1956 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1956.

Books

• Miles Franklin – Gentlemen at Gyang Gyang : A Tale of the Jumbuck Pads on the Summer Runs ^[1]
• Nevil Shute – Beyond the Black Stump
• Randolph Stow – A Haunted Land ^[2]
• Kylie Tennant – The Honey Flow ^[3]
• F. J. Thwaites – That Was the Hour
• E. V. Timms – Shining Harvest
• Arthur Upfield – Man of Two Tribes ^[4]
• F. B. Vickers – First Place to a Stranger ^[5]
• Morris West
  • Gallows on the Sand
  • Kundu

Short stories

• Ethel Anderson – At Parramatta ^[6]
• Leon Gellert – Year After Year ^[7]
• Alan Marshall – How's Andy Going? ^[8]
• Katharine Susannah Prichard – "N'Goola" ^[9]
• David Rowbotham – Town and City : Tales and Sketches ^[10]
• Judith Wright – "The Vineyard Woman" ^[11]

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Mavis Thorpe Clark – The Brown Land Was Green ^[12]

Poetry

Main article: 1956 in poetry

• Bruce Beaver – "Cow Dance" ^[13]
• David Campbell – The Miracle of Mullion Hill : Poems ^[14]
• Rosemary Dobson – "Cock Crow" ^[15]
• R. D. Fitzgerald – "This Night's Orbit" ^[16]
• Mary Gilmore – "The Waradgery Tribe" ^[17]
• Gwen Harwood – "The Old Wife's Tale" ^[18]
• James McAuley
  • "Merry-Go-Round" ^[19]
  • "Vespers" ^[20]
  • A Vision of Ceremony
• Ronald McCuaig – "Betty by the Sea" ^[21]
• J. S. Manifold – "Fife Tune" ^[22]
• Vivian Smith
  • "For My Daughter" ^[23]
  • The Other Meaning ^[24]
• Douglas Stewart – "A Country Song" ^[25]
• Judith Wright
  • A Book of Australian Verse (edited) ^[26]
  • "The Forest" ^[27]

Biography

• Charmian Clift – Mermaid Singing ^[28]
• Ion Idriess – The Silver City ^[29]
• Jack Lang – I Remember ^[30]
• Ruth Park & D'Arcy Niland – The Drums Go Bang! ^[31]

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal [32]	Not awarded

Children's and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers [33]	Patricia Wrightson, illustrated by Margaret Horder	The Crooked Snake	Angus and Robertson
	Picture Book [34]	Peggy Barnard, illustrated by Sheila Hawkins	Wish and the Magic Nut	John Sands

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [35]	James McAuley	A Vision of Ceremony	Angus & Robertson

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1956 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 9 January – Bill Leak, editorial and political cartoonist, caricaturist and portraitist (died 2017) ^[36]
• 28 January – Tim Flannery, scientist and science writer ^[37]
• 25 October – Kerry Reed-Gilbert, poet and author (died 2019) ^[38]
• 5 November – Gig Ryan, poet ^[39]

Unknown date

• Judith Beveridge, poet and editor ^[40]
• Susan Johnson, novelist ^[41]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1956 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 3 March – Dale Collins, journalist and novelist (born 1897) ^[42]
• 15 April – Jane Fletcher, poet, nature writer and children's writer (born 1870) ^[43]
• 25 August – Lilian Turner, writer for children (born 1867) ^[44]
• 20 September – Flora Eldershaw, novelist (born 1867) ^[45]

See also

• 1956 in Australia
• 1956 in literature
• 1956 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

References

1. "Gentlemen at Gyang Gyang by Miles Franklin". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
2. "A Haunted Land by Randolph Stow]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
3. "The Honey Flow by Kylie Tennant". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
4. "Man of Two Tribes by Arthur Upfield". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
5. "First Place to a Stranger by F. B. Vickers". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
6. "At Parramatta by Ethel Anderson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
7. "Year After Year by Leon Gellert". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
8. "How's Andy Going? by Alan Marshall". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
9. ""N'Goola" by Katharine Susannah Prichard". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
10. "Town and City : Tales and Sketches by David Rowbotham". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
11. ""The Vineyard Woman" by Judith Wright". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
12. "The Brown Land Was Green by Mavis Thorpe Clark". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
13. ""Cow Dance" by Bruce Beaver". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
14. "The Miracle of Mullion Hill : Poems by David Campbell". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
15. ""Cock Crow" by Rosemary Dobson". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
16. ""This Night's Orbit" by R. D. Fitzgerald". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
17. ""The Waradgery Tribe" by Mary Gilmore". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
18. ""The Old Wife's Tale" by Gwen Harwood". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
19. ""Merry-Go-Round" by James McAuley". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
20. ""Vespers" by James McAuley". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
21. ""Betty by the Sea" by Ronald McCuaig". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
22. ""Fife Tune" by J. S. Manifold". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
23. ""For My Daughter" by Vivian Smith". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
24. "The Other Meaning by Vivian Smith". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
25. ""A Country Song" by Douglas Stewart". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
26. "A Book of Australian Verse by Judith Wright". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
27. ""The Forest" by Judith Wright". Austlit. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
28. "Mermaid Singing by Charmian Clift". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
29. "The Silver City by Ion Idriess". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
30. "I Remember by Jack Lang". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
31. "The Drums Go Bang! by Ruth Park & D'Arcy Niland". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
32. "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
33. Austlit - The Crooked Snake by Patricia Wrightson
34. Austlit - Wish and the Magic Nut by Peggy Barnard
35. "Austlit — A Vision of Ceremony by James McAuley". Austlit. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
36. "Bill Leak (1953-2017)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
37. "Tim Flannery". Austlit. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
38. "Kerry Reed-Gilbert". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
39. "Gig Ryan". Austlit. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
40. "Judith Beveridge". Austlit. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
41. "Susan Johnson". Austlit. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
42. "Collins, Cuthbert Quinlan Dale (1897–1956) by Stuart Sayers". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
43. "Fletcher, Jane Ada (1870–1956) by Leonard Wall". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
44. "Thompson, Lilian Wattnall (Lil) (1867–1956) by Brenda Niall". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
45. "Eldershaw, Flora Sydney (1897–1956) by Maryanne Dever". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 7 July 2023.