Laura Palmer-Archer
Palmer-Archer, c.1904
Palmer-Archer, c.1904
BornLaura Maude O'Ferrall
1864
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died8 June 1929(1929-06-08) (aged 64–65)
Belgrave, Victoria, Australia
Pen nameBushwoman
Notable worksA Bush Honeymoon and other stories

Laura Maude Palmer-Archer (1864 – 8 June 1929) was an Australian short story writer, who mainly wrote using the pseudonym "Bushwoman". She is best known for her 1904 book, A Bush Honeymoon and other stories.

Palmer-Archer was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1864 to parents of Irish heritage.[1] One of her brothers, Ernest O'Ferrall, was a short story writer and poet, who wrote as "Kodak" for The Bulletin.[2]

In 1888 Palmer-Archer married Tom Palmer-Archer and moved with him to a property in outback Queensland. Many of her stories a based on her first-hand experience of rural life.[1]

Palmer-Archer wrote short stories for The Australasian, the first appearing in November 1894[3] and the last in December 1928.[4] Her first book of collected stories, Racing in the Never-Never and other stories.[5]

Her 1904 book, A Bush Honeymoon and other stories, was published in London by T. Fisher Unwin.[1] It was a compilation of stories previously published in The Australasian (Melbourne) and the Australian Town and Country Journal (New South Wales).[6] In the Foreword, Rolf Boldrewood said:

It appeared to me a matter of simple justice, as well to the British public as to a talented writer, that work of such genuine merit should find a permanent place in literature.

— Rolf Boldrewood, A Bush Honeymoon and other stories, Foreword

In the 1920s she began to write poems for children which were published regularly in The Australasian[7][8] and also recited on radio by "Mary Gumleaf" as "Kiddyosities".[9][10]

Palmer-Archer died in hospital in Belgrave, Victoria on 8 June 1929.[11] She was survived by her husband, two sons and two daughters.[12]

Works

  • Palmer-Archer, Laura M. (1899). Racing in the Never-Never and other stories. George Robertson & Co.
  • Palmer-Archer, Laura M. (1904). A bush honeymoon and other stories (Colonial ed.). T. Fisher Unwin.

A number of her short stories may be found on The Australian Newspaper Fiction Database.[13] She was incorrectly attributed as "Miss Archer", author of the novel, Mr Moore, which was serialised in the Sydney Mail in 1880.[14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Laura M. Palmer-Archer". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Personal". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 16, 246. Victoria, Australia. 13 June 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "The Bushman". The Australasian. Vol. LVII, no. 1495. Victoria, Australia. 24 November 1894. p. 23. Retrieved 18 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ ""Laughin' Portheen an' th' Fairies"". The Australasian. Vol. CXXV, no. 4, 171. Victoria, Australia. 15 December 1928. p. 85. Retrieved 18 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Miscellaneous Works". The Australasian. Vol. LXV, no. 1708. Victoria, Australia. 24 December 1898. p. 50. Retrieved 18 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Palmer-Archer, Laura M. (1904). "A Bush Honeymoon and other stories". Colonial Australian Popular Fiction. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Fairies' Breakfast Bell". The Australasian. Vol. CXXI, no. 4, 049. Victoria, Australia. 7 August 1926. p. 68 (Metropolitan Edition). Retrieved 18 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "The Cherry-Blossom Fairies". The Australasian. Vol. CXXI, no. 4, 053. Victoria, Australia. 4 September 1926. p. 3 (Metropolitan Edition). Retrieved 18 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Melbourne Chatter". Trove. 23 September 1926. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Melbourne Chatter". The Bulletin. 47: 28. 23 September 1926 – via Trove.
  11. ↑ "Family Notices". The Australasian. Vol. CXXVI, no. 4, 198. Victoria, Australia. 22 June 1929. p. 17 (Metropolitan Edition). Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "About People". The Examiner (Tasmania). Vol. LXXXVII, no. 143. Tasmania, Australia. 19 June 1929. p. 12 (Daily). Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Search for fiction in Australian newspapers: Laura Palmer-Archer". To be continued . . . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Archer, Miss (24 July 1880). "Fiction: Mr. Moore". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XXX, no. 1046. New South Wales, Australia. p. 150. Retrieved 20 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "Palmer-Archer, Laura M. – Author". Colonial Australian Popular Fiction. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
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