N. Walter Swan N. Walter Swan i(A21907 works by) (a.k.a. Nathaniel Walter Swan)
Also writes as: Bat
Born: Established: 1834 County Monaghan,
c
Ireland,
c
Western Europe, Europe, ; Died: Ceased: 31 Jul 1884 Stawell, Stawell area, Grampians - Pyrenees area, Victoria,
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: 1854
Heritage: Irish
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BiographyHistory

Educated at the University of Glasgow, Swan came to Victoria in 1854 during the goldrushes. He tried a variety of occupations before accepting the editorship of the Ararat Advertiser in 1861. From then until his death in 1884, he pursued a successful career as journalist, newspaper editor and writer of fiction.

Swan was a friend of Marcus Clarke (q.v.), was admired by Henry Kendall (q.v.) and placed his tales throughout Australia's colonial press. His Tales of Australian Life was published in 1875 and includes short stories about life on the diggings, as does A Couple of Cups Ago (1878). His novel Luke Mivers' Harvest (1879) which first appeared in the pages of the Sydney Mail and won the Mail prize in 1878, is a tale of adventure which ranges from the sheep runs of Victoria to the Palmer goldfields in North Queensland.

At the time of his death (from an aneurysm), Swan was editor and part-proprietor of the Pleasant Creek News & Stawell Chronicle.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

Last amended 23 Apr 2013 12:46:14
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