AustLit logo

AustLit

y separately published work icon A Century of Australian Short Stories anthology   short story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1963... 1963 A Century of Australian Short Stories
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Heinemann , 1963 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
A Century of Australian Short Stories : Introduction, single work criticism (p. ix-xvi)
Fisher's Ghost The Ghost upon the Rail, John Lang , single work short story crime
The tale of Fisher's Ghost's originally from John Lang's Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia . Penrith, NSW, was the scene of Edward Smith's murder of his neighbouring farmer John Fisher, both of them ex-convicts. Smith's plan is foiled by suspicions aroused by Fisher's apparition, the skills of a black tracker, and the sagacious magistrate, Mr Cox. Smith is hanged. (PB)
(p. 1-19)
How a Claim was Nearly Jumped in Gum-Tree Gully, Tasma , single work short story (p. 20-33)
The Parson's Blackboy How the Reverend Joseph Simmondsen Lost His Character, Jack Fruit , single work short story humour (p. 34-37)
The Heart-Breaking of Anstey's Bess, 'Price Warung' , single work short story historical fiction (p. 38-49)
The Drover's Wife, Henry Lawson , single work short story

First appearing in The Bulletin in 1892, Henry Lawson's short story 'The Drovers Wife' is today regarded as a seminal work in the Australian literary tradition. Noted for it's depiction of the bush as harsh, potentially threatening and both isolated and isolating, the story opens with a simple enough premise: an aggressive--and presumably deadly--snake disrupts the working life of a bushwoman and her young children. Brave but cautious, the woman resolves to protect her children since her husband is, characteristically, away from home and of no help. 

As time passes within the story, tension builds, and the snake's symbolic threat takes on layers of meaning as the sleepless heroine recalls previous challenges she faced while her husband was away. A series of flashbacks and recollections propel the story through the single night over which it takes place, and by the time the climax arrives--the confrontation with the snake--readers have learned much about the heroine's strengths and fears, most of the latter involving the loss of children and dark figures who encroach upon her small, vulnerable homestead. To be sure, this "darkness" is highly symbolic, and Lawson's use of imagery invokes Western notions of good and evil as well as gendered and racial stereotypes. 

(p. 50-57)
The Loaded Dog, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Dave and Andy create a bomb to blast fish out of the waterhole. However their dog picks the bomb up and begins a deadly, yet hilarious, game of 'fetch'.
(p. 58-64)
The Union Buries Its Dead, Henry Lawson , single work short story humour
Describes a bush funeral.
(p. 65-68)
The Night We Watched for Wallabies, 'Steele Rudd' , single work short story humour (p. 69-71)
Squeaker's Mate, Barbara Baynton , single work short story (p. 72-85)
A Saturday at Spats', Edward Dyson , single work short story humour (p. 86-92)
The Birthday, Vance Palmer , single work short story (p. 93-99)
The Dingo, Vance Palmer , single work short story (p. 100-110)
The Cooboo, Katharine Susannah Prichard , single work short story
Set on the wide plains of the Murndoo station, 'The Cooboo' is the story of Rose, a Wongana woman, mother, and stockwoman.
(p. 111-114)
The Grown-Up Ball 'And Women Must Weep', Henry Handel Richardson , single work short story (p. 115-120)
Sojourners, Frank Dalby Davison , single work short story (p. 121-133)
The Woman from the Bend, Don Edwards , single work short story (p. 134-140)
Short-Shift Saturday, Gavin Casey , single work short story (p. 141-171)
Solemn Mass, Dal Stivens , single work short story (p. 172-174)
The Three Jolly Foxes, Douglas Stewart , single work short story (p. 175-183)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Short Story Anthologies and 'the Solid Body of Australian Fiction' Stephen Holden , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 19 no. 3 2000; (p. 279-294)
[Review] A Century of Australian Short Stories Martin Haley , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Advocate: A Weekly Catholic Journal , 11 April 1963; (p. 10)

— Review of A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
[Review] A Century of Australian Short Stories Scrutarius , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Walkabout , vol. 29 no. 7 1963; (p. 41)

— Review of A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
What's Stories For? Andrew Taylor , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Dissent , vol. 3 no. 3 1963; (p. 29-31)

— Review of A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
[Review] A Century of Australian Short Stories Tom Ronan , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Twentieth Century , vol. 17 no. 1963; (p. 372-373)

— Review of A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
Stories, Now and Then David Martin , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 26 1963; (p. 42-43)

— Review of Coast to Coast : Australian Stories 1961-62 1962 periodical issue short story ; A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
Don't Shoot the Anthologist Nancy Keesing , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 30 March vol. 85 no. 4337 1963; (p. 37)

— Review of Creative Writing in Australia : A Selective Survey John K. Ewers , 1945 single work criticism ; A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
Morris West and Martin Boyd Alan Davies , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Nation , 27 July 1963; (p. 21)

— Review of The Shoes of the Fisherman Morris West , 1963 single work novel ; A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
[Review] A Century of Australian Short Stories Stokes Edwin , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , Spring vol. 7 no. 4 1963; (p. 73-77)

— Review of A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
The Growth of the Short Story John Ryan , 1963 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April vol. 2 no. 6 1963; (p. 100)

— Review of A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963 anthology short story
Short Story Anthologies and 'the Solid Body of Australian Fiction' Stephen Holden , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 19 no. 3 2000; (p. 279-294)
Last amended 11 Sep 2008 16:21:35
X