Donald Stuart Donald Stuart i(A35784 works by) (a.k.a. Donald Robert Stuart; Donald R. Stuart)
Born: Established: 13 Sep 1913 Cottesloe, Inner Perth, Perth, Western Australia, ; Died: Ceased: 25 Aug 1983 Broome, Kimberley area, North Western Australia, Western Australia,
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Donald Stuart had a strong writing influence in his family background. His mother, Florence (Collings) Stuart, was one of the first female journalists in Western Australia, writing under the pen-name of Hypatia. His father, Julian Stuart (q.v.), was the editor of the Westralian Worker, and his sister was the writer Lyndall Hadow (q.v.). He spent much of his life in the bush in northwest Western Australia, working as a drover, miner, prospector, swagman, well-sinker and wharfie, and it was these experiences that gave his writings such depth. His reminiscences of the 1930s Great Depression are to be found in the chapter 'Stonybroke and Walking' of Bill Bunbury's book Reading Labels on Jam Tins (1993).

Stuart served with the AIF during the Second World War in the Middle East, and survived three and a half years as a P.O.W. on the Burma-Thailand Railway. This time is recalled by Stuart throughout Patsy Adam-Smith's Prisoners of War, From Gallipoli to Korea (1992). After the war he returned to live in the north-west and became known for his championing of the Aboriginal cause.

Stuart wrote radio scripts for the Australian Broadcasting Commission including 13 episodes for the series Book of Gold: The Prospector's Story (1958) and was a life member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA), which established an annual short story competition in Stuart's and Hadow's name, reflecting his interest in the short story, many of which appeared in Meanjin, Westerly and Tom's Weekly.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Ilbarana Melbourne : Georgian House , 1971 Z304474 1971 single work children's fiction
1970 joint third Captain Cook Bicentenary Awards — Novel Section
y separately published work icon Yaralie Melbourne : Georgian House , 1962 Z304372 1962 single work novel

‘Trim, knowledgeable writing which firmly plants its men, horses, and myths in the framework of a tough pastoral’ said The Observer about Donald Stuart’s last novel, The Driven. Once again there is the stamp of reality in Yaralie and the masterly economy of phrasing which readers of Donald Stuart will expect. He not only knows but conveys the strange, hard, fascinating life he describes - about looking for gold, making camps, shooting kangaroo, and the struggle for existence when things get tough and gold becomes hard to find.

As in The Driven, this novel is an evocation of the remote Australian territories first peopled by the blacks, and in addition, a plea for understanding and tolerance of the coloured people. Donald Stuart understands more than country, he understands people. We follow the fortunes of Yaralie, a coloured girl born of a white father and a half-caste mother, from an early age until she falls in love. The story has authenticity and controlled power and brings to life the harshness of the Australian outback and the courage of the people who work out their lives there. 

(Source: Yaralie, 1963)
1962 entry Miles Franklin Literary Award
y separately published work icon The Driven Melbourne : Georgian House , 1961 Z304271 1961 single work novel

When a herd of bullocks has to be driven from a farm to a railhead, across an arid stretch of Australian desert, two men, widely different in age, experience, character and outlook come together at the beginning of the journey. Old John Napier is a veteran of the first World War, a tough, taciturn drover, who commands complete loyalty from the three aborigines he employs. He takes on a young man of twenty-six called Tom, and the five of them set off to deliver beef on the hoof in the best possible condition and with the minimum losses.

The Driven brings sharply to life and the harshness of the Australian landscape, the unspoken struggle between personalities and, against the constant lowing and shuffling of the herd, the companionship which comes to men through their dependence on one another, brought about by the difficult job in hand and the loneliness of a bitter countryside. 

(Source: Georgian House, 1961)
1961 entry Miles Franklin Literary Award Donald Stuart's The Driven was noted by one of the judges as their vote for the 1961 award (Source: Heseltine, 2001). 
VIEW ALL AWARDS

Known archival holdings

Albinski 218
National Library of Australia (ACT)
Last amended 13 May 2008 08:53:58
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