1984 in Australian literature explained

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1984.

Events

• Tim Winton’s Shallows won the 1984 Miles Franklin Award

Major publications

Novels

• Helen Garner — The Children's Bach
• Nicholas Hasluck — The Bellarmine Jug
• David Ireland — Archimedes and the Seagle
• Peter Kocan — The Treatment; and, the Cure^[1]
• Elizabeth Jolley — Milk and Honey
• Amanda Lohrey — The Morality of Gentlemen^[2]
• David Malouf — Harland's Half Acre^[3]
• Jill Neville — Last Ferry to Manly^[4]
• Randolph Stow — The Suburbs of Hell^[5]
• Tim Winton — Shallows

Crime and mystery

• Marshall Browne — Dark Harbour^[6]
• Evan Green — Alice to Nowhere^[7]
• Tony Kenrick — Blast^[8]
• William Marshall — The Far Away Man^[9]

Science fiction and fantasy

• A. Bertram Chandler — The Wild Ones^[10]
• Victor Kelleher — The Beast of Heaven^[11]
• Keith Taylor — Bard II^[12]
• Cherry Wilder
  • A Princess of the Chameln^[13]
  • Yorath the Wolf^[14]

Short story anthologies

• John Morrison — Stories of the Waterfront^[15]

Children's and young adult fiction

• James Aldridge — The True Story of Lilli Stubeck^[16]
• Robin Klein — Hating Alison Ashley
• Emily Rodda — Something Special^[17]
• Nadia Wheatley — Dancing in the Anzac Deli^[18]

Poetry

• Doris Brett — The Truth about Unicorns^[19]
• Rosemary Dobson — The Three Fates & Other Poems^[20]
• Robert Gray — The Skylight^[21]
• Kevin Hart — Your Shadow^[22]
• Dorothy Porter — The Night Parrot^[23]

Awards and honours

• Nancy Cato, for "service to Australian literature"^[24]
• John Manifold, for "service literature as a poet and musician^[25]
• Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, for "service to Australian literature"^[26]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award^[27]	Not awarded
NSW Premier's Special Award^[28]	Marjorie Barnard
Patrick White Award^[29]	Rosemary Dobson

Literary awards

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[30]	Nicholas Hasluck	The Bellarmine Jug	Penguin
ALS Gold Medal^[31]	Les Murray		Angus and Robertson
Colin Roderick Award^[32]	Alan Gould	The Man Who Stayed Below	Angus and Robertson

Fiction awards

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award	Nicholas Hasluck	The Bellarmine Jug	Penguin
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award^[33]	Kate Grenville	Lilian's Story	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award^[34]	Tim Winton	Shallows	Allen and Unwin
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Beverley Farmer	Milk	McPhee Gribble

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Anne Elder Award^[35]	Doris Brett	The Truth About Unicorns	Jacaranda Press
	Max Richards	Under Mount Egmont and Other Poems	Neptune Press
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry^[36]	Rosemary Dobson	The Three Fates and Other Poems	Hale and Iremonger
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Les Murray		Angus & Robertson

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers^[37]	Patricia Wrightson	A Little Fear	Hutchinson
	Picture Book^[38]	Pamela Allen	Bertie and the Bear	Nelson Books
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Young People's Literature	Mem Fox and Julie Vivas	Possum Magic	Omnibus Books

Drama

Award	Category	Author	Title
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Script	Michael Jenkins	Careful, He Might Hear You
		Robert Caswell	Scales of Justice
	Play	Warwick Moss	Down an Alley Filled with Cats

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award	John Rickard	H.B. Higgins: The Rebel and Judge	Allen and Unwin
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Sylvia Lawson	The Archibald Paradox	Allen Lane

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1984 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 21 January — Alan Marshall, writer, story teller, humanist and social documenter (born 1902)^[39]
• 12 March — Peg Maltby, artist, book illustrator and children's writer (born 1899 in England)^[40]
• 6 June — A. Bertram Chandler, mariner-turned-science fiction writer (born 1912)^[41]
• 24 June — Francis Brabazon, poet and member of Meher Baba's mandali (born 1907)^[42]
• 29 September — Hal Porter, novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer (1911)^[43]
• 10 November — Xavier Herbert, writer (born 1901)^[44]
• 10 December — Jean Campbell, novelist (born 1901)^[45]
• 23 December — Joan Lindsay, novelist, playwright, essayist and visual artist (born 1896)^[46]

See also

• 1984 in Australia
• 1984 in literature
• 1984 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: Austlit — The Treatment; and, the Cure by Peter Kocan . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
2. Web site: Austlit — The Morality of Gentlemen by Amanda Lohrey . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
3. Web site: Austlit — Harland's Half Acre by David Malouf . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
4. Web site: Austlit — Last Ferry to Manly by Jill Neville . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
5. Web site: Austlit — The Suburbs of Hell by Randolph Stowe . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
6. Web site: Austlit — Dark Harbour by Marshall Browne . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
7. Web site: Austlit — Alice to Nowhere by Evan Green . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
8. Web site: Austlit — Blast by Tony Kenrick . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
9. Web site: Austlit — The Far Away Man by William Marshall . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
10. Web site: The Wild Ones by A. Bertram Chandler . ISFDB. 14 May 2024.
11. Web site: The Beast of Heaven by Victor Kelleher. ISFDB. 15 October 2024.
12. Web site: Bard II by Keith Taylor . ISFDB. 14 May 2024.
13. Web site: A Princess of the Chameln by Cherry Wilder. ISFDB. 14 May 2024.
14. Web site: Yorath the Wolf by Cherry Wilder. ISFDB. 14 May 2024.
15. Web site: Austlit — Stories of the Waterfront by John Morrison . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
16. Web site: Austlit — The True Story of Lilli Stubeck by James Aldridge . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
17. Web site: Austlit — Something Special by Emily Rodda . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
18. Web site: Austlit — Dancing in the Anzac Deli by Nadia Wheatley . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
19. Web site: Austlit — The Truth about Unicorns by Doris Brett . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
20. Web site: Austlit — The Three Fates & Other Poems by Rosemary Dobson . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
21. Web site: Austlit — The Skylight by Robert Gray . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
22. Web site: Austlit — Your Shadow by Kevin Hart . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
23. Web site: Austlit — The Night Parrot by Dorothy Porter . Austlit. 11 November 2023.
24. Web site: Nancy Fotheringham Cato. honours.pmc.gov.au. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191211080912/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870186 . 11 December 2019 . 2019-12-11.
25. Web site: John Streeter Manifold. honours.pmc.gov.au. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180713164621/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870151 . 13 July 2018 . 2019-12-11.
26. Web site: Dorothy Green. honours.pmc.gov.au. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191211080914/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869852 . 11 December 2019 . 2019-12-11.
27. Web site: Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award 1980-87. Austlit. 13 September 2023.
28. Web site: 'Milk' wins Farmer $10,000 NSW award . The Age, 4 September 1984, p14. 19 April 2024.
29. Web site: Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners . Austlit. 22 August 2023.
30. Web site: "Book council president" . The Canberra Times, 8 December 1984, p3. 30 December 2023.
31. Web site: ALS Gold Medal - Previous Winners . Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 25 June 2023.
32. Web site: Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners . James Cook University. 25 June 2023.
33. Web site: Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1984. Austlit. 11 November 2023.
34. News: Franklin award to Winton . . 59 . 18,124 . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 15 May 1985 . 25 June 2023 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
35. Web site: Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1982-84 . Austlit. 9 February 2024.
36. Web site: "Poetry prize to Rosemary Dobson" . The Canberra Times, 30 October 1985, p29. 4 September 2023.
37. Web site: Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1984 . Austlit. 22 November 2023.
38. Web site: Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book 1984 . Austlit. 22 November 2023.
39. Web site: Marshall, Alan (1902–1984) by John McLaren . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 27 June 2023.
40. Web site: Peg Maltby (1899-1984). Austlit. 27 June 2023.
41. Web site: Chandler, Arthur Bertram (Bert) (1912–1984) by Alf Van Der Poorten . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 27 June 2023.
42. Web site: Francis Brabazon (1907-1984). Austlit. 27 June 2023.
43. Web site: Porter, Harold Edward (Hal) (1911–1984) by Peter Pierce . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 27 June 2023.
44. Web site: Herbert, Albert Francis Xavier (1901–1984) by Russell McDougall . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 23 June 2023.
45. Web site: Campbell, Jean May (1901–1984) by John Arnold . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 23 September 2023.
46. Web site: Lindsay, Joan à Beckett (1896–1984) by Terence O'Neill . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 24 June 2023.