Leslie Rees (author)
George Leslie Clarke Rees AM (28 December 1905 - 17 August 2000) was an Australian author and writer for children who was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia.[1]
Leslie Rees AM | |
---|---|
Born | George Leslie Clarke Rees 28 December 1905 Perth, Western Australia |
Died | 17 August 2000 94) Sydney, New South Wales | (aged
Occupation | writer |
Language | English |
Nationality | Australian |
Notable works | The Story of Karrawingi the Emu |
Notable awards | Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1946 |
Years active | 1929-1997 |
Spouse | Coralie Clarke Rees |
He attended Perth Modern School and then the University of Western Australia, where he edited the student magazine, Black Swan. He then worked for The West Australian as a journalist before travelling to London to study at University College on a scholarship. It was while there that he married fellow West Australian, Coralie Clarke, who had been a sub-editor during his time on the Black Swan.[1]
Rees returned to Australia in 1936 to become the Australian Broadcasting Commission's first federal drama editor in Sydney. He was also President of PEN (Sydney) for a number of years.
As a writer Rees is best known as a prolific author of children's books as well as written travel books, plays and an autobiography.
He died in Sydney on 17 August 2000.[1]
Bibliography
Novel
- Danger Patrol (1954)
Children's fiction
- Digit Dick on the Barrier Reef (1942)
- The Story of Shy the Platypus (1944)
- Gecko : The Lizard Who Lost His Tail (1944)
- The Story of Karrawingi the Emu (1946)
- Digit Dick and the Tasmanian Devil (1946)
- The Story of Sarli the Barrier Reef Turtle (1947)
- The Story of Kurri Kurri the Kookaburra (1948)
- Bluecap and Bimbi : The Blue Wrens (1948)
- Mates of the Kurlalong (1948)
- Quokka Island (1951)
- The Story of Aroora the Red Kangaroo (1952)
- Digit Dick in the Black Swan Land (1952)
- Two Thumbs : The Story of a Koala (1953)
- The Story of Koonawarra the Black Swan (1957)
- Digit Dick and the Lost Opals (1957)
- The Story of Wy-lah the Cockatoo (1959)
- The Story of Russ the Australian Tree Kangaroo (1964)
- Boy Lost of Tropic Coast : Adventure Dexter Hardy (1968)
- The Big Book of Digit Dick (1973)
- Mokee, the White Possum (1973)
- Panic in Cattle Country (1974)
- The Story of Shy the Platypus (1977)
- Here's to Shane (1977)
- Digit Dick and the Magic Jabiru (1981)
- Digit Dick and the Zoo Plot (1982)
- The Seagull Who Liked Cricket (1997)
Drama
- The Man With the Money : A Drama (1948)
- The Harp in the South (1949) - based on the Ruth Park novel of the same title
- Modern Short Plays (1951) edited
- Mask and Microphone : Plays (1963) edited
Travel
- Spinifex Walkabout : Hitch-hiking in Remote North Australia (1953)
- Westward from Cocos : Indian Ocean Travels (1956)
- Coasts of Cape York : travels around Australia's pearl-tipped peninsula (1960)
Autobiography
- Hold Fast to Dreams : Fifty Years in Theatre, Radio, Television and Books (1982)
Awards
- 1946 winner Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers — The Story of Karrawingi the Emu[2]
- 1981 appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to literature[3]
References
- Austlit - Leslie Rees
- "Book of the Year: Children's Story by Leslie Rees", The West Australian, 13 November 1946, p8
- "George Leslie Clarence Rees". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 14 June 2019.