Ronald William Tullipan

Ronald William Tullipan, also known as Ron Tullipan, (10 October 1917 – 24 November 1975) was an Australian author who won the 1961 and 1962 Mary Gilmore Awards.

Early life and career Tullipan was born in Murwillumbah in New South Wales and was the fourth son of Edgar William and Vera Hilda Tullipan. Because of his father's career as a travelling showman (he was from a prominent circus family), his early schooling was erratic and he described in as 'hit-and-run schooling'. In 1929 his parents divorced and he was sent to live at St Vincent's Orphanage in Nudgee, a suburb of Brisbane.

After leaving the orphanage Tullipan worked at farms throughout New South Wales and Queensland but, during the Great Depression, he travelled extensively to find work and later became a builders labourer.

During his army service Tullipan developed a 'fever to write' and, during this period he not only wrote extensively, but also read widely and dissected the work of others.

In the 1960s Tullipan also became involved in the Sydney Realist Writers' Group and was president from 1967. He was also on the editorial board of The Sydney Realist between 1967 and 1970.

His oral history interview, recorded with Hazel de Berg in 1969, is available at the National Library of Australia.