Eric Rolls
Eric Charles Rolls AM (1923–2007) was an Australian writer.[1]
Eric Rolls AM | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eric Charles Rolls 25 April 1923 Grenfell, New South Wales |
| Died | 31 October 2007 (aged 84) Camden Haven |
| Occupation | writer, environmentalist, farmer, historian |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Notable awards | Greening Australia Journalism Award Member of the Order of Australia |
| Relatives | Joan Stephenson (wife) Elaine van Kempen (wife) |
Life
Rolls was born in Grenfell, New South Wales in 1923, and died in Camden Haven in 2007.[2] He attended the Sydney selective school of Fort Street High, before serving in the second world war in New Guinea,[1] as a signaller.[3] On his return from the war, he took up land in 1946 in the north-west of New South Wales (east of the Pilliga and later at "Cumberdeen", Baradine)[4] and farmed and wrote,[1] often spending long periods in Sydney, researching at the Mitchell Library.[4]
He had two happy marriages, the first with Joan Stephenson and after her death in 1985,[5] a second with Elaine van Kempen (1937–2019),[6] whom he met when she came to work for him in 1985 as his research assistant,[7] and married in 1988.[3]
Work
One of his most celebrated works is A Million Wild Acres of which Tom Griffiths (emeritus professor of history at the Australian National University) wrote:
"(Les) Murray considered A Million Wild Acres to be like an extended, crafted campfire yarn in which everyone has the dignity of a name, and in which the animals and plants have equal status with humans in the making of history: “It is not purely human history, but ecological history he gives us… one which interrelates the human and non-human dimensions so intimately.” Murray compared its discursive and laconic tone to the Icelandic sagas. Through his democratic recognition of all life, Rolls enchanted the forest and presented us with a speaking land, a sentient country raucous with sound."[8]
Rolls' papers and sound recordings, including an interview with Hazel de Berg, are held by the National Library of Australia.[9]"Miss Strawberry's Purse" was his most popular verse.
Publications
(incomplete)
Poetry
Books
- 1981 – A million wild acres : 200 years of man and an Australian forest
- 1984 – The river : a chronicle of life on the land / illustrated by Marianne Yamaguchi.
- 1984 – They all ran wild : the story of pests on the land in Australia (13 editions)
- 1984/1998 – Celebration of the senses
- 1992/1993 – Sojourners : the epic story of China's centuries-old relationship with Australia : flowers and the wide sea
- 1996 – Citizens : flowers and the wide sea : continuing the epic story of China's centuries-old relationship with Australia
- 2002 – Visions of Australia : impressions of the landscape 1642–1910
- 2011 – A million wild acres : 200 years of man and an Australian forest/ foreword by Les Murray
Eric Rolls Memorial Lecture
Funded by his widow, Elaine van Kempen, the Eric Rolls Memorial Lecture was inaugurated in 2010 as a biannual lecture.[10]
2010: "Fire in 1788: The closest ally" by Bill Gammage[11]
2012: "A Meander Down a River or Two: How Water Defines Our Continent and Its Future" by Richard Kingsford[12]
2014: "The Landscape Behind the Landscape" by Nicholas Rothwell[13]
2016: "Gifts from China" by Nicholas Jose[14]
2018: "Mother Earth" by Bruce Pascoe[15]
Honours
- Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 1992[16]
- Centenary Medal, 2001[17]
References
- Libraries Australia: Rolls, Eric C. (Eric Charles) 1923–2007
- "Eric Rolls". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- Hanley, Penelope (2009). Creative Lives: Personal Papers of Australian Writers and Artists (Eric Rolls). National Library Australia. ISBN 978-0-642-27656-8.
- "Eric Rolls and the Pilliga". Radio National. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- Griffiths, T (2007). "Rolls, Eric Charles (1923–2007)". Obituaries Australia. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- "ELAINE VAN KEMPEN Obituary - Byron Bay, New South Wales". Legacy.com. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- Wyndham, S. (2007). "Author Rolls dies aged 84". Sydney Morning Herald (2007-11-03). Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- Griffiths, T. (2016). "Golden disobedience: the history of Eric Rolls". Inside Story. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- Rolls, Eric C. (Eric Charles); van Kempen, Elaine, Papers of Eric Rolls, 1821-2009, retrieved 9 October 2020
- "Eric Rolls Memorial Lecture | National Library of Australia". www.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- Gammage, Bill; Watermark Literary Society; National Library of Australia (2010), Fire in 1788: The closest ally [sound recording] : the first Eric Rolls memorial lecture given by Bill Gammage at the National Library of Australia on 20 October 2010
- "Richard Kingsford: A Meander Down a River or Two". ABC Radio National. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- "Nicolas Rothwell: The Landscape Behind the Landscape". National Library of Australia. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- "Jose Nicholas: Gifts from China". National Library of Australia. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- "Mother Earth with Bruce Pascoe". National Library of Australia. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- Australian Honours: AM. Retreievd 13 October 2020
- Australian Honours: Centenary Medal. Retrieved 13 October 2020
External links
- Eric Rolls and the Pilliga on ABC Earshot
- Golden disobedience: the history of Eric Rolls
- Eric Rolls readingaustralia.com.au
- UQP authors: Eric Rolls
- In Bed with Phillip: Eric Rolls