In 1924 the public servant Robert Broinowski (q.v.) was poetry editor of Stead's Review. Broinowski also founded and edited the poetry magazine, Spinner, enhancing the network of literary associates first established when he was a member of the Melbourne Literary Club and contributor to the club's literary magazine, Birth.
Birth had ceased production in November 1922, but Broinowski saw the need for a magazine devoted to poetry, providing opportunities for poets who were unable to publish their work elsewhere. In the first issue of Spinner, Broinowski outlined the aims of the magazine: 'The Spinner comes before the public of Australasia to render them service, to sing them a song or two, to chant them ballads and tales of all lands, to intone the philosophy of Nature, to paint in words pictures of the city, the mountains, the plains, the farmlands, and the blue hosts of the sea.'
The Australasian scope included many writers from New Zealand and other countries, but contributors were predominantly Australian. While critics such as H. M. Green (q.v.)dismiss the value of Spinner in a few sentences, Broinowski attracted around one hundred and thirty contributors, reflecting the animation of Melbourne's literary culture in the 1920s. In addition to Broinowski, other contributors included Dorothea Mackellar, Zora Cross, Mary Gilmore, Louis Lavater, Frank Wilmot, Robert Henderson Croll, Kate Baker, George Mackaness, John Shaw Neilson, Marie Pitt and Alexander Vidler (qq.v.). The relatively high number of female contributors for the time has been noted by several commentators.
When the Federal Government moved to Canberra in 1927, Broinowski was transferred from his Melbourne base. Without the network of friends and literary associates, he was unable to continue as editor of Spinner and the magazine ceased production. The last issue of Spinner appeared in December 1927. Annual collections of Spinner were bound and published as Poetry in Australasia.
