Dorothy Wall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1894-01-12)12 January 1894 Kilbirnie, New Zealand |
| Died | 21 January 1942(1942-01-21) (aged 48) Cremorne, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Author,illustrator |
| Nationality | New Zealander Australian |
| Period | 1920–1942 |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Spouse | Andrew Delfosse Badgery (married 4 November 1921, St. Albans Anglican Church,Five Dock, New South Wales)[citation needed] |
| Children | Peter (son) |
| Signature | |
 | |
Dorothy Wall (12 January 1894 – 21 January 1942) was aNew Zealand-born writer and illustrator of children's fiction books. She is most famous for creatingBlinky Bill, ananthropomorphickoala who was the central character in her booksBlinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian (1933),Blinky Bill Grows Up (1934) andBlinky Bill and Nutsy (1937). Most of her books were first published byAngus & Robertson.
Wall was born inKilbirnie, New Zealand on 12 January 1894 ofEnglish parents, Charles James William Wall and Lillian née Palethorpe.[1] In 1904, at the age of ten, she won scholarships for her art. She migrated toAustralia in 1914 and worked forThe Sun newspaper inSydney. In 1920 her first children's story "Tommy Bear and the Zookies" was published and the following year she married Andrew Delfosse Badgery.[2] The same year Wall found some acclaim for her illustrations in J.J. Hall's book "The Crystal Bowl".
_20.jpg)
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, she continued to work as an illustrator. Her best-known bookBlinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian was published in 1933. In 1934 she divorced Badgery and moved with her son toWarrimoo in theBlue Mountains where she completed two more Blinky Bill books,Blinky Bill Grows Up andBlinky Bill and Nutsy. Despite Blinky Bill's popularity Wall experienced financial difficulties and was forced to fall back on her skills as an artist. Angus & Robertson, Ltd., her publishers at the time, provided her with work illustrating book jackets.[1]
Suffering from depression, Bipolar disorder and with failing health, Wall returned to New Zealand in 1937 where she became an illustrator for theNew Zealand Herald and theAuckland Weekly News. Over the next few years, both her health and her financial situation improved, aided no doubt by the publishing ofThe Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill in 1939. In July 1941 Wall moved back to Sydney and the country she loved so much, but her health quickly deteriorated, and on 21 January 1942 she died ofpneumonia at her home inCremorne. She was buried in the Northern Suburbs cemetery.
In 1985 apostage stamp honouring Wall or her creation, Blinky Bill, was issued byAustralia Post as part of a set of five commemorating children's books.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
