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Showing posts with the label Australian Fairytales

Here's an Aussie fairy king with a slouch hat and a stock whip wand.

Some children assert that there are no fairies in Australia. Wait until you read this story, and then you shall judge for yourself.  It was summer; there had been no rain for many months; hardly a blade of grass was to be seen; the little left was of the colour of stubble. The once full-flowing creek was a chain of water-holes, very muddy, and harrowed with hoof-prints. The cattle and horses made tracks through the puddles night and morning. These thirsty half-starved animals came long, weary marches over the plains to drink, plodding through the water to the other bank in their weary search for grass or anything to feed upon. The only water for miles around was the turbid and scanty supply in the creek-already fast drying up. Settlers brought their tanks on drays, sometimes a distance of ten or twelve miles, taking a whole day to travel thither and back. By day the sun was blazing, and sank to rest in the evening a fiery-red veiled in a smoky shroud. Even the moon when it shone at ni

Ooroomolia. An Australian Fairy Story by David Cameron.1878

When I discovered this Australian fairy tale it brought back memories of my own childhood Christmases in the 60s and how accurately he had described my family Christmas afternoons. Game playing  for those who hadn't eaten too much , usually Rounders for we were a family of girls, my dad creeping off for an afternoon nap, and the heat of the day. We were always given a book for Christmas and I would find somewhere to curl up and read or perhaps we would watch a Christmas movie. Though celebrating the 'bush ethos' in the description of Harry Smith who has abandoned city life to become a farmer this narrative also recognises that his 'hard working wife' works equally hard and along side him contributing an equal share as they struggle to build a farm from the surrounding bush. His wife is not named but the acknowledgement of her contribution recognises that  t he Bush not only shaped the traits of the men who settled but expected the women who joined th

My Thesis - what's it about?

I am always thrilled to be contacted by those who by chance find my blog. I have been blogging for three years and am hoping to complete my first draft by the end of the year. I thought it timely to re-publish what has already been published. The following is from my presentation at the University of Kassel, Germany. In 1904 Olga Ernst, a pupil teacher, wrote Fairy Tales from the Land of the Wattle. Although she was just sixteen years old, Ernst was one of a small group of writers in Australia who attempted to nationalise the fairytale towards the end of the nineteenth century, signalling quite clearly that they intended to affix the elves and fairies of Europe onto the Australian landscape aiming to fill a void that was keenly felt by the children of emigrants and the Australian-born children of emigrants. (Walker, 1988) The beginnings of the Australian bush fantasy genre can be linked with the desire to bring the comfortable and familiar into the new and distinctly non

Once upon a time, mate.

These are the stories I have defined as the first Australian fairytales. My choice is open to interpretation.  The definition of fairytales for analytical research in my thesis is that a fairytale is usually a short and simple story that features folkloric characters such as elves, trolls, goblins, giants, fairies, witches or other magical beings and the results of their interactions with humans. Talking animals or inanimate objects that speak may also be included. A happy ending is never guaranteed and there may be a moral message. 1.      187 0 Roland, Sarah Anne Charlotte (pseud. Gumsucker), Rosalie's Reward; or The Fairy Treasure, Wreford, Ballarat, Vic. 15 p. 2.      1871 Desda (pseud.), The Rival Fairies, Turner, Sydney, NSW. [From Mason's The Australian Christmas Story Book] 24 p. ; 17 cm. 3.      1871 Lockeyear, J. R, Mr. Bunyip; or Mary Somerville's Ramble: An Australian Story for Child