AustLit

'This is a tale of corruption stretching from street corner SP bookmaking to the most influential men in the land - and the terrible personal cost of the power such corruption brings. John West rose from a Melbourne slum to dominate Australian politics with bribery, brutality and fear. His attractive wife and their children turned away from him in horror. Friends dropped away. At the peak of his power, surrounded by bootlickers, West faced a hate-filled nation - and the terrible loneliness of his life. Was John West a real figure? For months during the post-war years, an Australian court heard evidence in a sensational libel action brought by businessman John Wren's wife. After a national uproar which rocked the very foundations of the Commonwealth, Frank Hardy was acquitted. This is the novel which provoked such intense uproar and debate across the nation. The questions it poses remain unanswered…' (Publication summary)

Financed by proceeds earned from several months of farm labouring, twenty-two year old Bruce Muirden published the first issue of Austrovert in December 1950. Dissastified with what he believed was the lack of attention given to Australian literature by 'academics and litterateurs', Muirden hoped that the Austrovert would be a 'half way mark' between the daily press and the academy.

Printing between four and five hundred copies for each issue on an irregular basis, Muirden distributed copies to places that he believed were in need of Austrovert's message. Muirden distanced his editorial policy from movements such as the Jindyworobaks, but the magazine received harsh criticism from Max Harris for a lack of strong policy. The magazine was also attacked by members of the Realist Writers Group for alleged fascist motivations.

Much of the content was unsigned, but other contributions and reprints were also published. In addition to unsigned reviews and a series of biographical sketches of Australian authors, Austrovert published the work of a number of writers, including Norman Lindsay, Judith Wright, Vance Palmer, Vincent Buckley, Arthur Upfield, Ian Mudie, Rex Ingamells, Douglas Stewart and Ruth Park.

Muirden moved to Darwin in 1953, but could not continue production of the magazine. The last, one sheet issue of Austrovert was printed there in June 1953. A selection of poetry from the Austrovert was published as Austro-Verse in 1952.