Ambrose Pratt
Encyclopedia
Ambrose Goddard Hesketh Pratt (31 August 1874 - 13 April 1944) was an Australian writer born into a cultivated family in Forbes, New South Wales.
He was the third of seven children of Eustace Pratt, a well-connected physician fluent in Mandarin Chinese who had spent some time in India and China, and was a friend of Henry Parkes
and Edmund Barton
. Ambrose himself was brought up by an amah. His grandfather Henry Pratt, also a medical man, had in his later years become obsessed with Eastern religions and philosophies of India and Tibet. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Riverview
and Sydney Grammar School
. He had private tutors for French, German, and the manly arts boxing, riding, fencing and shooting.
After abandoning studies in Medicine, he took up Law. It was around this time that he was writing pro-labour (and anti-Asian immigration) articles for The Australian Worker
. Once qualified as a solicitor, he rose to admission to the Supreme Court of New South Wales
in 1897. But this life must not have suited him, as he left to follow a more adventurous existence, including work on a Pacific trading steamer and as a Queensland drover.
He travelled to England where he commenced writing novels and stories for magazines such as The Bulletin
and The Lone Hand
, and began what was to become a career in journalism with the Daily Mail
which brought him back to Australia in 1905. He joined The Age as a journalist in 1905, gaining considerable influence (David Syme
was a mentor), and was a member of the party with Prime Minister Andrew Fisher
visiting the newly founded Union of South Africa for the opening of its parliament. In 1918, as a prominent protectionist in the tariff debate then raging, became founding editor and part-owner of the Australian Industrial and Mining Standard to 1927. He was involved in companies mining for tin in Malaya and Siam
.
With retirement from journalism, he became involved with keeping Australian fauna in the Melbourne Zoological Gardens
, being president 1921-36 of the Zoological and Acclimatization Society of Victoria, and later vice-chairman of the Zoological Society of Victoria. With his friend Colin MacKenzie
he founded the research station at Healesville.
He was a proponent (from around 1925) of The Ghan railway to Alice Springs and rode in the VIP carriage during the inaugural journey.
In 1933 he founded the League of Youth with the aim of encouraging citizenship and love of nature.
His politics, initially pro-labour, had turned decidedly conservative from the time of the Australian Labor Party
split of 1916. His mining and newspaper investments may have been a contributing factor. By 1931, as a member of "The Group", he was helping ease the departure of Joseph Lyons
from the Labor Party, including the writing of his resignation speech.
His novels frequently focussed on criminal outsiders such as 'The Push
' (a Sydney larrikin element analogous to the 'bodgie
s' of the 1950s, 'rocker
s' of the 1960s and bikie
s of today), bushrangers such as Thunderbolt
, Ben Hall.
and attempted to ameliorate the kind of xenophobia prevalent at the time (and finding support in the pages to The Bulletin) with his writings, exemplified by his 1941 play A Point in Time. His book The Real South Africa similarly had what would now be regarded as an remarkably enlightened view of the position of Black South Africans.
His portrait by Charles Wheeler
won the 1933 Archibald prize.
The Ambrose Pratt section of the Royal Zoological Gardens
in Melbourne
is named for him.
He was the third of seven children of Eustace Pratt, a well-connected physician fluent in Mandarin Chinese who had spent some time in India and China, and was a friend of Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
and Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
. Ambrose himself was brought up by an amah. His grandfather Henry Pratt, also a medical man, had in his later years become obsessed with Eastern religions and philosophies of India and Tibet. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Riverview
St Ignatius' College, Riverview
Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school for boys, located in Riverview, a small suburb situated on the Lane Cove River on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
and Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. He had private tutors for French, German, and the manly arts boxing, riding, fencing and shooting.
After abandoning studies in Medicine, he took up Law. It was around this time that he was writing pro-labour (and anti-Asian immigration) articles for The Australian Worker
Australian Workers' Union
The Australian Workers' Union is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s, and currently has approximately 135,000 members...
. Once qualified as a solicitor, he rose to admission to the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
in 1897. But this life must not have suited him, as he left to follow a more adventurous existence, including work on a Pacific trading steamer and as a Queensland drover.
He travelled to England where he commenced writing novels and stories for magazines such as The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
and The Lone Hand
The Lone Hand (magazine)
The Lone Hand was a monthly Australian magazine of literature and poetry modelled on The London Strand founded in 1907 by J F Archibald and Frank Fox as a sister magazine to The Bulletin...
, and began what was to become a career in journalism with the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
which brought him back to Australia in 1905. He joined The Age as a journalist in 1905, gaining considerable influence (David Syme
David Syme
David Syme was a Scottish-Australian newspaper proprietor of The Age and regarded as "the father of protection in Australia" who had immense influence in the Government of Victoria.-Early life and family:...
was a mentor), and was a member of the party with Prime Minister Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...
visiting the newly founded Union of South Africa for the opening of its parliament. In 1918, as a prominent protectionist in the tariff debate then raging, became founding editor and part-owner of the Australian Industrial and Mining Standard to 1927. He was involved in companies mining for tin in Malaya and Siam
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
With retirement from journalism, he became involved with keeping Australian fauna in the Melbourne Zoological Gardens
Melbourne Zoo
The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram...
, being president 1921-36 of the Zoological and Acclimatization Society of Victoria, and later vice-chairman of the Zoological Society of Victoria. With his friend Colin MacKenzie
Colin Mackenzie
Colonel Colin Mackenzie was Surveyor General of India, and an art collector and orientalist.Mackenzie was born in Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Scotland...
he founded the research station at Healesville.
He was a proponent (from around 1925) of The Ghan railway to Alice Springs and rode in the VIP carriage during the inaugural journey.
In 1933 he founded the League of Youth with the aim of encouraging citizenship and love of nature.
His politics, initially pro-labour, had turned decidedly conservative from the time of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
split of 1916. His mining and newspaper investments may have been a contributing factor. By 1931, as a member of "The Group", he was helping ease the departure of Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
from the Labor Party, including the writing of his resignation speech.
His novels frequently focussed on criminal outsiders such as 'The Push
Rocks Push
The Rocks Push was a notorious larrikin gang, which dominated the The Rocks area of Sydney from the 1870s to the end of the 1890s. In its day it was referred to as The Push, a title which has since come to be more widely used for cliques in general and the left-wing movement the Sydney Push.The...
' (a Sydney larrikin element analogous to the 'bodgie
Bodgies and Widgies
Bodgies and Widgies refer to a youth subculture that existed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s, similar to the Teddy Boy culture in the UK or Greaser culture in the US....
s' of the 1950s, 'rocker
Rocker (subculture)
Rockers, leather boys or ton-up boys are a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centered around British cafe racer motorcycles and rock and roll music....
s' of the 1960s and bikie
Outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a type of motorcycle club that is part of a subculture with roots in the post-World War II USA, centered on cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals celebrating freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the...
s of today), bushrangers such as Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt
A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies,...
, Ben Hall.
Legacy
Pratt ended his life an opponent of the White Australia PolicyWhite Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
and attempted to ameliorate the kind of xenophobia prevalent at the time (and finding support in the pages to The Bulletin) with his writings, exemplified by his 1941 play A Point in Time. His book The Real South Africa similarly had what would now be regarded as an remarkably enlightened view of the position of Black South Africans.
His portrait by Charles Wheeler
Charles Wheeler (painter)
Charles Arthur Wheeler OBE, DCM was an Australian painter.Born in New Zealand, he arrived in Australia in 1892.He won the Archibald Prize for 1933....
won the 1933 Archibald prize.
The Ambrose Pratt section of the Royal Zoological Gardens
Melbourne Zoo
The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
is named for him.