Dorothea Mackellar | |
|---|---|
 Dorothea Mackellar, 1927, by May Moore | |
| Born | Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar (1885-07-01)1 July 1885 |
| Died | 14 January 1968(1968-01-14) (aged 82) Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Resting place | Waverley Cemetery |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genres | Poetry |
| Notable works | "My Country" |
| Relatives | Sir Charles Mackellar (father) |
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Isobel Marion Dorothea MackellarOBE (1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was anAustralianpoet and fiction writer.[1] Her poem "My Country" is widely known in Australia, especially its second stanza, which begins: "I love a sunburnt country / A land of sweeping plains, / Of ragged mountain ranges, / Of droughts and flooding rains."[2]
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The third child and sole daughter of physician and parliamentarian SirCharles Mackellar and his wife Marion Mackellar (née Buckland), the daughter of Thomas Buckland, she was born in the family homeDunara atPoint Piper,Sydney, Australia in 1885. Mackellar was of theAnglican faith.[1] Her later home wasCintra atDarling Point (built in 1882 byJohn Mackintosh for his son James), and in 1925, she commissioned a summer cottage (in reality a substantial home with colonnaded verandah overlooking Pittwater), "Tarrangaua" atLovett Bay, an isolated location onPittwater reachable only by boat (this home was the residence of the novelist and authorSusan Duncan and her husband, Bob Story, and features prominently in a number of Duncan's books). A woman of independent means, she published poetry and other works between 1908 and 1926 and was active in the Sydney literary scene of the 1930s, being involved with the Sydney Publishers, Editors and Novelists Club, the Bush Book Club of New South Wales and theSydney PEN Centre. In her later years she ceased writing and, suffering poor health, her last eleven years were spent in a nursing home inRandwick where she died in 1968, aged 82. Her memorial service was held atSt Mark's Anglican Church in Darling Point, and she is buried inWaverley Cemetery, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.[1]
She built up a personal library of 300 books, mostly on poetry and literature. Many were signed by their authors. She outlived her siblings and died a relatively wealthy woman, leaving an estate valued for probate at $1,580,000 (equivalent to $21,981,827 in 2022).[3]
Although she was raised in a professional urban family, Mackellar's poetry is usually regarded as quintessentialbush poetry, inspired by her experience on her brothers' farms nearGunnedah, in the north-west of New South Wales. Her best-known poem is "My Country", written at age 19[1] while overseas in England, and first published in the LondonSpectator in 1908 under the title "Core of My Heart": the second stanza of this poem is among the best known in Australia. Four volumes of her collected verse were published:The Closed Door (published in 1911, contained the first appearance of "My Country");The Witch Maid, and Other Verses (1914);Dreamharbour (1923); andFancy Dress (1926). In addition to writing poems, Mackellar also wrote novels, one by herself,Outlaw's Luck (1913), and at least two in collaboration with childhood friendRuth Bedford. These areThe Little Blue Devil (1912) andTwo's Company (1914). According toDale Spender, little has been written or is yet known about the circumstances behind this collaboration.[4]
In the New Year's Day Honours of 1968, Mackellar was appointed an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire for her contribution toAustralian literature.[5] She died two weeks later inPaddington, New South Wales after a fall. Her memorial service was held atSt Mark's Anglican Church in Darling Point.[1] She is buried with her father and family inWaverley Cemetery overlooking the open ocean. Her poem "Colour", her own favourite, was read at the service.[6]
Afederal electorate covering half of Sydney'sNorthern Beaches is named in her honour, as well as Mackellar Crescent in the Canberra suburb ofCook and Dorothea Mackellar Avenue in the Melbourne suburb ofOakleigh East.[7]
OnAustralia Day, 26 January 1983, a memorial to Mackellar was unveiled and dedicated in ANZAC Park, Gunnedah.[8] The centrepiece of the memorial, a statue of Mackellar on horseback by Dennis Adams, was a temporary fibreglass version. The finished bronze version was installed in September 1983.[9] In conjunction with the January unveiling, there was an exhibition of a series of 34 water colour paintings byJean Isherwood illustrating "My Country". The watercolours were eventually put on permanent display in the Gunnedah Bicentennial Regional Gallery. Isherwood set about painting a series of oils based on the watercolours which were exhibited at the Artarmon Galleries in Sydney in 1986.[citation needed]
In 1984, Gunnedah resident Mikie Maas created the "Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards", which has grown into a nationwide poetry competition for Australian school students.[10]
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