The people who Idriess met or corresponded with (or who wrote to him) was enormous: from premiers and prime ministers to politicians of all persuasions; from royalty to rouseabouts, indigenous people and boundary riders; from military personnel including admirals and generals to privates; from police commissioners to mounted police and patrolmen; from the outback to the cities and suburbs. Eley, Ion Idriess, p.149, even notes that in 1932, HRH The Prince of Wales (later, briefly, to be King Edward VIII), had a thank you (for The Desert Column) sent to Idriess. But in this post I want to look at some of the literary figures around Idriess.

Eley notes the future King Edward VIII's thank you to Idriess: she also notes, in the same place (p.149), that Idriess received a letter from John Masefield, the Poet Laureate. But it is unlikely that Idriess ever met Masefield - but closer to home when it comes to Australian authors of his day, we might ask who he didn't meet. It is likely, if not probable, that Idriess met most of the key writers from the Angus and Robertson stable as well as many others. It is more than likely that Idriess had met Miles Franklin in person. And other notable authors of his time, such as Ruth Park, Xavier Herbert and F K Thwaites. E V Timms and his wife Alma were friends of his (see, e.g., Eley, p.354, 367) as was Alec Chisholm (Eley, p.102) and Mary Gilmore, later Dame Mary Gilmore (see, e.g., Eley, p.339). But here are some inscriptions from books in my collection from or to Idriess or with an Idriess connection.

This is a note that accompanied a copy of Lightning Ridge (second edition) addressed to Ian Mudie, the esteemed poet and one time Miles Franklin Award judge, from A and R. The connection with Idriess is the book: one presumes Idriess himself, or perhaps Cousins with Idriess' blessing, sent it. In any case it suggests some relationship between Mudie and Idriess.

Frank Clune was a contemporary and likewise prolific author at A and R - and also a good mate of Idriess. This inscription is from Frank Clune's book, Captain Bully Hayes, 1970, to Idriess:

For my cobber "Jack" Idriess - No Bully Hayes, but a decent bloke, even if he is a bigamist [an allusion to Idriess' unusual marital set-up!].

Yours Sincerely

Francis Patrick Clune

on his [Clune's!] 77th natal day, and

his 67th yarn

27

11

70

The 27th November 1893 was when Frank Clune was born.

Charles Barrett, naturalist, ornithologist and author, was also a friend of Idriess. And like him (and Clune) was in the AIF in Palestine in WWI. This inscription from Barrett's book, Isles of the Sun, 1954, states:

Mobs of good

wishes for

Australia's no. one

author from the old man -

Charles Barrett.

_____

13/9/54

The title page is also signed:

Charles Barrett to Ion Idriess

Douglas Lockwood, author and journalist, also knew Idriess and counted him as a friend - I'm not sure how or where they met. Lockwood's best known works are Fair Dinkum; I, the Aboriginal ; and the book from which this inscription is taken - We, The Aborigines, 1963. I also liked his The Lizard Eaters, mainly because it described a remote Gibson desert place I have been to - Jupiter Well or Nyinmi - and the first contact with indigenous people there. In 1999 I tried to interest the ABC in making a film about it. A film about first contact with some Martu people - some of whom I knew - called Contact was later made.

Lockwood's inscription reads:

Autographed specially for

my old bush mate,

Ion ("Jack") Idriess

With best wishes from the author,

Douglas Lockwood

______

Darwin

1963

Paul Wenz was a French Australian author, more well known in France, who settled on a pastoral station in Australia. He was quite tall, married to an Australian and a friend of Jack London, but only published one work in English: Diary of a New Chum under the name Paul Warrego. It is a small paperback that was priced at one shilling. I have a copy. This inscription by Idriess was on a first edition of Over the Range and presumably personally given to Wenz. Paul Wenz died only 2 years later, at Forbes.

Mr Paul Wenz,

Wishing you the

very best,

Ion L. Idriess

1937

Donald Stuart was a Western Australian author who wrote a number of novels, often from an aboriginal perspective. The book with this description is Yandy, 1959, which describes the time of Don McLeod and indigenous strikes in the Pilbara when the "yandy" dish was used to recover tin ("yandying"). It says:

To

Ion L. Idriess,

old trooper [Stuart himself served in WWII and became a POW],

with the best wishes

of the author.

Donald R. Stuart, Perth

1960

____

How Stuart knew Idriess, I do not know.

I am sure others have much more knowledge of Idriess' association with the literary word of his day.