Steele Rudd
Steele Rudd, born Arthur Hoey Davis in 1868 in Drayton, Australia, was a notable author known for his insightful sketches of rural life in Australia. The son of a Welsh-descended blacksmith and an Irishwoman, he was one of thirteen children. Rudd began his writing career while working as a clerk in Brisbane, initially engaging in journalism with a column inspired by his passion for rowing. His first major publication, "On Our Selection!" released in 1899, garnered significant popularity and showcased his keen observations of country life. He continued to publish various collections and novels, contributing to Australian literature, while also launching "Rudd's Magazine," which ran for four years.
Despite personal challenges, including his wife's struggle with mental health and his own experiences during World War I, Rudd maintained a vibrant writing career with the support of literary partners like Winifred Hamilton. He had complex relationships throughout his life, including a long-term partnership with Hamilton and a later engagement to Beatrice Sharp. Rudd's writing and life reflect a blend of professional achievement and personal struggles until his passing from cancer in 1935. His legacy continues to influence Australian literature, particularly in its representation of rural experiences.
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Steele Rudd
Author
- Born: November 14, 1868
- Birthplace: Drayton, Queensland, Australia
- Died: October 11, 1935
Biography
Steele Rudd was born Arthur Hoey Davis in Drayton, Australia, in 1868, the son of Thomas Davis, a Welsh-descended blacksmith, and Mary (Green) Davis, an Irishwoman; the couple had twelve other children, and Arthur Hoey was the eighth. The author took on the pseudonym Steele Rudd when he began writing a newspaper column on rowing; “Steele” was the name of an English essayist, and “Rudd” was short for “rudder.”
As a boy, Rudd attended school in the Queensland town of Emu Creek, where the family farmed, until he was almost twelve years old, at which time he began working various jobs. At fifteen he became a junior stock rider, and at eighteen he was hired as a junior clerk in the Brisbane curator’s office of intestate estates. When he transferred to the sheriff’s office in 1889, he began rowing in his free time, which led to the weekly Brisbane newspaper column in which he first used his pen name. He married Violet Christina “Tean” Brodie, a childhood friend, in December, 1894, and they subsequently had four children: Arthur Lindsay “Lin,” Vincent Gower, Violet Mary, and Eric.
Late in 1895, Rudd had a sketch on country life published in Bulletin. At the insistence of journalist Jule François Archibald, Rudd continued writing sketches. Eventually, twenty-six of his sketches were published in On Our Selection! (1899), and this collection achieved enormous popularity. In 1903, Rudd followed the first book with another collection of his sketches, Our New Selection!, and retired from his position as undersheriff, a post to which he had risen in previous years. On January 1, 1904, Rudd unveiled the monthly Rudd’s Magazine, which ran for four consecutive years (a long time for such Australian publications of the time) and was later revived in different forms several times between 1923 and 1930. During this period, Rudd continued to publish collections of sketches as well as novels.
Two years after one of Rudd’s sons was wounded in World War I, his wife Violet was committed to a sanitarium in a state of acute anxiety and neurosis; she never recovered or left the hospital. Rudd engaged in a ten-year relationship with Winifred Hamilton, a young writer and magazine editor who encouraged Rudd’s writing career. Rudd and Hamilton lived together in Sydney, but eventually separated. Rudd’s last romantic relationship was with Beatrice Sharp, whom he intended to marry after he divorced his wife in 1933. However, he died from cancer in 1935, before he and Sharp had married.