Barbara Baynton
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Barbara Janet Baynton (née Lawrence; 4 June 1857 – 28 May 1929) was an Australian writer known primarily for her short stories about life 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 ...
. She published the collection '' Bush Studies'' (1902) and the novel ''Human Toll'' (1907), as well as writing for '' The Bulletin'' and ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
''. She was a shrewd manager of her second husband's estate, owning properties in Melbourne and London. She acquired the title Lady Headley from her third marriage to Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley, but never wrote under that name.


Early years

Baynton was born in 1857 at Scone, New South Wales, the daughter of Irish bounty immigrants, John Lawrence and Elizabeth Ewart. However, she claimed to have been born in 1862 to Penelope Ewart and Captain Robert Kilpatrick, of the Bengal Light Cavalry.Carter (2003) p. 13


Personal life

The fictional narrative of her birth gave her "entrée to polite circles as a governess" and, in 1880, she married Alexander Frater, the son of her employers. They soon moved to the Coonamble district, and had two sons and a daughter. However, in 1887, Alexander Frater ran off with her niece, Sarah Glover, and Barbara moved to Sydney and commenced divorce proceedings. A decree absolute was granted 4 March 1890. On 5 March 1890, she married Dr Thomas Baynton, a retired surgeon aged 70 years who had literary friends. Beginning in December 1896, she began contributing short stories to the ''
Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * ''Bulletin'' (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin De ...
''. Six of these were published in 1902 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
by Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd under the title of '' Bush Studies'' because Mrs Baynton had been unable to find a publisher for them in Sydney. Alfred Stephens, a close friend, reviewed the book in the ''Bulletin'' and stated: So precise, so complete, with such insight into detail and such force of statement, it ranks with the masterpieces of realism in any language''.
Percival Serle Percival Serle (18 July 1871 – 16 December 1951) was an Australian biographer and bibliography, bibliographer. Early life Serle was born in Elsternwick, Victoria, Elsternwick, Victoria (Australia), Victoria to English parents who had migrate ...
, however, found that ''The building up of detail, however, is at times overdone, and lacking humorous relief, the stories tend to give a distorted view of life in the back-blocks.'' Baynton's husband died on 10 June 1904 and left his entire estate to her. She invested in the stock market, bought and sold antiques, and collected black opals from Lightning Ridge. She also became chairman of the Law Book Company of Australasia. In 1907, her only novel, '' Human Toll'', was published, and in 1917 '' Cobbers'', an edited reprint of ''Bush Studies'' with two additional stories, appeared. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, she lived in England. Her son Robert Frater had been on the staff of the Sydney ''
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'', and Alec Hay Frater was an artist; both enlisted with the British Army. In February 1921, Baynton married her third husband Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley; she was subsequently styled "Lady Headley". He was a convert to Islam, but she did not adopt his religion. In 1925, the couple separated and she returned to Melbourne where she lived in the suburb of
Toorak Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census. The name ...
. The split was reputedly due to her husband's refusal of the throne of
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. Baynton died in Melbourne on 28 May 1929. She was survived by her third husband and her two sons and daughter by the first marriage. Her daughter Penny Frater married politician and journalist Henry Gullett; their son, that is, Baynton's grandson Jo Gullett also entered politics. The Australian actress
Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones (5 August 194917 May 2013) was an American-born Australian actress and biographer. Early life Penelope Beatrix Hackforth-Jones was born in August 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Paul and Susan Felicity (née Gullett) ...
(1942-2013), her great-granddaughter, wrote a biography of Baynton, titled ''Barbara Baynton - Between Two Worlds'' (1989).


Selected works


Novel

* '' Human Toll'' (1907)


Collections

* '' Bush Studies'' (1902) * ''Cobbers'' (1917)


Major individual works

* '' The Chosen Vessel'' (1896) - short story * ''Fragments: 1 Day-Birth'' (1899) - poem * ''A Dreamer'' (1902) - short story * ''Billy Skywonkie'' (1902) - short story


Notes


References


Bibliography


'Baynton, Barbara Jane (1857 - 1929)
,
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
, Volume 7, MUP, 1979, pp 222–223. *Carter, Jennifer M. T. (2003) "'Getting to know you': Illusive writers" in ''National Library of Australia News'', XIV(2): 11–14, November 2003 *Miller, E. Morris & Frederick T. Macartney, ''Australian Literature'', 1956, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, p. 55 *Niall, Brenda. ''Friends and Rivals: Four Great Australian Writers: Barbara Baynton, Ethel Turner, Nettie Palmer, Henry Handel Richardson.'' Text Publishing, 2020. ISBN 9781922268594 * *Wilde, William H, Joy Hooton & Barry Andrews, (1986) ''The Oxford companion to Australian Literature'', Melbourne, Oxford University Press, p. 79,


External links


Bayton Biography

Barbara Baynton: Liar or Truth-teller

AustLit Agent

Lawson and Baynton: different perspectives


at
Project Gutenberg Australia Project Gutenberg Australia, abbreviated as PGA, is an Internet site which was founded in 2001 by Colin Choat. It is a sister site of Project Gutenberg, though there is no formal relationship between the two organizations. The site hosts free ebo ...
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baynton, Barbara 1857 births 1929 deaths Writers from New South Wales Australian women novelists Australian women poets Australian women short story writers Australian people of Irish descent Headley People from Scone, New South Wales 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian poets 19th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian women writers 19th-century Australian short story writers 20th-century Australian short story writers 19th-century Australian writers Colony of New South Wales people