writer. Park and Niland had five children, of whom the youngest, twin daughters Kilmeny and Deborah, went on to become book illustrators.[6] (Park was devastated when Niland died in Sydney at the age of 49 from a heart ailment; Kilmeny also predeceased her — see the Herald obituary.) Park had eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The writer Rafe Champion is her son-in-law. In addition, D’Arcy Niland's brother Beresford married Ruth Park's sister Jocelyn.

Writing career[edit]

When contracted in 1942 by Ida Elizabeth Osbourne to write a serial for the ABC Children's Session, she wrote the series The Wide-awake Bunyip. When the lead actor Albert Collins died suddenly in 1951, she changed its direction and The Muddle-Headed Wombat was born, with first Leonard Teale then John Ewart in the title role. The series ended when the radio program folded in 1970. Such was its popularity that between 1962 and 1982 she wrote a series of children's books about the character.[7]

Her first novel was The Harp in the South (1948) – a graphic story of Irish slum life in Sydney, which has been translated into 37 languages. Even though it was acclaimed by literary critics, the book proved controversial with sections of the public due to its candour, with some newspaper letter-writers calling it a cruel fantasy because as far as they were concerned, there were no slums in Sydney. However, the newly married Park and Niland did live for a time in a Sydney slum located in the rough inner-city suburb of Surry Hills and vouched for the novel's accuracy. It has never been out of print. Sydney slum life recurs in her novel for children, Playing Beatie Bow (1980).

Park built on her initial success with the 1949 publication of a follow-up novel titled the Poor Man's Orange. During the 1950s, despite the demands of raising a family, she wrote tirelessly. According to a 2010 tribute article printed in the Sydney Morning Herald and written by her literary agent Tim Curnow, she produced more than 5,000 radio scripts alone during this decade, as well as contributing numerous articles to newspapers and magazines and penning weightier works of fiction.[8]

She subsequently wrote Missus (1985), a prequel to The Harp in the South, among other novels, and created scripts for film and television. Her autobiographies, A Fence Around the Cuckoo (1992) and Fishing in the Styx (1993), deal with her life in New Zealand and Australia respectively. She also penned a novel set in New Zealand, One-a-pecker, Two-a-pecker (1957), about gold mining in Otago. (It was later renamed The Frost and The Fire.)

Park never remarried. Between 1946 and 2004, she received numerous awards for her contributions to literature in both Australia and internationally.[9] She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1987. (Her awards and honours are listed below.)

From 1974 to 1981 Park dwelt on Norfolk Island, where she was the co-owner of a shop selling books and gifts. Her later years, however, were spent living in the Sydney harbourside suburb of Mosman. She died in her sleep on 14 December 2010, at the age of 93.

Awards[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

  • The Harp in the South (1948)
  • Poor Man's Orange (1949); also published as 12 1/2 Plymouth Street, (1951)
  • The Witch's Thorn (1951)
  • A Power of Roses (1953)
  • Serpent's Delight (1953); also published as The Good Looking Women, (1961)
  • Pink Flannel (1955); also published as "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", (1981)
  • One-a-Pecker, Two-a-Pecker (1957); also published as The Frost and the Fire, (1958)
  • Swords and Crowns and Rings (1977)
  • Missus (1985)

Children's books

  • The Hole in the Hill (1961); also published as Secret of the Maori Cave, (1961)
  • The Ship's Cat (1961)
  • The Muddle-Headed Wombat series (1962–82)
  • Airlift for Grandee (1962)
  • The Road to Christmas (1962)
  • The Road Under the Sea (1962)
  • The Shaky Island (1962)
  • Uncle Matt's Mountain (1962)
  • The Ring for the Sorcerer (1967)
  • The Sixpenny Island (1968)
  • Nuki and the Sea Serpent: a Maori Legend (1969)
  • The Runaway Bus (1969)
  • Callie's Castle (1974)
  • The Gigantic Balloon (1975)
  • Merchant Campbell (1976)
  • Roger Bandy (1977)
  • Come Danger, Come Darkness (1978)
  • Playing Beatie Bow (1980)
  • When the Wind Changed (1980)
  • The Big Brass Key (1983)
  • My Sister Sif (1986)
  • Callie's Family (1988)
  • Things in Corners (1989) – short stories
  • James (1991)

Radio plays

TV plays

Non-fiction

  • Der Goldene Bumerang (1955), or The Golden Boomerang
  • The Drums Go Bang (1956), collaborative autobiography with D'Arcy Niland
  • The Companion Guide to Sydney (1973)
  • Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island (1982)
  • The Sydney We Love (1983)
  • The Tasmania We Love (1987)
  • A Fence Around the Cuckoo (1992), autobiography
  • Fishing in the Styx (1993), autobiography
  • Home Before Dark: The Story of Les Darcy, a Great Australian Hero (1995), with Rafe Champion

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Australian, 18 December 2010
  2. ^ a b Maunder, Patricia (17 December 2010). "Novelist shone a light on slums". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Ruth Park Biography". Austlit Agent Details. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  4. ^ She always refused to confirm the actual date, and the published information varies from 1917 to 1924 (Source: Pegasus Book Orphanage)
  5. ^ Tony Eyre, "The Book Collector: Reading and Living with Literature"", Mary Egan, Dunedin, 2023, pp. 183 and 184.
  6. ^ a b Ruth Park: "Becoming a Writer" Retrieved 5 November 2015
  7. ^ The Golden Age of the Argonauts Rob Johnson, Hodder & Stoughton 1997 ISBN 0-7336-0528-1
  8. ^ Curnow, Tim (18 December 2010). "So much more than Wombat's mum". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Ruth Park: A Celebration". National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
    Ruth Park: A Celebration (1996), PDF, 41 pages.
  10. ^ "Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present". The Horn Book Inc. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  11. ^ "It's an Honour". Australian Government. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Hooton, Joy (1996). "Ruth Park: A Celebration" (PDF). Friends of the National Library of Australia. p. 34. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  13. ^ "The 100 most influential Australians". The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 2006. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  14. ^ So much more than Wombat's mum Sydney Morning Herald obituary
  15. ^ "NSWIS alumni celebrated on new River Class ferries". New South Wales Institute of Sport. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

External links[edit]

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