image of person or book cover 3178771541789021680.jpg
Sydney Mail, 2 September 1931, p.8
'William Hatfield' 'William Hatfield' i(A36160 works by) (birth name: Ernest Chapman) (a.k.a. E. Chapman)
Writing name for: Ernest Chapman
Born: Established: 18 Mar 1892 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire,
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England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe,
; Died: Ceased: 2 Feb 1969 Concord, Drummoyne - Concord area, Sydney Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales,
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: 1911
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BiographyHistory

Ernest Chapman studied law in England, but came to Australia to experience life in the outback. After arriving in Australia, he worked as a drover, a station hand, a horse-breaker and a signwriter in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. He also spent time with Aboriginal people in Central Australia and learnt the Yantawanta dialect. He used his outback experiences as the basis for his novels and characters. During World War II he served with the A.I.F., and by 1942 he was a Lieutenant in the Army Education Service.

Writing as William Hatfield, he wrote in the fields of autobiography, children's literature, fiction, travel writing and Australiana. He formally changed his birth name to his writing name by deed poll in 1938.

Hatfield's children's book Buffalo Jim (1938) arose from his experience as a cook for drovers, and his first hand reporting of a 1932 gold strike in addition to buffalo shooting in the Northern Territory. Barrier Reef Days (1948) was based on a stay on Green Island off Cairns, Queensland.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Wild Dog Frontier Melbourne : Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press , 1951 Z1011853 1951 single work children's fiction children's
1952 commended CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year Award
Last amended 7 Jul 2015 12:00:18
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