• Source: Frank Clune

Francis Patrick Clune, OBE, (27 November 1893 – 11 March 1971) was a best-selling Australian writer, travel writer and popular historian.




Early life and career


Clune was born in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney in 1893, and grew up in Redfern. He left home at 15 and for five years lived the life of an adventurer, claiming to have had twenty-five different jobs by the age of 17, and enlisting with the US Army in Kansas 26 October 1911, deserting and going to sea.
Clune joined the AIF in 1915 during World War I and was soon with the 16th Battalion at Gallipoli. He was wounded in action and repatriated a year after being wounded in both legs.
He married Maud Roy in 1916; they divorced in 1920. He married again in 1923 to artist and sculptor Thelma Cecily Smith (1900–1992), established himself as a tax consultant and by 1930 had settled in Vaucluse. His first book was published in 1933 : Try Anything Once, an account of his adventures. Some of his subsequent books were written in collaboration with P R 'Inky' Stephensen, notably The Viking of Van Diemen's Land and The Pirates of the Brig 'Cyprus'.
He was fascinated by the 'outsiders' of Australian history such as Captain Melville, Captain Starlight, Martin Cash, Edward Hargraves, Bully Hayes, Jørgen Jørgensen, "Chinese" Morrison, Ben Hall, Ned Kelly, Frederick Bailey Deeming and Louis de Rougemont.
Clune also wrote for many magazines including Walkabout, The Bulletin, Pacific Islands Monthly, Smith's Weekly and ABC Weekly as well as his own Frank Clune’s Adventure Magazine, illustrated by Allan Jordan and published over 8 issues in 1948. He broadcast "Roaming Round Australia" regularly on The ABC from 1945 to 1957.
He was an effective promoter of Albert Namatjira and Australian Aborigines generally.
Clune had his detractors in the literary world. He was criticised for embellishing the facts in the interests of the narrative, and was met with hostility by General Sir Thomas Blamey for his "irregular methods and indiscreet utterances" during WWII. Regardless of criticism, by the early 1950s, his books had sold in excess of 500,000 copies, much to the delight of his publisher Angus & Robertson.




Association with the art world


In the 1940s, Frank and Thelma Clune opened an art gallery in Kings Cross which was subsequently to house works by many of Australia's best known painters, including Sir Russell Drysdale, John Passmore and John Olsen.
In the 1950s and 1960s, together with his wife Thelma and youngest son Terry, he opened the Terry Clune Art Galleries on the corner of Challis Avenue and Macleay Street, and at 59 Macleay Street in Kings Cross. The gallery became the home for Sydney's young expressionists, such as John Olsen, Stan Rapotec, Robert Klippel and Robert Hughes. The gallery later became the home of the noted artist Martin Sharp and was then known as Yellow House. Frank and Thelma Clune were great friends and supporters of artist William Dobell for many years.




Death


Clune died on 11 March 1971 at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney at Darlinghurst, age 77. He was buried at South Head Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Thelma and his two sons: Anthony Patrick (1930–2002) and Terry Michael (born 1932).




Recognition and awards


Clune's portrait was painted by Sir William Dargie and by Sir William Dobell for the 1950 Archibald Prize.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1967 for services to Australian literature.




Influence


Clune's 1959 book Jimmy Governor - the true story was the inspiration for Thomas Keneally's 1972 novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.




Selected publications


His published books include:

Try Anything Once 1933 (Autobiography)
Rolling Down the Lachlan 1935
Roaming Round the Darling 1936
Dig (about Burke and Wills) 1937
Free and Easy Land 1938
Sky High to Shanghai 1939
To the Isles of Spice 1940
Chinese Morrison 1940 (about George Ernest Morrison)
All Aboard for Singapore 1941
D'Air Devil 1941
Last of the Australian Explorers: the story of Donald Mackay 1942 (about Donald George Mackay)
Prowling through Papua 1942
Tobruk to Turkey 1943
The Red Heart 1944
Captain Starlight 1945 (about the inspirations for Captain Starlight in Robbery Under Arms)
Pacific Parade 1945
The Forlorn Hope 1945 (about voyage of boat Forlorn Hope from NT to WA in 1865)
The Greatest Liar on Earth 1945 (about De Rougemont)
Pacific Parade 1945
Dark Outlaw (about Frank Gardiner) 1945
Try Nothing Twice 1946 (second Autobiography)
Golden Goliath 1946 - about the discovery of gold in Australia
Song of India 1946
Roaming around Australia 1947
Ben Hall the Bushranger 1947 (about Ben Hall)
A Noose for Ned 1948
High Ho to London 1948
Wild Colonial Boys 1948
The Demon Killer 1948 - about Frederick Bailey Deeming
Sky High to Shanghai 1948
Land of My Birth (short stories) 1949
Land of Hope and Glory 1949
Ashes of Hiroshima 1950
All Roads Lead to Rome 1950
Hands across the Pacific 1951
Somewhere in New Guinea 1951
Gunman Gardiner 1951 (new edition of Dark Outlaw)
Castles in Spain 1952
Flying Dutchmen 1953
Land of Australia 1953
Roaming round Europe 1954
The Viking of Van Diemen's Land (about Jørgen Jørgensen) 1954
Roaming round Europe 1954
The Kelly Hunters 1954
Bound for Botany Bay 1954 - about the journey of the Hillsborough
Korean Diary 1955
Martin Cash 1955 (about Martin Cash)
Overland Telegraph 1955
Roaming round New Zealand 1956
Captain Melville 1956 - about bushranger Captain Melville
Scandals of Sydney Town 1957
The Fortune Hunters 1957
Flight to Formosa 1958
A Tale of Tahiti 1958
Murders on Maunga-tapu 1959
The Blue Mountains Murderer 1959
Jimmy Governor 1959 (about Jimmy Governor)
Journey to Canberra 1960
Saga of Sydney . Halstead Press, 1961
Across the Snowy Mountains 1962
The Pirates of the Brig 'Cyprus' 1962 (about Cyprus Mutiny)
Bound for Botany Bay 1964
Journey to Kosciusko 1964
Search for the Golden Fleece 1965
Journey to Pitcairn 1966
The Norfolk Island Story 1967. Angus & Robertson Books. (ISBN 0 207 14537 7).
King of the Road 1967 - about Frank Gardiner
Serenade to Sydney 1967
Scallywags of Sydney Cove 1968
The Scottish Martyrs 1969
Captain Bully Hayes 1970 (about Bully Hayes)
Rascals, Ruffians and Rebels of Early Australia (collection) 1987




See also


Angus & Robertson
Ion Idriess
George Blaikie
Cyril Pearl




Sources


The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature W H Wilde (2nd edition 1994) ISBN 0-19-553381-X




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Partai Buruh Australia
• BNP Paribas Terbuka 2011 – Kualifikasi Tunggal Putra
• Australia Terbuka 2011 – Kualifikasi Tunggal Putra
• Delray Beach International Tennis Championships 2011 – Kualifikasi Tunggal
• Hugh O'Brian
• Frank Clune
• Clune
• Thelma Clune
• The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
• The Viking of Van Diemen's Land
• Dark Outlaw
• The Greatest Liar on Earth
• Captain Melville (book)
• Non-fiction novel
• January 1