Nina Murdoch
Encyclopedia
Nina Murdoch was an Australian traveller, journalist, author and broadcaster. She was born Madoline Nina Murdoch, daughter of John Andrew Murdoch, a law clerk, in North Carlton, Victoria, Australia]]. She was author of half a dozen books but remembered today for forming the Argonauts Club
, which in a second incarnation (but largely following her vision) was to have a significant influence on postwar Australian culture.
The family moved to Woodburn, New South Wales, where Nina grew up, attending first a school where her mother taught, then Sydney Girls' High School; it was here that her interest in writing began. She began her working life teaching with her mother, then at Sydney Boys' Preparatory School.
She then secured a position with the Sydney Sun
as one of its first women reporters, and became the first woman to cover Senate
debates.
She married fellow reporter (and ex-teacher) James Duncan McKay Brown in 1917
They moved to Victoria, both working on Melbourne's Sun News-Pictorial
, Nina often under the byline 'Manin'.
In 1927 she travelled unaccompanied through England and Europe, gathering material for the first of her travel books Seventh Heaven.
On her return, she joined the Melbourne Herald, but was retrenched because of the Depression
.
She gave travel talks on radio 3LO, and when that station was acquired for the Australian Broadcasting Commission
(ABC) in 1932, ran the Children's Corner. It was then she came up with the idea of the Argonauts' Club. It was a bold concept: publishing original contributions from children who would remain anonymous under assigned Ship names and numbers; treating children as creative individuals in contrast to the pandering to trivial enthusiasms which was general then as now.
She wrote its pledge, inscribed on every membership certificate: "I vow to stand faithfully by all that is brave and beautiful; to seek adventure, and having discovered aught of wonder or delight, of merriment or loveliness, to share it freely with my comrades".
James Brown secured a job with News Ltd in Adelaide
in 1933. Nina followed in 1934 and with her departure, the Argonauts' Club folded. It was however revived in 1941 and ran successfully till 1972.
She returned to Melbourne around 1943 where she devoted herself to the care of her mother, by now blind, and her asthmatic husband.
A 1920 portrait of Nina Murdoch, by Sir John Longstaff
, hangs in the reading room of the National /Library, Canberra
. He was to become, in 1948, the subject of her only biography.
, the Incorporated Society of Authors, Playwrights and Composers (London) and the Fellowship of Australian Writers
.
published some 80 of her poems, including several as 'Manin', and was the recipient of many of their prizes.)
Argonauts Club
The Argonauts Club was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour on 3LO and stayed on when that station was taken over by the Australian Broadcasting Commission...
, which in a second incarnation (but largely following her vision) was to have a significant influence on postwar Australian culture.
The family moved to Woodburn, New South Wales, where Nina grew up, attending first a school where her mother taught, then Sydney Girls' High School; it was here that her interest in writing began. She began her working life teaching with her mother, then at Sydney Boys' Preparatory School.
She then secured a position with the Sydney Sun
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
as one of its first women reporters, and became the first woman to cover Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
debates.
She married fellow reporter (and ex-teacher) James Duncan McKay Brown in 1917
They moved to Victoria, both working on Melbourne's Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial, commonly known as The Sun, was a morning daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne, Australia established in 1922 and closed in 1990.It was part of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd stable of Melbourne newspapers...
, Nina often under the byline 'Manin'.
In 1927 she travelled unaccompanied through England and Europe, gathering material for the first of her travel books Seventh Heaven.
On her return, she joined the Melbourne Herald, but was retrenched because of the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
She gave travel talks on radio 3LO, and when that station was acquired for the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC) in 1932, ran the Children's Corner. It was then she came up with the idea of the Argonauts' Club. It was a bold concept: publishing original contributions from children who would remain anonymous under assigned Ship names and numbers; treating children as creative individuals in contrast to the pandering to trivial enthusiasms which was general then as now.
She wrote its pledge, inscribed on every membership certificate: "I vow to stand faithfully by all that is brave and beautiful; to seek adventure, and having discovered aught of wonder or delight, of merriment or loveliness, to share it freely with my comrades".
James Brown secured a job with News Ltd in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1933. Nina followed in 1934 and with her departure, the Argonauts' Club folded. It was however revived in 1941 and ran successfully till 1972.
She returned to Melbourne around 1943 where she devoted herself to the care of her mother, by now blind, and her asthmatic husband.
A 1920 portrait of Nina Murdoch, by Sir John Longstaff
John Longstaff
Sir John Campbell Longstaff was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize. He was a cousin of Will Longstaff, also a painter....
, hangs in the reading room of the National /Library, Canberra
Canberra
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...
. He was to become, in 1948, the subject of her only biography.
Societies
Nina was a member of the Lyceum ClubLyceum Club (Australia)
The Lyceum Club , also known as the Australian Association of Lyceum Clubs and formed in 1972 from several smaller clubs, is an Australian arts, literature and social activism group for women only...
, the Incorporated Society of Authors, Playwrights and Composers (London) and the Fellowship of Australian Writers
Fellowship of Australian Writers
The Fellowship of Australian Writers, also known as FAW, was established in Sydney in 1928. Its aim is to bring writers together and promote their interests...
.
Publications
(Nina was a prolific writer of poetry; between 1913 and 1922 The BulletinThe 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...
published some 80 of her poems, including several as 'Manin', and was the recipient of many of their prizes.)
- Songs of the Open Air (book of verse); William Brooks, 1915
- More Songs in the Open Air; Robertson and Mullens, 1922
- Miss Emily in Black Lace; Halstead Press, Sydney 1930, the first novel in a trilogy:
- Portrait of Miss Emily Halstead Press, Sydney 1931
- Exit Miss Emily Halstead Press, Sydney 1937
- She travelled alone in Spain (ill. Victor MacClure); George G. Harrap, 1935
- Tyrolean June, A Summer Holiday in Austrian Tyrol; George G. Harrap, 1936
- Vagrant in Summer, Holiday Memories of Nine European Towns; George G. Harrap, 1937
- Portrait in Youth, A Biography of John Longstaff. Angus and Robertson, Sydney 1948
Sources
- http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100611b.htm
- http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ListWorks&agentId=A$EN