Cirrus@Austlit

Emma Smith emigrated to Australia with her parents in the 1880s as a small child. She taught in bush schools in New South Wales and this experience formed the basis of her writing. Her first work, On a Red Sand-Hill was rejected by Australian and English publishers. It was finally re-written, and came to the notice of the editor of the Sydney Mail, where it was serialised under the pseudonym 'John Primrose' before being published by William Brooks. In 1904, while a teacher at the Kegworth Public School, Smith won the Sydney Mail £100 Prize for her 'Children of the State'. This was also serialised in the Mail under the pseudonym 'John Primrose'.