Mary Durack (20 February 1913 – 16 December 1994) was an Australian author and historian. She wrote '' Kings in Grass Castles'' and ''Keep Him My Country''.

Childhood

Mary Durack, born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia, to Michael Patrick Durack (1865–1950) and Bessie Durack (née Johnstone), and her siblings lived at the remote

Argyle Downs Argyle Downs is a pastoral lease and cattle station located about south east of Kununurra in the Kimberley region near the border of Western Australia and Northern Territory. It is operated by the Consolidated Pastoral Company. Descript ...

and

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

cattle stations in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Mary and her sister Elizabeth would manage the Ivanhoe cattle station, whilst their brother would leave to manage Argyle Downs. During these times they would live and work very closely with the indigenous people who worked on, and lived near the station. They learnt from the local indigenous women everything from how to cook to how to muster cattle. The Durack family were pioneers in the settlement of the area by Europeans. The story of her family's history, beginning with the mid-19th century migration from Ireland, is presented by Durack in '' Kings in Grass Castles'', and its sequel, ''Sons in the Saddle''.

Writing

"Little Poems of Sunshine-by an Australian Child." This is the name of a small book of verses composed by Mary Durack as a 10-year-old in 1923. In 1935, Mary and her sister, Elizabeth, were to publish their first collaboration. The text in ''All About: The Story of a Black Community on Argyle Station'' was supplied by Mary and the illustrations were by Elizabeth. The collaboration was to produce a number of children's books: ''Chunuma'' in 1936; ''Son of Djaro'' and the ''Way of the Whirlwind'' in 1940–1941;''The Magic Trumpet'' in 1946 and ''To Ride a Fine Horse'' (1963). Mary Durack wrote under the name "Virgilia" for The Western Mail between 1934 and 1938, in a column for women and children in rural areas called Virgilians' Friendly Corner. The column represented some of the first work Durack published as a paid writer, however, she felt limited by the demands of her readers and would often hide in her office to avoid meeting with fans of 'The Corner'. In 1950 she wrote the novel ''Keep Him My Country''. Other important works include the saga of the Durack family, ''Kings in Grass Castles'' (1959) and its sequel, ''Sons in the Saddle''; and a play, ''Swan River Saga: Life of Early Pioneer Eliza Shaw'' (1976). A biography, ''To Be Heirs Forever'', also used Eliza Shaw as a subject. Durack also continued to write children's literature, most notably the story of the Nyungar man, Yagan, which was published in 1964 as ''The Courteous Savage: Yagan of the Bibbulmun'' and ''Tjakamarra: Boy between two worlds.'' Other works by Mary Durack included a two–act play, ''Ship of Dreams''; an Australian Settler (1968); ''The Rock and the Sand'' (1969) is a history of missionaries in the state; ''The Aborigines in Australian Literature'' (1978) is part of the non-fiction component of her work, a subject often forming the basis of many of her works of fiction. Durack adapted ''Keep Him My Country'' into the libretto for a one-act opera, ''Dalgerie'', by James Penberthy; it premiered in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on 22 January 1959. On 25 July 1973, along with Larry Sitsky's ''The Fall of the House of Usher'', it was one of the first two operas to be given an evening performance at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. Her literary works include the editing of ''The Fifth Sparrow'' (1972), a posthumously published autobiography of the Western Australian author Mollie Skinner. Birman, W.; Pell, O
Skinner, Mary Louisa (Mollie) (1876 - 1955)
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 625–626. She contributed to the

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 ...

Personal life

On 2 December 1938, she married the aviator, Captain Horrie C. Miller, OBE, who died in 1980. They had two sons and four daughters, including Robin Miller, a famous aviator and nurse who was known as "The Sugarbird Lady" after her work fighting

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. Two of Mary Durack's daughters predeceased her.

Honours and distinctions

Durack was appointed a Dame Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) for her services to literature on 31 December 1977. On 12 June 1989, she was appointed a Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AC).

Bibliography

Novels

* ''All-About : The Story of a Black Community on Argyle Station, Kimberley'' (1935) * ''Keep Him My Country'' (1955)

Children's fiction

* ''Chunuma'' (1936) * ''Son of Djaro'' (1940) * ''The Way of the Whirlwind'' (1941) * ''A Book of Picture Stories'' (1942) * ''To Ride a Fine Horse'' (1963) * ''Kookanoo and Kangaroo'' (1963)

Poetry collections

* ''Little Poems of Sunshine : By an Australian Child'' (1923) * ''Piccaninnies'' (1940) * ''The Magic Trumpet'' (1946)

Non-fiction

* ''Time and Tide : the Story in Pictures of Roebuck Bay, N.W. Australia'' (1946) * '' Kings in Grass Castles'' (1959) - biography * ''The Courteous Savage : Yagan of Swan River'' (1964) - biography * ''A Pastoral Emigrant'' (1965) * ''The Rock and the Sand'' (1969) * ''To Be Heirs Forever'' (1976) * ''The Aborigines in Australian Literature'' (1978) - criticism * ''The End of Dreaming'' (1978) * ''A Legacy of Love'' (1981) - biography * ''Sons in the Saddle'' (1983) - biography