Thomas Arthur Guy Hungerford, AM (5 May 191519 June 2011) was an Australian writer, noted for his

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

novel '' The Ridge and the River'', and his short stories that chronicle growing up in South Perth, Western Australia during the Great Depression.

Early life

Hungerford was born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

on 5 May 1915. He grew up in South Perth, known then as the Queen Suburb, when the area was semi-rural, with market gardens.

World War Two

Hungerford served with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

in Darwin,

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, Bougainville, Morotai and with the Occupation Forces in Japan. He was a sergeant in 2/8 Australian Commando Squadron. In 2005 the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' 7.30 Report'' reported his "unflinching depictions of

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fighting are acknowledged as some of the best writing to come out of the war". Hungerford told the program he wasn't a hero: "I was one of a group of men all doing the same bloody thing. Sticking the head up, hoping to Christ it wouldn't be shot off." He left the army in 1947.

Journalism

After the war, Hungerford was a press secretary for Billy Hughes for three weeks. Upon leaving, Hungerford wrote to Hughes: "I will never work for you again. I'd rather go to bed with a sabre-toothed tiger". He then joined the Australia News and Information Bureau, and afterwards was a freelancer. He later worked as a press secretary to Western Australian Premiers

John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin AC (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995), popularly known as "Honest John", was an Australian politician. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for a record 44 ...

and Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

Writing

Hungerford began writing as a teenager and had his first published short story in 1942 in the '' Sydney Bulletin''. His first volume of short fiction, ''Stories from Suburban Road'', depict life during the Great Depression in the Perth riverside suburb of South Perth.

Novels

* '' The Ridge and the River'' (1950) * ''Riverslake'' (1953) * ''Sowers in the Wind'' (1954) * ''Shake the Golden Bough'' (1963) ''Sowers in the Wind'', was held back by publisher Angus & Robertson because it dealt with the economic and sexual exploitation of the Japanese after the War by Australian occupation forces. The novel won the 1949 '' Sydney Morning Herald'' prize for literature but was not published until 1954.

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

's Robin Gerster told ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' in 2002: "Hungerford... wrote very perceptively and affectionately about the Japanese, which is not a bad effort for someone who fought them."

Short stories

* ''Wong Chu and the Queen's Letterbox'' (1976) * ''The Only One Who Forgot'' (1951) * ''What Happened to Joseph?'' (2005, a collection of short stories & poems)

Drama

* ''Stories from Suburban Road'' * ''The Day It All Ended''

Children's books

* ''Swagbelly Birdsnatcher and the Prince of Siam''

Autobiography

* ''Stories From Suburban Road'' (1983) * ''A Knockabout with a Slouch Hat'' * ''Red Rover All Over''

Non-fiction

* ''Fremantle, Landscapes and People'' (with photographer Roger Garwood) (1976)

Book reviews

* Selby, David. ''Hell and High Fever'' – reviewed in '' Quadrant'' 1/1 (Sum 1956/57): 93, 95.

Prizes and other honours

Hungerford won the Crouch Gold Medal for Literature (1951), the Patricia Hackett Short Story prize (1962), the WA Weekly Literature Prize for Fiction (1964), and the

Patrick White Award The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize. The $25,000 cash award is given to a writer who has been highly creative o ...

(2002). He was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

in 1987. A portrait of him, c.1963, by Kate O'Connor is in the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

. In 2004, he was pronounced a Living Treasure of Western Australia by the Western Australian Government Michael Crouch's biography of Hungerford is called ''Literary Larrikin''. The T. A. G. Hungerford Award is named for him and is awarded every two years to an unpublished author in Western Australia.an example being – ''Winner of T.A.G. Hungerford Award, 1996, for his novel Jacob's Air'' (Russell, Bruce L.) in Campus news (University of Western Australia), 9 September 1996, p. 10

References

External links

Portrait of Hungerford in National Library of Australia

Article
''

InterSector ''InterSector'' is a Western Australian Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to t ...

'', Government of Western Australia; 2005
Interview, Late Night Live, ABC; 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungerford, Tom 1915 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian male short story writers Writers from Perth, Western Australia Members of the Order of Australia Patrick White Award winners Australian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights ALS Gold Medal winners 20th-century Australian short story writers 20th-century Australian male writers Australian Army soldiers