Alan Marshall , (2 May 1902 – 21 January 1984) was an Australian writer, story teller,

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

and social documenter. He received the Australian Literature Society Short Story Award three times, the first in 1933. His best known book, ''I Can Jump Puddles'' (1955) is the first of a three-part autobiography. The other two volumes are ''This is the Grass'' (1962) and ''In Mine Own Heart'' (1963).

Life and work

Marshall was born in Noorat, Victoria. At six years old he contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

, which left him with a physical disability that grew worse as he grew older. From an early age, he resolved to be a writer and, in ''I Can Jump Puddles'', he demonstrated an almost total recall of his childhood in Noorat. The characters and places of his book are thinly disguised from real life: "Mount Turalla" is Mount Noorat, "Lake Turalla" is Lake Keilambete, the "Curruthers" are the Blacks, "Mrs. Conlon" is Mary Conlon of Dixie, Terang, and his best friend, "Joe", is Leo Carmody. During the early 1930s. Marshall worked as an accountant at the Trueform Boot and Shoe Company, Clifton Hill, and later wrote about life in the factory in his novel ''How Beautiful are Thy Feet'' (1949). In 1937, he completed his first novel, ''How Beautiful Are Thy Feet'', which remained unpublished until 1949. Mount Noorat summit

Marshall wrote numerous short stories, mainly set in

the bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is largely synonymous with hinterlands or backwoods. The fauna and flora contained within the bush is typically native to the regi ...

, and also wrote newspaper columns and magazine articles. He also collected and published

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

stories and legends. He travelled widely in Australia and overseas. His literary friends and associates included John Morrison and

Clem Christesen Clement Byrne Christesen (28 October 1911 – 28 June 2003) was the founder of the Australian literary magazine '' Meanjin''. He served as the magazine's editor from 1940 until 1974. Biography Early years Clement Byrne Christesen was born and ...

. Australian poet and contemporary,

Hal Porter Harold Edward "Hal" Porter (16 February 1911 – 29 September 1984) was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and short story writer. He is known for his 1963 memoir, ''The Watcher on the Cast Iron Balcony''. The Hal Porter Short Story Comp ...

, wrote in 1965 that Marshall was:

''... the warmest and most centralized human being ... To walk with ease and nonchalance the straight, straight line between appearing tragic and appearing willfully brave is a feat so complex I should not like to have to rake in the dark for the super-bravery to accomplish it.''

Marshall married Olive Dulcie Dixon in May 1941 and they had two daughters, Katherine and Jennifer. The couple divorced in 1957. For many years he lived in the Melbourne bayside suburb of

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

. Marshall died on 21 January 1984, in a nursing home in Brighton East, Victoria, where he had been a resident for the previous two years.

Television series

In 1981 the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

produced a nine-part mini-series based on Marshall's autobiographical stories. Adam Garnett won the 1982

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

for ''Best Performance by a Juvenile'', for his role as Alan Marshall in the series. The TV series achieved popularity in Australia, the UK, and also in the USSR, where it was the first Australian TV series to be shown by a major TV channel.

Recognition

In 1979 Alan Marshall unveiled a plaque on a monument to himself at his birthplace in Noorat. Marshall was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 1981 Australia Day Honours. In 1985 the

Shire of Eltham The Shire of Eltham was a Local government in Australia, local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994. Histo ...

, where Marshall had lived for many years, established the annual Alan Marshall Short Story Competition for emergent writers. There is a bronze bust of him and a plaque in the

Library, Melbourne. Sculptor Marcus Skipper created a realistic statue of Marshall cast in bronze which is located in the front of

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

Library, a branch of Yarra Plenty Regional Library. It has been classified as significant by the National Trust. Alan Marshall Reserve,

is located on the corner of Main Road and Leane Drive, and has been there since at least 2007.

Bibliography

Autobiography

* ''I Can Jump Puddles''. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1955. * ''This is the Grass''. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1962. . * ''In Mine Own Heart''. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1963.

Collections

* ''The Complete Stories of Alan Marshall'', with illustrations by Noel Counihan. Melbourne: Thomas Nelson * ''Aboriginal Myths'', with Sreten Bozic. Melbourne: Gold Star Publications, 1972. * ''Pull Down The Blind'', with illustrations by Noel Counihan. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire & London: Wadley & Ginn, 1949

Non-fiction

* ''These are My People''. Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire, 1944 * ''Ourselves Writ Strange''. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1948, later reprinted as ''These Were My Tribesmen'' *''Pioneers & Painters: One hundred years of Eltham and its Shire'', Thomas Nelson, 1971

Fiction

* ''How Beautiful Are Thy Feet''. Melbourne: Chesterhill Press, 1949. * ''Fight for Life'' North Melbourne: Cassell Australia,

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

Children's Fiction

* ''Whispering in the Wind''. Thomas Nelson (Australia) Ltd, 1969.

Notes

References

* *Miller, E. Morris & Frederick T. Macartney (1956) ''Australian Literature'', Sydney, Angus & Robertson, pp. 324–5. *Morrison, John (1987), ''The Happy Warrior'', Melbourne, Pascoe Publishing, *

External links

*
Alan Marshall
at AustLit.edu.au *
John McLaren, "Marshall, Alan (1902-1984)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''
accessed 17 October 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Alan 1902 births 1984 deaths Australian male short story writers 20th-century Australian historians 20th-century Australian short story writers 20th-century Australian male writers 20th-century Australian memoirists Writers from Victoria (state)