Elyne Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Elyne Mitchell, OAM
(born Sibyl Elyne Chauvel on 30 December 1913 Melbourne
, Victoria
- died 4 March 2002 Corryong, Victoria
) was an Australian author noted for the Silver Brumby
series of children's novels. Set in the Snowy Mountains
area of the Australian Alps
around Mount Kosciuszko
in southern New South Wales
and northern Victoria
, the books recount the life of the pale palomino brumby
stallion Thowra from his birth in The Silver Brumby (first published 1958) to Silver Brumby Whirlwind. The Silver Brumby was the basis of a film of the same name in 1993 starring Caroline Goodall
as Mitchell and Russell Crowe
as The Man. This film was also released under the title The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild. There is also a children's cartoon TV series of the same name, which uses some character names, but at best is only a very loose adaptation of the books. Elyne Mitchell's other works of fiction are also set in the Snowy Mountains around Thredbo and the Cascade Hut and are popularno by brumbies and other animals, native and feral. The brumby stories generally intersect geographically or thematically with the Silver Brumby books and various characters from the Silver Brumby books may appear in the others.
Her novels describe eastern Australian terrain and wildlife in considerable detail. She was part of a wave of nationalist Australian writing in that gathered strength in the late 1930s and 1940s and her work is generally described as having a landscape aesthetic. Although the horses and other animals in her books speak to each other, they are not anthropomorphic and particularly in the first two Silver Brumby books, otherwise behave naturally.
Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture. Elyne Mitchell was the daughter of General Sir Henry George (Harry) Chauvel
, who was the commander of the ANZAC Mounted Division
Light Horse and Desert Mounted Corps
in World War I
famous for the charge at Beersheba
.
She was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak
. She married lawyer, and later parliamentarian, Thomas Walter Mitchell
, and moved with him to the mountains. He taught her to ski, and they had four children - Walter Harry, John, Honnor, and Indi. According to an interview with Tom Wright, the "Silver Brumby" series arose from Mrs Mitchell's difficulties in finding suitable reading material for her daughter Indi, then 10 and being raised in some isolation on the Mitchell family property Towong Hill, a remote cattle station
in the Snowy Mountains
. Elyne Mitchell was a keen skier and horsewoman - in 1938 she won the Canadian downhill skiing championship, and according to Tom Wright, in 1941 she became the first woman to descend on skis the entire western face of the Snowy Mountains.
Elyne Mitchell was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to literature in 1988, and in 1993, Charles Sturt University awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters. She also won Children's Book Council awards. She often illustrated her work with her own photographs, and used a 1936 Corona typewriter to write nine of her books, including The Silver Brumby. This typewriter can be seen at the National Museum of Australia
in Canberra, Australia. The Corryong Library in NE Victoria was renamed in Elyne Mitchell's honour in 2001 and a rural women's literary award (with prizes totalling $2000) has been named after her.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born Sibyl Elyne Chauvel on 30 December 1913 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...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
- died 4 March 2002 Corryong, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
) was an Australian author noted for the Silver Brumby
Silver Brumby
The Silver Brumby series is a collection of children's books by Australian author Elyne Mitchell. They recount the life and adventures of Thowra, a magnificent pale brumby stallion, and his descendants, and are set in the Snowy Mountains region of Australia....
series of children's novels. Set in the Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228 metres AHD, approximately 7310 feet....
area of the Australian Alps
Australian Alps
The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in southeastern Australia and straddle the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria...
around Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia...
in southern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and northern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, the books recount the life of the pale palomino brumby
Brumby
A Brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although found in many areas around the country, the best-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region in south-eastern Australia. Today, most of them are found in the Northern Territory, with the second largest population in Queensland...
stallion Thowra from his birth in The Silver Brumby (first published 1958) to Silver Brumby Whirlwind. The Silver Brumby was the basis of a film of the same name in 1993 starring Caroline Goodall
Caroline Goodall
Caroline Cruice Goodall is a British actress and screenwriter.-Biography:Goodall was born in London, England to a journalist mother and a publisher father...
as Mitchell and Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
as The Man. This film was also released under the title The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild. There is also a children's cartoon TV series of the same name, which uses some character names, but at best is only a very loose adaptation of the books. Elyne Mitchell's other works of fiction are also set in the Snowy Mountains around Thredbo and the Cascade Hut and are popularno by brumbies and other animals, native and feral. The brumby stories generally intersect geographically or thematically with the Silver Brumby books and various characters from the Silver Brumby books may appear in the others.
Her novels describe eastern Australian terrain and wildlife in considerable detail. She was part of a wave of nationalist Australian writing in that gathered strength in the late 1930s and 1940s and her work is generally described as having a landscape aesthetic. Although the horses and other animals in her books speak to each other, they are not anthropomorphic and particularly in the first two Silver Brumby books, otherwise behave naturally.
Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture. Elyne Mitchell was the daughter of General Sir Henry George (Harry) Chauvel
Henry George Chauvel
General Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG, KCB was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle Eastern theatre during the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps...
, who was the commander of the ANZAC Mounted Division
Anzac Mounted Division
The ANZAC Mounted Division was a mounted infantry and mounted rifles division formed in March 1916 in Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand regiments returned from fighting dismounted as infantry...
Light Horse and Desert Mounted Corps
Desert Mounted Corps
The Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I Allied army corps that operated in the Middle East during 1917 and 1918.Originally formed on 15 March 1916 as the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division under the command of Major General Harry Chauvel The Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
famous for the charge at Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
.
She was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak
St Catherine's School, Toorak
St Catherine's School is an independent, non-denominational, Christian day and boarding school for girls, located in Toorak, an inner south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. She married lawyer, and later parliamentarian, Thomas Walter Mitchell
Thomas Walter Mitchell
Thomas Walter Mitchell was an Australian politician, author and sportsman.Mitchell was born at the family property "Towong Hill", near Corryong, Victoria and was educated at Cambridge University from 1925 to 1930 before returning to Australia, and Towong Hill...
, and moved with him to the mountains. He taught her to ski, and they had four children - Walter Harry, John, Honnor, and Indi. According to an interview with Tom Wright, the "Silver Brumby" series arose from Mrs Mitchell's difficulties in finding suitable reading material for her daughter Indi, then 10 and being raised in some isolation on the Mitchell family property Towong Hill, a remote cattle station
Cattle station
Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm , whose main activity is the rearing of cattle. In Australia, the owner of a cattle station is called a grazier...
in the Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228 metres AHD, approximately 7310 feet....
. Elyne Mitchell was a keen skier and horsewoman - in 1938 she won the Canadian downhill skiing championship, and according to Tom Wright, in 1941 she became the first woman to descend on skis the entire western face of the Snowy Mountains.
Elyne Mitchell was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to literature in 1988, and in 1993, Charles Sturt University awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters. She also won Children's Book Council awards. She often illustrated her work with her own photographs, and used a 1936 Corona typewriter to write nine of her books, including The Silver Brumby. This typewriter can be seen at the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
in Canberra, Australia. The Corryong Library in NE Victoria was renamed in Elyne Mitchell's honour in 2001 and a rural women's literary award (with prizes totalling $2000) has been named after her.
Fiction
- Flow River, Blow Wind (1953)
- Black Cockatoos Mean Snow (1956)
- The Silver Brumby (1958)
- Silver Brumby's Daughter (1960)
- Kingfisher Feather (1962)
- Winged Skis (1964)
- Silver Brumbies of the South (1965)
- Silver Brumby Kingdom (1966)
- Moon Filly (1968)
- Jinki: Dingo of the Snows (1970)
- Light Horse to Damascus (1971)
- Silver Brumby Whirlwind (1973)
- The Colt at Taparoo (1973)
- Son of the Whirlwind (1979)
- The Colt from Snowy River (1980)
- Snowy River Brumby (1980)
- Brumby Racer (1981)
- The Man from Snowy River (1982) (novelization of the screenplay of the film, based on the poem by Banjo PatersonBanjo PatersonAndrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
) - Silver Brumby, Silver Dingo (1993)
- Dancing Brumby (1995)
- Brumby Stories (1995)
- Brumbies of the Night (1996)
- Dancing Brumby's Rainbow (1998)
- The Thousandth Brumby (1999)
- Wild Echoes Ringing (2003)
Nonfiction
- Australia's Alps (1942)
- Speak to the Earth (1945)
- Soil and Civilization (1946)
- Images in Water (1947)
- Australian Treescapes: A photographic study (1960) (photographs by Harold CazneauxHarold CazneauxHarold Cazneaux was and Australian pictorialist photographer; a pioneer whose style had an indelible impact on the development of Australian photographic history. In 1916 he was a founder of the Pictorialist Sydney Camera Circle...
et al.) - Light Horse: The Story of Australia's Mounted Troops (1978)
- Chauvel Country - The story of a great Australian pioneering family (1983)
- Discoverers of the Snowy Mountains (1985) ISBN 0-333-40068-2
- Vision of the Snowy Mountains (1988)
- Towong Hill: Fifty Years on an Upper Murray Cattle Station (1989)