Arnold Christopher "Kit" Denton (5 May 1928 – 14 April 1997), originally Arnold Ditkofsky,Matthew Ricketson, 2004, ''The Best Australian Profiles'', Melbourne, Black Inc., p. 248.General Register Office (UK), n.d. ''Births, Marriages & Deaths 1837–1983, Births registered in April, May and June 1928'', p. 285
(viewed 14 February 2013). was a prominent Australian writer and broadcaster. Denton was born in England and was of

Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

ish descent. He is the father of comedian and television presenter

Andrew Denton Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie–nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program '' Enough Rope'' ...

Early life

Denton was born in the London suburb of

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

and was raised in the East End. He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

where he served with the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themsel ...

in Germany. Denton emigrated to Australia in the late 1940s, and worked as a gold miner in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

, Western Australia.

Broadcasting and writing career in Australia

From 1951 until 1965, Denton worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Commission 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 a ...

as an announcer, and eventually moved on to screenwriting, producing and directing television. In the 1970s, an anonymous television critic for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' newspaper was revealed to be Kit Denton, writing under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Janus". Denton had an abiding interest in military history, and is best known for his novel ''The Breaker'' (1973), based on the story of

Breaker Morant Harry Harbord "Breaker" Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902) was an English horseman, bush balladist, military officer, and war criminal who was convicted and executed for murdering nine prisoners-of-war ...

. Although it was widely assumed that the film ''

'' was based on Denton's book, it was in fact based on a play by Kenneth G. Ross, who successfully sued publisher

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

when they publicised Denton's novel as the source for the film. Denton also wrote ''For Queen and Commonwealth'', about British military forces in the late 19th century, and ''Gallipoli: One Long Grave'' (1986), a book about the Battle of Gallipoli.

Death

Denton died in April 1997 at his home in the Blue Mountains,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Legacy

In August 2006, Denton's son

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

announced a new A$25,000 writing scholarship in his father's name: the Kit Denton Fellowship, which would be presented to members of the

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video, and new media. The AWG was established in 1962, and has conferred the AWGIE Awards since 1968, ...

from 2007 onwards.Kit Denton Scholarship Announced at the 2006 AWGIE Awards
,

, 28 August 2006.

Bibliography

*
A Walk Around My Cluttered Mind
' (1968) *
The Breaker: a novel
' (1973, ) *
The Thinkable Man
' (1976, ) *
The Breaker: a novel, with a selection of the verse of Harry (the Breaker) Morant
' / Kit Denton (1980, revised edition ) *
Gallipoli illustrated
' / compiled and written by Kit Denton (1981, ) *
Closed File: The True Story Behind the Execution of Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock
' (1983, ) *
Fiddlers Bridge
' (1986, ) *
Gallipoli, One Long Grave
' (1986, ) *
For Queen and Commonwealth
' (1987, ) *
Burning Spear
' (1990, (hbk) and (pbk)) *
Red on White
' (1991, )

Credits

* '' Demonstrator'' (1971) – screenplay

References

External links

Kit and Betty Denton, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 1953
– photography by Terence and Margaret Spencer
Address delivered by Kit Denton, to the ''Canberra Times'' literary luncheon, 12 October 1983
(sound recording) – introduction by Graham Wilkinson and Peter Fuller
"Andrew Denton"
episode on ''

Who Do you think you Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Kit 1928 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers British Army soldiers People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) People from Stepney English emigrants to Australia Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent 20th-century Australian male writers