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Chambers, C. Haddon (1860 - 1921)

Born
22 April 1860
Petersham, New South Wales, Australia
Died
28 March 1921
London, England

Summary

Chambers was born at Petersham, Sydney, and went to school nearby. He held various positions, from clerk to boundary rider, before travelling to Ireland to visit relatives. He returned to Australia briefly, working in theatre management, before retuning to England and settling in London permanently in 1882. He supported himself as a journalist before going on to achieve great success writing for the theatre, beginning with Captain Swift (1888), a play with significant Australian content. Chambers is often remembered as Australia's first internationally successful playwright, but he also wrote numerous short stories - many with Australian themes and settings - which he published in Truth, Belgravia, Court and Society, Sunday Times, Cassell's Saturday Journal, and other English periodicals, as well as Australian newspapers including the Sydney Bulletin and the Melbourne Leader. His collection of stories, Thumb-Nail Sketches of Australian Life, was published in New York in 1891.

Published resources

Short Stories

  • Chambers, C. Haddon, 'The Little Gold Nugget', in Martin, A. Patchett (ed.), Oak-Bough and Wattle-Bloom, Walter Scott, London, 1888, pp. 144-152. Details
  • Chambers, C. Haddon, 'The Pipe of Peace', in Martin, A. Patchett (ed.), Oak-Bough and Wattle-Bloom, Walter Scott, London, 1888, pp. 4-51. Details
  • Chambers, C. Haddon, 'An Underground Tragedy', in Mennell, Philip (ed.), In Australian wilds, and other colonial tales and sketches, Hutchinson, London, 1889, pp. 173-196. Details
  • Chambers, C. Haddon, 'In A Thirsty Land', in Mennell, Philip (ed.), In Australian wilds, and other colonial tales and sketches, Hutchinson, London, 1889, pp. 120-128. Details
  • Chambers, C. Haddon, 'The "Ne'er-Do-Well": A Doctor's Story', in Mennell, Philip (ed.), In Australian wilds, and other colonial tales and sketches, Hutchinson, London, 1889, pp. 49-66. Details

See also

Rachael Weaver

Created: 29 August 2007, Last modified: 10 June 2015