Alice Guerin Crist

Alice Guerin Crist (1876–1941) was an Australian poet, author and journalist.

Alice Guerin Crist
Alice Guerin Crist c.1927
Alice Guerin Crist c.1927
BornAlice Guerin
(1876-02-06)6 February 1876
Clare Castle, Ireland
Died13 June 1941(1941-06-13) (aged 65)
Toowoomba, Queensland
OccupationWriter
NationalityAustralian
Spouse
Joseph Crist
​
(m. 1902)​

Early life

Crist was born in Clare Castle, Ireland on 6 February 1876 to Patrick and Winifred (née Rohan or Rouhan) Guerin. When she was two years old, the family migrated to Queensland, where her father taught in rural schools, including as head teacher of Tent Hill Upper school in May 1880.[1]

Career

Crist's writing career began before she reached her teens. Her first short story was published in Brisbane newspaper, The Queenslander, in December 1887, two months before her 12th birthday. She wrote "Elsie In Fairyland" 12 months later for the "Christmas Supplement" of The Queenslander, published on 22 December 1888. In November the following year, she wrote "The Three Sisters", which was serialised across two issues of the same paper.

From 1927 Crist received payment for her contributions to the Brisbane-based Catholic Advocate.

In 1929, a journalist wrote in the Adelaide Southern Cross that "Mrs Crist has already gained a reputation in Queensland akin to that of "John O'Brien", for her poems depicting Irish-Australian life in the bush".[2]

Crist was awarded the King George V's jubilee medal in 1935 and King George VI's coronation medal in 1937.[3] A wing of the Holy Spirit Hospital in Brisbane was named in her honour in 1953.[4]

Works

Poetry
  • When Rody Came to Ironbark: And other verses, Cornstalk, Sydney, 1927
  • Eucharist Lilies: And other verses, Pellegrini, 1928

Children's fiction
  • Children: Go it! Brothers!, Pellegrini & Co., 1929

Personal

Crist married Joseph Christ in Queensland on 4 October 1902.[5] He changed his surname to Crist by deed poll in 1913.[6]

Crist died of tuberculosis on 13 June 1941 in hospital in Toowoomba, Queensland. Her husband, three daughters and two sons all survived her.[7][8]

Further reading
  • Dornan, Dimity; Hayne, Sue (1998), Alice with eyes a-shine, Church Archivists' Press, ISBN 978-1-876194-07-9

References
  1. "Official Notifications". The Telegraph. No. 2, 334. Queensland, Australia. 8 May 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 8 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "A Fine Australian School Story". Southern Cross. Vol. XXXIX, no. 2076. South Australia. 20 December 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 10 July 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Crist, Alice Guerin (-1937) - People and organisations". Trove. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. Butterworth, Lee (22 June 2009). "Crist, Alice Guerin". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. "Marriage Registration - Alice Guerin". Queensland Government - Births, Deaths and Marriages. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  6. "Local and General". The Evening Telegraph. No. 3836. Queensland, Australia. 3 November 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 10 July 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Alice Crist - Death". Queensland Government - Births, Deaths and Marriages. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  8. Christopher Lee, 'Crist, Alice Guerin (1876–1941)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/crist-alice-guerin-12868/text23237, published first in hardcopy 2005, accessed online 10 July 2018.
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