William Hatfield was the pen name of Ernest Chapman, an English-born writer best known for his work in Australia. He emigrated to Australia in 1912 and did a variety of jobs before turning to writing with Sheepmates in 1931. He wrote fiction for adults and children, travel stories, autobiography, short stories (particularly for The Australian Journal) and Australiana. Sheepmates

Sheepmates

Sheepmates was a proposed Australian film from director F.W. Thring based on a 1931 novel by William Hatfield. Filming began in 1933. After shooting some studio scenes, the crew departed to the Queensland and South Australian border for six weeks of filming around various cattle stations...

was meant to be filmed in 1934 by F.W. Thring but the project was abadoned during shooting. Cinesound Productions

Cinesound Productions

Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was one of Australia's first feature film production companies. Established in June 1932, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred around Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from production, to distribution and...

 announced a film version of Hatfield's novel Big Timber but it did not eventuate. Hatfield served in the Australian army during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Selected writings

• Sheepmates
  Sheepmates
  Sheepmates was a proposed Australian film from director F.W. Thring based on a 1931 novel by William Hatfield. Filming began in 1933. After shooting some studio scenes, the crew departed to the Queensland and South Australian border for six weeks of filming around various cattle stations...
  
  (1931)
• Ginger Murdoch (1932)
• Christmastown (1932)
• Desert Saga (1933)
• River Crossing (1934)
• Black Waterlily (1935)
• Australia Through the Windscreen (1936)
• Big Timber (1936)
• I Find Australia (1937)
• Buffalo Jim (1938)
• Barrier Reef Days (1948)
• Wild Dog Frontier (1951)

External links

• William Hatfield at Australian Dictionary of Biography
  Australian Dictionary of Biography
  The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
  
  
• William Hatfield at AustLit (subscription required)