Acknowledgements
I acknowledge the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, traditional custodians of the land on which I wrote this book.
Many thanks to Karen Throssell, Katharine Susannah Prichard’s granddaughter and literary executor, for permission to quote from the works of Katharine and Ric and for her gracious interest in my research.
I thank the Edward and Janet Palmer Estates for permission to quote from the Papers of Vance and Nettie Palmer.
The first half of this book was written for my PhD and my supervisors, Tony Hughes-d’Aeth and Van Ikin, were generous with their time, astute in their feedback, and skilful at bringing out my best. It was a pleasure and an honour to work with them. Van not only took me on in his retirement but was my first reader for the second half of the book too. Earlier versions of chapters 2 and 39 were first published in Westerly as ‘“The Memory of a Storm”: The Wild Oats of Han and the childhood of Katharine Susannah Prichard, 1887 to 1895’ (vol. 60, no. 2) and ‘“As My Great Day Approaches”: Katharine Susannah Prichard in 1969’ (vol. 64, no. 2).
This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. I’ve been glad of the collegiality of academics and other postgraduates in the School of Humanities at the University of Western Australia and beyond. The Words and Thoughts creative writing group gave feedback on my work and literary stimulation. My colleagues at Morling College have been supportive over many years.
The Document Delivery team at UWA fulfilled countless requests with professionalism and courtesy. Thanks to the staff of National Library of Australia, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne University, Public Record Office of Victoria and the State Library of Western Australia. The National Library of Australia’s Trove digitised newspapers and other digitisation projects have made an immense difference to my research. A number of volunteer organisations have helped in my quest, including the Brighton Cemetorians, Emerald Museum, Glen Eira Historical Society, Mundaring and Hills Historical Society and Yarram District Historical Society.
The KSP Writers’ Centre’s ongoing interest in my research has been a great encouragement, and I particularly thank Glen Phillips, Shannon Coyle, Mardi May, Elizabeth Lewis, Tabetha Rogers Beggs, Lisa Wolstenholme and Valerie Everett. I thank the KSP Foundation, which runs the centre, for permission to use their photographs of Katharine.
I have been nourished by the literary friendship of many, including Laura Sewell Matter, Tracy Ryan, John Kinsella, Laurie Steed, Melinda Tognini, Madelaine Dickie, Jonathan Morling, Miriam Wei Wei Lo, James Quinton, Siobhan Hodge and Cassie Lynch, and fellow bloggers Lisa Hill, Bill Holloway, Michelle Scott Tucker, Sue Terry and Karenlee Thompson. Biographers John Burbidge and Sylvia Martin encouraged a novice. Nicholas Jose, Judith Brett, Nicole Moore, Janet Blagg, Terri-ann White, Kate Noske and Josephine Taylor kindly gave expert opinion on sections of the manuscript. Many Facebook friends have helped decipher Katharine’s difficult handwriting. For help with translation, thanks to Bernie Raselala, Aldo Magagnino, Tony Quicke, Diana James and Michael Hobby. Thanks to John and Irene Mills for their hospitality in Canberra.
Thanks to the other writers and researchers interested in Katharine and her world who have enriched me on the way, including Graham Barwell, Riley Buchanan, Sandra Burchill, Leigh Dale, Denise Faithfull, Emily Gallagher, Louise Helfgott, Dylan Hyde, Deborah Jordan, Brigid Magner, Henry Stead, and Trevor Todd. Special thanks to Anne Mahon for preserving her superb research on Katharine for future scholars. Many people have generously shared their knowledge, including Ross Burgess, Jocelyn and Dick Cook, Bill Day, Timothy Dauth, Nicholas Hasluck, Judy Inveen, Dale Kessell, Dianne Lane, Cate Remfry, Rosalie and Adrian Roberts and Karen Zammits.
It’s an honour to publish with Nathan Hollier, Catherine McInnis and the rest of the team at Melbourne University Publishing, and I thank them for bringing this book to print. I was fortunate to have an excellent copyeditor in Katie Connolly and a great cover from Klarissa Pfisterer. Thanks to Patrick Cannon for page design and typesetting, and Karen Gillen for indexing.
Thanks to my family for their ongoing support—David and Suzanne Hobby, Joshua Hobby, Catherine and Keith Gorman, Rob and Diana James, Russell and Nadia James, and my nephews and nieces. My beloved grandmother, Beryl Winning (1932–2021) asked each week how ‘Katharine’ was going. My love and gratitude to my wife, Nicole Hobby, whose belief in the project has been crucial; she’s put up patiently with Katharine and shown much wisdom and insight. Without Thomas and Sarah—both born during the project—I’d have finished sooner but with far less love and joy.
Katharine with her grandmother Susan, brother Alan, and Aunt Chris, outside Clareville, ca. 1887. KSPP, MS6201/1/13
The Prichard family—Alan, Tom, Katharine, Beatrice, Edith and Nigel, 1895. KSP Family Album, NLA
WT Reay. Weekly Times, 10 April 1897, p. 11
Guido Barrachi, 1917. Papers of Marjorie Pizer, SLNSW, MSS 7428/1/6
Sumner Locke. Punch, 20 August 1908, p. 27
Hugo Throssell, ca. 1918. Webb and Webb, SLWA, 4387B/38
Katharine, London, ca. 1915. KWC
Hugo and Katharine (right) in the grounds of the hospital, 1915. KWC
Hugo and Katharine, Melbourne, 1916 or 1918. KWC
Katharine with Thea Bridge and friend, the cottage in the background, unknown visitors in the summerhouse, ca. 1921. KSPP, MS6201/1/14
Katharine in front of her workroom, ca. 1930. KSP Family Album, NLA.
Turee Station, 1926—left, Katharine and Joe Maguire; right, Topsy/Kundri, picture labelled by Katharine ‘a girl like Coonardoo’. KWC
Katharine with prospectors at Larkinville, 1930. KWC
Katharine and Ric, ca. 1927. KWC
Hugh McCrae, 1927. May Moore, NLA
Katharine with Helios Gómez and Walter Carmon in the Soviet Union. KWC
The last known photograph of Hugo—pictured with his sister Eva Bartlett-Day (right) and nieces, 27 October 1933. KSPP, MS6201/1/14
Katharine on her return form the Soviet Union with Ric, ca. 26 December 1933. KSPP, MS6201/1/14
Egon Kisch and Katharine (centre) 1934. KWC
Jean Devanny, 1932. NLA
Doon Doyle (later Stone). Kalgoorlie Miner, 12 July 1938, p. 1
Katharine in her sitting room, 1949. D. Glass, NAA
Katharine and Paul Robeson, 1960. John Gilchrist, SLWA
Katharine with visitors, probably on her front verandah at Greenmount. John Gilchrist, SLWA
The last known photograph of Katharine—with Zoya Zarubina on the front verandah at Greenmount, 26 September, 1969. John Gilchrist, SLWA
Funeral procession at Karrakatta Cemetery, 4 October, 1969. John Gilchrist, SLWA