The Lost White Woman single work   short story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1916... 1916 The Lost White Woman
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Following a shipwreck of a vessel headed to Sydney, Ellen Hammond is stranded with three men on the Gippsland Coast. In the night, the men are murdered by a group of Aboriginal men but she is spared and brought back to their camp. 

The perspective switches to Ellen's husband, Tom Hammond, who insists to the police captain on coming along to search for Ellen, who has been leaving "E.H." scratched into trees. They track the group of Aboriginal people and creep up on their camp before storming it. In the confusion and chaos, a shot is let loose against the orders of the police captain. Ellen is found beside the fire - dying, from the fired shot. In the aftermath, the captain is certain that it was Tom Hammond himself who fired the bullet that ended up killing his wife, but they decide to keep it quiet, believing that Ellen was better off dead after what she had experienced. 

Notes

  • Not to be confused with the 1897 story of the same name by Mary E.B. Howitt.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Vermisst
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Ends of the Earth : Stories Mary Gaunt , London : Werner Laurie , 1916 Z222487 1916 selected work short story London : Werner Laurie , 1916 pg. 209-217
    Note: With title: The Lost White Woman.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Life at Deadman's : Stories of Colonial Victoria Mary Gaunt , Hoppers Crossing : Hat Box Press , 2001 Z927350 2001 selected work short story prose essay Hoppers Crossing : Hat Box Press , 2001 pg. 88-95
    Note: With title: The Lost White Woman.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction Ken Gelder (editor), Rachael Weaver (editor), Carlton : Melbourne University Press , 2007 Z1415120 2007 anthology short story extract horror mystery science fiction historical fiction children's (taught in 7 units)

    'This anthology collects the best examples of Australian gothic short stories from colonial times. Demonic bird cries, grisly corpses, ghostly women and psychotic station-owners populate a colonial landscape which is the stuff of nightmares.

    'In stories by Marcus Clarke, Mary Fortune and Henry Lawson, the colonial homestead is wracked by haunted images of murder and revenge. Settlers are disoriented and traumatised as they stumble into forbidden places and explorers disappear, only to return as ghostly figures with terrible tales to tell. These compelling stories are the dark underside to the usual story of colonial progress, promise and nation-building, and reveal just how vivid the gothic imagination is at the heart of Australian fiction.' (Publication summary)

    Carlton : Melbourne University Press , 2007
    pg. 223-230
    Note: With title: The Lost White Woman.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Outback : Australische Kurzgeschichten Shawnee Lawrence (editor), Shawnee Lawrence (translator), Hamburg : Balladine , 2016 10250840 2016 anthology short story Hamburg : Balladine , 2016
    Note: With title: Vermisst

Works about this Work

Literary and Artistic Versions [of the White Woman Legend] Julie Carr , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Captive White Woman of Gippsland: In Pursuit of the Legend 2001; (p. 204-246)
Discusses some specific nineteenth century accounts of the 'White Woman' and also makes connections with contemporary works.
Literary and Artistic Versions [of the White Woman Legend] Julie Carr , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Captive White Woman of Gippsland: In Pursuit of the Legend 2001; (p. 204-246)
Discusses some specific nineteenth century accounts of the 'White Woman' and also makes connections with contemporary works.
Last amended 19 Sep 2022 11:43:46
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