Catherine Shepherd (28 October 1901 – 18 February 1976) was an Australian writer. She wrote for journals, stage and radio – short stories, plays and serials.

Early life and education

Born in Enkeldoorn, Southern Rhodesia (now Chivhu, Zimbabwe) on 28 October 1901, Catherine Shepherd was the daughter of Margaret and Edgar David Shepherd. Her father, a Church of England minister, died when she was very young, leaving her mother with little to support them. Returning to England, the pair lived with relations in Yorkshire. Shepherd was educated locally and then at Howell's School in Denbigh, Wales before graduating from the University College London with a BA in English in 1923 and then completing a DipEd.

Career

In the mid-1930s Shepherd contributed short stories to '' The Australian Woman's Mirror''. In 1938 Shepherd taught English at the Collegiate School in Hobart. She had previously been an assistant teacher in Adelaide, Sydney and Bathurst when she applied to the Tasmanian Teachers and Schools Registration Board for certification. Her first play, ''Daybreak'', was broadcast on ABC Radio in May 1938 before its stage premiere at the Theatre Royal, Hobart in July of the same year. In 1946 her radio serial, ''Children of Magpie Gully'', was broadcast by

2FC Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

, replacing

Gwen Meredith Gwenyth Valmai Meredith OBE (18 November 1907 – 3 October 2006), also known by her married name Gwen Harrison, was an Australian writer, dramatist and playwright, and radio writer. She is best known for her radio serials ''The Lawsons'' (194 ...

's ''Anderson Place'' in the time-slot.

Death

Shepherd died at St Ann's Rest Home in Hobart on 18 February 1976. Her remains were cremated. She left her AU$58,353 estate to St Ann's.

Selected works

* ''Daybreak'' * ''Jane, My Love'' * ''Delphiniums''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Catherine 1901 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Alumni of University College London People from Chivhu