Ivan Southall

• Name — Ivan Southall • Birth Name — Ivan Francis Southall • Born — 8 June 1921 • Birthplace — Canterbury, Victoria • Died — 15 November 2008 • Place of death — Wantirna, Victoria • Language — English • Notable Works — Ash Road, To the Wild Sky, Bread and Honey, Fly West • Awards — Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1966, 1968, 1971, 1976; Carnegie Medal 1971 • Years Active — 1942-2000

Ivan Southall was born in Melbourne, Victoria. His father died when Ivan was 14, and he and his brother Gordon were raised by their mother. He went to Mont Albert Central School (where he wrote the first of his Simon Black stories) and later Box Hill Grammar, but was forced to leave school early, and became an apprentice process engraver. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force on 19 Jun 1942 serving with 461 Squadron RAAF (raised under an Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme). He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in sinking a German U-boat, U-385, in the Bay of Biscay on 11 August 1944 (in concert with the destroyer HMS Swift). He returned to Australia with his English bride, Joy Blackburn. Their youngest daughter was born with Down syndrome. His was discharged on 19 Nov 1946. He tried his hand at farming at Monbulk, but the attempt foundered, so he became a full-time writer. He met his first wife, Joy Blackburn, during the Second World War and they had four children, Andrew, Roberta, Elizabeth and Melissa. He remarried, to Susan Stanton, whom he met in 1974 on his United States visit to deliver the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture at the University of Washington. Southall died of cancer on 15 November 2008 aged 87. His daughter Elizabeth had three daughters, the eldest of whom was murdered in 1999. Elizabeth wrote a book about the case in 2002 titled Perfect Victim. The story was made into a film called In Her Skin in 2009.

• The Weaver from Meltham (Melbourne: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1950) — about South Geelong carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst • The Story of The Hermitage: the first fifty years of the Geelong Church of England Girls' Grammar School (Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1956) • They Shall Not Pass Unseen (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1956) • A Tale of Box Hill: day of the forest (Box Hill: Box Hill City Council, 1957) • Bluey Truscott (Angus and Robertson, 1958) • Softly Tread the Brave (1960) about Australian mine clearance officers John Mould and Hugh Syme (GC) • Seventeen Seconds (1960) an abridged version of Softly Tread the Brave • Journey into Mystery (1961) • Parson on the Track (1961) • Indonesia Face to Face (1964) • Lawrence Hargrave (1964), in the Six Great Australians series • Rockets in the Desert: The Story of Woomera (1965) • The Challenge: Is the Church Obsolete? (1966) • Fly West (1974) • A Journey of Discovery: on writing for children (1975)

• Simon Black series (RAAF adventure stories) • Meet Simon Black (1950) • Simon Black in Peril (1951) • Simon Black in Space (1952) • Simon Black in Coastal Command (1953) • Simon Black in China (1954) • Simon Black and the Spacemen (1955) • Simon Black in the Antarctic (1956) • Simon Black Takes Over (1959) • Simon Black at Sea (1961) After Simon Black, Southall changed emphasis "from the actual adventure... to the depiction of the way children respond, interact and grow". • Hills End (1962) • Ash Road (1965) • The Fox Hole (1967) • To the Wild Sky (1967) • Sly Old Wardrobe (1968), pictures by Ted Greenwood • Let the Balloon Go (1968) • Finn's Folly (1969) • Chinaman's Reef is Ours (1970) • Bread and Honey (1970); US title, Walk a Mile and Get Nowhere • Josh (1971) • Benson Boy (1972) • Head in the Clouds (1972) • Over the Top (1972) • Matt and Jo • What About Tomorrow (1977) • King of the Sticks (1979) • The Golden Goose (1981) — sequel to King of the Sticks • The Long Night Watch (1983) • A City Out of Sight (1984) • Rachel (1986) • Blackbird (1988) • The Mysterious World of Marcus Leadbeater (1990) • Ziggurat (1997)