Early Australian fairy tales

While reviewers differentiated between the worth of the books based on gender expectations, women writers also approached their audiences differently to men modifying their approach to meet critical reception. These women suggest that they write to amuse and entertain, and as a genteel leisure time pursuit. Apologia in the Preface or Note to the Reader written, perhaps to pre-empt some of the criticism they believed may be levelled at them. Gumsucker (Sarah Roland) begins Rosalie’s Reward or The Fairy Treasure by saying demurely: Should this story be favourable (sic) received by the little folks for whom it is written, it is the Author’s intention to publish a series of Tales, so that the merry children of the fair South may revel in dreams of their own Fairy Lore. Wilcken (1891) also revealed that it was only that under pressure from friends that she printed her stories and that ‘it seemed ungracious to refuse such a request’. (Preface) Another way of avoiding criticism w

Thanks to Amazing Transformations for making me this awesome fairy costume for a presentation!       To some teaching colleagues my contribution to academic  scholarship might seem as ethereal and wispy thin as the fairy tale focus of my topic. However my contribution to discourse on Australian children’s literature is valuable in consideration of my  methodical approach to research into, and investigation of, the contribution of German immigrants to the colony of Victoria, specifically members of the Melbourne German-Lutheran church and the Melbourne German scientific community. Much of their history was destroyed or lost during the World Wars. I have aimed to  present this scholarship in a variety of ways other than my Dissertation to reach a range of audiences: peer reviewed papers, conferences, websites, education-based magazines. I've learned that  a PhD is the ultimate inquiry, and  requires flexible thinking, persistence and ...when working full time – exemplary tim

I am sitting in my office (nice and warm) trying to remember where I am up to in my thesis. Winter is such a nice time to be in a study! I'm sure if I sit here long enough it will all become clear! The truth is I am up to 'painful' editing and critiquing. It was a delight to escape from the joys of persuasive writing about rules and laws to the enchantment of fairy tales. Refining my presentation of Olga's work in a monologue that touches on her life and her contribution to Australian children's literature was an opportunity to present to a different audience, one that could be labelled 'my community' and work with professional storyteller Teena. Teena told for the first time the story of the 'Fire Elves' and though we had emailed and talked on the phone we didn't rehearse together.  When I met Teena for the first time two hours before our presentation I instinctively knew she would be fantastic. Teena drew us into the story softly

Visiting Philadelphia principally for the artworks in the Philadelphia Museum I was fortunate enough to be invited to meet and discuss my research with interested academics as well as their work in oral folklore and monster bridegrooms in contemporary fairy tales.  Such discussions can only add richness to my dissertation whether I consider a small directional change or I need to research an aspect further or just 'tweak' aspects of my work. I will consider attending the Fairytale and Folklore Conference in 2015.  I loved the Uninpenn library. So amazing, fantastic chairs including rocking chairs with a view to a campus covered in snow ( would be a distraction to work) and what a view from the top floor. Also visited the Library of Congress in Washington DC. 

The 'Texas' cover is in mint condition. There are 7 copies in libraries around the world and surprisingly one in  Austin, at the  The University of Texas Library. I was hoping that it had an intriguing history: perhaps a copy held by Ernst's sister Elsa who worked in women's prisons in USA or donated by her brother Hans, an engineer and inventor working in Cincinatti but the story is more practical. Accessed from http://sevenroads.org/Labels/D.html According to Margaret  Tufts Tenney,  Head of the Reading Room,  Harry Ransom Center i t is likely that it came from the purchase of stock from an old bookstore.  This way of obtaining materials was practiced in conjunction with a book dealer the Center worked with throughout its formative years.  There are booksellers pencil marks on the first flyleaf and a bookseller sticker on the verso of the front board.  This indicates it came James Dally in South Australia, one of the five states where the boo

A phone interview with a Junior Red Cross member who was in Ernst's Red Cross Circle led me on another research track. She told me that Ernst's pride in Australia was obvious at Christmas time with the regular singing of Australian Christmas Carols. I was given two clues:   a) written by a Melbourne man   b) one carol was about 'Brolgas dancing'.  I believe the lyrics they sang were those written by A BC staff writer John Wheeler to music by William James.           THE CAROL OF THE BIRDS 1. Out on the plains the brolgas are dancing Lifting their feet like warhorses prancing Up to the sun the woodlarks go winging Faint in the dawn light echoes their singing Orana! Orana! Orana to Christmas Day. 2. Down where the tree ferns grow by the river There where the waters sparkle and quiver Deep in the gullies bell-birds are chiming Softly and sweetly their lyric notes rhyming Orana! Orana! Orana to Christmas Day.   3. Friar birds sip the nectar of flowers Cu

A tedious fortnight trying to meet my own imposed deadline of completing my First Draft by our 18th year anniversary. I have done battle with technology to make sure margins are correct size, lines are spaced 1.5 and the fonts are readable and easy for 'tired eyes'. I changed my spacing - that took a whole day. I got seasick twice when I scrolled so fast I became nauseous. Am still perplexed at why everything but the reference list managed to stay within the margins. But, it was 1 am when I was trying to sort out how to fix it and gave up. Note: Will sort before I submit. I have pestered my family to read at an inordinate rate this fortnight: The Librarian and Daughter No 1 have read each chapter as it 'came off the press'  for errant commas and sentences that are sense-less. Daughter No 2 declined and suggested she'd wait to see the 'DVD' of the book.  Holiday now. Off to New York, Washington, Philadelphia and a different kind of blog.

‘Say not – when yesterday you gave Your child to sleep beneath the wave, That could it lie beneath the sod ‘Twould nearer seem to you and God” Written for Mrs. Calhoun on the day of my departure from Portarlington.  With love from Olga Straubel’. 16/6/81.   Retired s econd-hand bookseller Ted showed me a poem by Olga Straubel in an old scrapbook he had acquired fifteen years early. Many of the pages are filled with symmetrically placed die-cut Victorian paper ornaments of flowers and animals printed in Germany. Occasionally there are pressed ferns. Ted contacted me, not because of the scrapbook, but because there are also two carefully handwritten poems that seem somewhat out of place. One is signed by Olga Straubel, an early teacher of Portarlington and Ernst's mother. A brief history of Olga Straubel Johanna Maria Olga Straubel (known as Olga all her life) was born in 1860 and lived in Richmond. Her family were staunch members of the Melbourne German

Invited to join the conversation on fairy tales on Life Matters on Friday with Jack Zipes, eminent fairy tale researcher and Kate Forsyth, author of one of my favourite books, The Wild Girl,  I was challenged to name by favourite Australian fairy tales by a Glen Iris Primary parent who had listened to the conversation on my return to school.  Life Matters Of the classics I choose Cinderella, fascinated by the way inanimate objects such as pumpkins turn into golden coaches and the importance of finding some-one with the 'right fit' for a relationship (if only by the tangible and symbolic search via glass slipper).  My Australian choice is a small book of which there is only one known copy in the State Library, Victoria:  Rosalie's Reward; or the fairy treasure. It has some of the elements of the Cinderella fairy tale: an impoverished child abandoned (through financial necessity) by her mother, a Prince who rescues her and a group of fairies who do t

Or does their appeal remain fixed in the era they were written? Hart (1950) made the point that, ‘books flourish when they answer a need and die when they do not’ (285) and it is worth considering for example the fairytales of Tarella Quin whose fairy tale books were reprinted numerous times. Quin (aka Quin Daskein), published her first fairy tale,  Gum Tree Brownie  in 1907[1] with enlargements and variations appearing with regularity in 1918, 1925, 1934 and 1983. Perhaps, the reason is that her publisher - still publishing one hundred years later allowed the opportunity for re-publishing out-of-print books if it was believed that public taste indicated a book may become popular again. However, when Gum Tree Brownie was republished as  The Other Side of Nowhere: Fairy Stories of the Never Never  (1983) two stories that did not suit the current socio-cultural world were omitted. Cruelty and death are not seen as suitable topics for children’s books today - or at least not in the way

Frohe Wiehnachten. Ich studiere ihrer Olga Ernst seit zwei Jahren und ich geniesse die Forschung. Ich schätze die Hilfe Familie und interessant Menschen aus aller Welt lesen den Blog. Vielen Dank meinen Lehrerin. Daniela lehrt jede Woche Deutsch. Ich kann etwas Deutsch lesen. Ich werde nach Weihnachten wieder Bloggen.

My thesis chapters will begin with an image and  'personal voice', a reflective conversation about my thoughts at different times during the thesis process. I took this photo for the chapter on early Australian children's literature, rummaging through my childhood books and trying to choose favourites. Sadly Bottersnikes and Gumbles is no longer there, perhaps fallen to pieces or lost in a move. Maybe I just borrowed it from the Mount Waverley Library during my early career as a reader. It seems there are many readers blogging about it.  Buying a secondhand copy could set you back over a hundred dollars. Could it be republished as an eBook? I  like the idea that reading is a career  (Fairbairn and Fairbairn),  a ' profession', with educational requirements, and areas of specialisation. I can trace my 'reading career' by perusing my bookshelf: distinctive eras of fairy tales, school stories, science fiction and biography jumbled up, sometimes two books dee

Exciting to hear about the formation of a  national not-for-profit society focussed on collecting, preserving, discussing, sharing, and creating Australian fairy tales. Australian fairy tales reflect our unique environment -  don't expect handsome princes on white stallions to rescue fair maidens. Shy stalwart bushmen who are at ease in the bush and mindful of old 'hags' are more adept at such challenges. Mermaids swim in the Yarra river, not to lure men to their doom, but with a different attitude, nurturing and protecting those humans living in communities close by.  Rather than the Big Bad Wolf, in one instance a small girl meets a bunyip who admires her goodness and scholarly achievements and rather than eat her up lectures her on the dangers of alcohol. These characters created by Westbury, Ernst, Whitfeld and Lockeyear are just a small sample of those waiting to be heralded. I am planning a trip to Sydney for the inaugural Australian Fairy Tale Society Conference (