R.I.P. Nance Donkin, 93, in April 2008 (Australian writer, "Johnny Neptune," 1971)
Lenona
http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A)!s
"Nance Donkin is best known as a writer of historical fiction for
children. Her earliest story to be published appeared in a weekly
newspaper when she was eight years old. At sixteen she was employed as
a social reporter on the Maitland Daily Mercury and later became
social editor and film reviewer for the Newcastle Morning Herald.
Donkin was President of the Victorian Branch of the Children's Book
Council of Australia from 1968 to 1976."
http://www.austlit.edu.au/news/newsJuneJuly2008
"Other themes to emerge in Donkin’s writing were the experiences of
Greek migrants and the destruction of the environment. Donkin
published several books in the 1970s and 1980s focusing on the lives
of Greek children, both as migrants in Australia and as returned
emigrants in Greece. Yellowgum Gil (1976) looks at the protection of a
national park."
http://avoca.vicnet.net.au/~swwvic/pages/nancedonkinbackground.html
(includes photo)
From Contemporary Authors:
Johnny Neptune, praised in Times Literary Supplement for the "ring of
truth" of many of its incidents, is set in Sydney in 1790. The novel
describes the tough life of an orphan, born to a dying convict, who
must fight against the odds to survive in the new colony. Johnny is
adopted by a young woman who is herself a convict--not surprising
since Australia in its early colonial days was a dumping ground for
criminals of all kinds. Johnny succeeds in growing up honest, even in
pulling the rest of the family up to his standard. The family leaves
Sydney and starts a farm, only to have an unexpected flood destroy
their efforts, yet they do not lose hope and resolve to begin again.
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
FICTION; FOR CHILDREN
Araluen Adventures, illustrated by Edith B. Bowden, Cheshire (Palo
Alto, CA), 1946.
No Medals for Meg, illustrated Bowden, Cheshire, 1947.
Julie Stands By, illustrated by Joan Turner, Cheshire, 1948.
Blue Ribbon Beth, Oxford University Press (Melbourne), 1951.
House by the Water, illustrated by Astra Lacis Dick, Angus & Robertson
(London), 1969.
Johnny Neptune, Angus & Robertson (Sydney), 1971.
A Friend for Petros, illustrated by Gavin Rowe, Hamish Hamilton
(London), 1974.
Patchwork Grandmother, illustrated by Mary Dinsdale, Hamish Hamilton,
1975, published as Patchwork Mystery, Beaver, 1978.
Green Christmas, illustrated by Rowe, Hamish Hamilton, 1976.
Yellowgum Girl, illustrated by Margaret Loxton, Hamish Hamilton,
1976.
The Best of the Bunch, illustrated by Edwina Bell, Collins (Sydney),
1978.
The Maidens of Petka, illustrated by Bruce Treloar, Methuen (Sydney),
1979.
Nini, Rigby (Adelaide), 1979.
(Reteller) Aeneas Gunn, We of the Never Never, Hutchinson (Victoria),
1983.
Two at Sullivan Bay, illustrated by Margaret Senior, Kangaroo Press,
1985.
A Family Affair, illustrated by Lyn Sikiotis, Martin, 1988.
Contributor to anthologies, including The Cool Man, Angus & Robertson
(London), 1973; and A Handful of Ghosts, Hodder & Stoughton (London),
1976.
NONFICTION; FOR CHILDREN
Sheep, illustrated by Jocelyn Jones, Oxford University Press, 1967.
Sugar, illustrated by Jones, Oxford University Press, 1967.
An Emancipist, illustrated by Jane Robertson, Oxford University Press,
1968.
A Currency Lass, illustrated by Jane Walker, Oxford University Press,
1969.
An Orphan, illustrated by Anne Culvenor, Oxford University Press,
1970.
Margaret Catchpole, illustrated by Bell, Collins, 1974.
Blackout (reader), illustrated by Dandra Laroche, Macmillan
(Melbourne), 1987.
OTHER
(Editor) The Australian Children's Annual Lothian (Melbourne), 1963.
A Writer at Work (lecture), Children's Book Council of Australia,
1975.
Stranger and Friend: The Greek-American Experience, Dove (Victoria,
Australia), 1983.
The Women Were There: Nineteen Women Who Enlivened Australia's
History, Collins Dove, 1988.
Always a Lady: Courageous Women of Colonial Australia, Collins Dove,
1990.
Lenona.