Walter William Stone (24 June 191029 August 1981), known as Wal Stone, was a noted Australian book publisher, book collector and passionate supporter of Australian literature.Stone, Jean (1988). The Passionate Bibliophile: The Story of Walter Stone, Australian Bookman Extraordinaire. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. .

Early life

Walter was born in

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 Estimated resident population, ...

. He spent the first 14 years of his life in Orange, before moving to Auburn, a western

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

suburb, where his father wound down his career as a bookmaker. After completing his education at the Parramatta Boys High School, he was articled to a solicitor, but after the solicitor's death he held a number of depression-era jobs such as rent collector and door-to-door salesman. Partial deafness kept him out of the military during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. He worked as a clerk for

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

and continued that occupation with another company after the war until 1956.

Book publishing

Acting on his interest in book production, he bought an

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

press in 1951. During the next decade, as Talkarra Press (an Aboriginal word for "stone"), he produced ten innovative limited editions, including Dulcie Deamer's poem "Blue Centaur" (1953), P. R. Stephensen's "Kookaburra's and Satyrs" (1954) and R. D. FitzGerald's poem of a convict-flogging, "The Wind at Your Door" (1959). In 1956, he re-established the bankrupt Wentworth Press. From successive premises in Sydney, Surry Hills and Marrickville — and trading as Wentworth Books — he published about 120 books, mostly Australian history, literature and poetry. Two influential books have been: "Dawn in the Valley: The Early History of the Hunter Valley Settlement", by W. Allan Wood (1972); and "Early Sydney Cabinetmakers, 1804 - 1870", by

John Earnshaw John William Earnshaw (1900–1982) was a self-taught Australian engineer, and inventor. He also researched and wrote about Australian history. Life and career Earnshaw was born on 23 June 1900 in Randwick, New South Wales, the son of a noted Sydn ...

(1971).

Book Collectors Society of Australia

Walter Stone, a bibliophile from an early age, was a founding member of the

Book Collectors Society of Australia The Book Collectors' Society of Australia (BCSA) has been a focus for Australian book collectors to share their enthusiasm for books of all kinds, Australian and foreign, including antiquarian books. It was founded in Sydney in 1944, and its journa ...

(BCSA) in 1944, and was its major supporter for all his life. He edited and printed the journal of the society, ''Biblionews'', from 1947 until his death in 1981, whence he was succeeded by

John Edward Fletcher John Edward Fletcher (18 January 1940 – 1 June 1992) was a British-Australian scholar best known for his research and publications on Athanasius Kircher as well as several other Germans who had lived in and/or influenced Australia.Brian Taylor, ...

. He also printed and was general editor of the BCSA series "Studies in Australian Bibliography" (1954-1978), which recorded the publications of such writers as

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

Joseph Furphy Joseph Furphy ( Irish: Seosamh Ó Foirbhithe; 26 September 1843 – 13 September 1912) was an Australian author and poet who is widely regarded as the "Father of the Australian novel". He mostly wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins and is best ...

John Shaw Neilson John Shaw Neilson was an Australian poet. Slightly built, for most of his life he worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Roads Board in Me ...

Rolf Boldrewood Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown, 6 August 1826 – 11 March 1915) was an Australian author who published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel '' Robbery Under Arms''. Biog ...

Christopher Brennan Christopher John Brennan (1 November 1870 – 5 October 1932) was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. Biography Brennan was born in Haymarket, an inner suburb of Sydney, to Christopher Brennan (d. 1919), a brewer, and his wife ...

Hugh McCrae Hugh Raymond McCrae OBE (4 October 1876 – 17 February 1958) was an Australian writer, noted for his poetry. Life and career McCrae was born in Melbourne, the son of the Australian author George Gordon McCrae and grandson of the painter and ...

Marcus Clarke Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke (24 April 1846 – 2 August 1881) was an English-born Australian novelist, journalist, poet, editor, librarian, and playwright. He is best known for his 1874 novel '' For the Term of His Natural Life'', about the c ...

and several members of the

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his generat ...

family.

Other community organisations

Walter was an influential member (sometimes co-founder) of many organisations, including the

Fellowship of Australian Writers The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) was established in Sydney in 1928, with the aim of bringing writers together and promoting their interests. The organisation played a key role in the establishment of the Australian Society of Authors in ...

(FAW),

Australian Society of Authors The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was formed in 1963 as the organisation to promote and protect the rights of Australia's authors and illustrators. The Fellowship of Australian Writers played a key role it its establishment. The organisati ...

, the

National Book Council The National Book Council ( mt, Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb), is a Maltese public entity dedicated to the promotion of the book industry in Malta. It organises the Malta Book Festival ( mt, Il-Festival Nazzjonali Tal-Ktieb), The Literar ...

, the

Society and the North Shore Historical Society. He actively campaigned with

Colin Roderick Colin Arthur Roderick (27 July 1911 – 16 June 2000) was an Australian writer, editor, academic and educator. Early life and education Colin Roderick was born in Mount Morgan, Queensland on 27 July 1911. He attended Bundaberg State School a ...

and others for a Chair in Australian literature at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. A member of the Sydney Branch of the English Association, Stone edited the journal '' Southerly'' for one year in 1961, and printed the magazine at his Wentworth Press from 1962 for some years. He was also friend to many libraries, including the University of Sydney, La Trobe, the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

, and the Fryer Library at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. For the last, he was instrumental in acquiring the important Father Leo Hayes Collection of Australian Literature.

Political life

Walter Stone had a lifelong involvement with left-wing

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

(ALP) politics, but nevertheless considered himself an Australian nationalist. He first assisted the controversial Jack Lang (premier of New South Wales) in his Auburn electorate. Later he was active in the Neutral Bay branch. He was chair of the meeting at Mosman Town Hall on 21 June 1966, addressed by ALP Opposition Leader

Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party to three federal elections. Calwell grew up in Melbourne and attended St J ...

, who was shot and wounded by

Peter Kocan Peter Raymond Kocan (born Peter Raymond Douglas, 4 May 1947) attempted to assassinate Opposition Leader Arthur Calwell on 21 June 1966. He fired a shot at point-blank range through a car window, but Calwell escaped with only minor facial injuries ...

after leaving the meeting. The ALP awarded him life membership after 50 years of active service.

Personal life

Walter married Mollie Jenkins in 1932 and had five children, before she died at age 29. His sons later worked as printers at Wentworth Press. He later married Jean Saxelby in 1951, and they lived in her home at Cremorne. Jean became an integral part of all his publishing and literary pursuits, and after his death, published his biography. Suffering from a long illness, he died in 1981. His extensive book collection was sold by catalogue by bookseller Antique Bookshop and Curios in 1982. His personal papers, and those of Wentworth Press, are held by Fisher Library Rare Books and by the State Library of New South Wales.

Recognition

Walter Stone was awarded an

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) in June 1981 for his support of Australian literature, but was unable to attend in person because of his terminal illness. He received the National Book Council (NBC) Bookman of the Year Award in 1975. The BCSA holds the occasional Walter and Jean Stone Memorial Lecture. The Fellowship of Australian Writers (NSW) makes the biennial Walter Stone Award for Life Writing (for Australian historical biographies).