Nicholas Hasluck
Encyclopedia
The Honourable Justice Nicholas Paul Hasluck AM
(born 17 October 1942) is an Australia
n novelist, poet and short story writer, and judge. He lives in Perth, Western Australia
with his wife, Sally-Anne, and has two children.
. His father, Sir Paul Hasluck
was a minister in the Federal Government under Robert Menzies
, and was later appointed Governor-General
of Australia. Nicholas went to school at Scotch College, Perth
, and Canberra Grammar School
, before studying law at the University of Western Australia
(1963) and Oxford
(1966). After completing his studies he worked briefly in Fleet Street
in London
as an editorial assistant before returning to Australia in 1967 to work as a barrister. He was deputy chair of the Australia Council
from 1978 to 1982 and was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
.
, which is the highest ranking court
in the Australia
n State
of Western Australia
.
literary magazine.
Hasluck's books fall into two categories, which he describes as 'moral thriller genre and satire', with the thriller interesting him the most. He cites the American writers William Faulkner
, Saul Bellow
, Norman Mailer
and Gore Vidal
as being his main literary influences.
In 2006, Hasluck became Chairperson of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
.
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 17 October 1942) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n novelist, poet and short story writer, and judge. He lives in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
with his wife, Sally-Anne, and has two children.
Early life
Nicholas Hasluck was born in CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. His father, Sir Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
was a minister in the Federal Government under Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, and was later appointed Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of Australia. Nicholas went to school at Scotch College, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, and Canberra Grammar School
Canberra Grammar School
Canberra Grammar School is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Red Hill, a suburb of Canberra, the capital of Australia....
, before studying law at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
(1963) and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
(1966). After completing his studies he worked briefly in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as an editorial assistant before returning to Australia in 1967 to work as a barrister. He was deputy chair of the Australia Council
Australia Council
The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council or arts funding body of the Government of Australia.-Function:...
from 1978 to 1982 and was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
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"...
.
Judicial career
On 1 May 2000, Hasluck was appointed as a judge on the Supreme Court of Western AustraliaSupreme Court of Western Australia
The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters , and hears the most serious criminal matters.The Supreme Court consists of a General Division The Supreme Court of Western...
, which is the highest ranking court
Australian court hierarchy
There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n State
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
Writing career
Hasluck started writing at school, producing poetry and essays for the school magazine and was first professionally published in 1964 with a poem appearing in WesterlyWesterly
Westerly can refer to:* Westerly, Rhode Island, a town in the United States* The Westerlies, the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes* Westerly , a literary magazine from the University of Western Australia...
literary magazine.
Hasluck's books fall into two categories, which he describes as 'moral thriller genre and satire', with the thriller interesting him the most. He cites the American writers William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
, Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
, Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
and Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
as being his main literary influences.
In 2006, Hasluck became Chairperson of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...
.
Awards
| The Miles Franklin Award Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ... |
The Country Without Music, shortlisted 1991; Truant State, shortlisted 1987 |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an award for books, scripts, digital narrative and a People's Choice. Awards are provided by the Government of Western Australia, and the awards process is managed by the State Library of Western Australia... |
The Country Without Music, joint winner 1991; Our Man K, shortlisted 1999 |
| The Age Book of the Year The Age Book of the Year The Age Book of the Year Awards are annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's The Age newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. Since 1998 they have been presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival... Award |
The Bellarmine Jug, Imaginative Writing Prize and Book of the Year 1984 |
Novels
- Quarantine (1978)
- The Blue Guitar (1980)
- The Hand That Feeds You (1982)
- The Bellarmine Jug (1984)
- Truant State (1987)
- The Country Without Music (1990)
- The Blosseville File (1992)
- A Grain of Truth (1994)
- Our Man K (1999)
Short story collections
- The Hat on the Letter 'O' and Other Stories (1978)
- The Hat on the Letter 'O' and Other Stories (1990), revised edition
Non-fiction
- Chinese Journey (1985) (with Christopher KochChristopher KochChristopher John Koch, AO, Australian novelist, was born in Hobart in 1932. He has twice won the Miles Franklin Award. In 1995 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for contribution to Australian literature....
) - Collage: Recollections and Images of the University of Western Australia (1987), essays
- Offcuts From a Legal Literary Life (1993), essays
- The Legal Labyrinth (2003)
See also
- Judiciary of AustraliaJudiciary of AustraliaThe judiciary in Australia is modelled substantially on the system of courts which existed in England.The large number of courts and tribunals in Australia have different procedural powers and characteristics, different jurisdictional limits, different remedial powers and different cost...