David Campbell

David Watt Ian Campbell (16 July 191529 July 1979) was an Australian poet who wrote over 15 volumes of prose and poetry. He was also a talented rugby union player who represented England in two tests.

Life

Campbell was born on 16 July 1915 at Ellerslie Station, near Adelong, New South Wales. He was the third child of Australian-born parents Alfred Campbell, a grazier and medical practitioner, and his wife Edith Madge, née Watt.

In 1930, Campbell went to The King's School, Parramatta, and in 1935, with the support of the headmaster, he enrolled at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1937. His studies in English literature developed his interest in poetry.

Campbell returned to Australia from Cambridge in 1938 and on 6 November 1939 joined the Royal Australian Air Force. He had learned to fly while at Cambridge and went to train as a pilot at Point Cook. He served in New Guinea, where he was injured and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and flew bombing missions from Darwin in the Northern Territory. "He was the war hero, the victor in the boxing ring, the strong man in the rugby scrum, the fisherman, the horseman, the polo player who knew all about Myshkin [character from The Idiot] and Theodora Goodman [character from The Aunt's Story]. I saw him knock out a man in the bar at Delegate for casting doubts on his manhood. The next morning I saw him cast a fly with such delicacy that it landed on the waters of the Snowy River with the grace of a butterfly."

"See how these autumn days begin With spider-webs against the sun, And frozen shadows, fiery cocks, And starlings riding sheep-backs."

"The powdered bloom along the bough Wavers like a candle's breath; Where snow falls softly into snow Iris and rivers have their birth."

"White snow daisies spring, Snowgums glint from granite rock, Whitebacked magpies sing."

As well as writing poetry, Campbell also edited several anthologies, including the 1966 edition of Australian Poetry and, in 1970, Modern Australian Poetry. He also wrote short stories, and became known for the support he gave to young poets.

Mullion Park In November 2007, Mullion Park was officially opened in Gungahlin in the Australian Capital Territory. The park is located in an area which incorporates what was once Campbell's property at Wells Station. The original paddock boundary is marked by a line of remnant eucalypt trees and the original fence by ceramic tiles inlaid with barbed wire. The name of the park comes from the book of poems, The Miracle of Mullion Hill, which Campbell wrote when he lived at Wells Station with his family. It was published in 1956. At the opening of the park, Chief Minister of the ACT, Jon Stanhope, said that Campbell is "often called the poet of the Monaro" and that his poetry "reflects the local landscape and was greatly influenced by his life as a farmer of the surrounding countryside". Selected Poems 1942–1968, Angus and Robertson, 1968, p. 35 "In the Glass" 1965

Short fiction Collections Flame and Shadow: Selected Stories (1959) Evening Under Lamplight: Selected Stories of David Campbell (1988)

Letters Letters Lifted into Poetry: Selected Correspondence between David Campbell and Douglas Stewart, 1946–1979 (2006) edited by Jonathan Persse

Sound recordings David Campbell Reads from His Own Work (1975)

Critical studies, reviews and biographies

Kramer, Leonie (2006) "Campbell, David Watt Ian (1915–1979)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition Accessed: 2007-11-30

Awards 1968: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for Selected Poems 1942–1968 1970: Henry Lawson Australian Arts Award 1980: Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for Man in the Honeysuckle

Legacy The David Campbell Award was awarded as part of the ACT Poetry Award by the ACT Government between 2005 and 2011, for an unpublished poem by an Australian poet.