View source for Ethel Turner

{{short description|Australian writer}}
{{for|the American journalist and writer|Ethel Duffy Turner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ethel Mary Turner
| image              = Ethel turner 1928 SLNSW FL19831874.jpg
| caption            = Ethel Turner, 1928, by Harold Cazneaux
| birth_name         = Ethel Sibyl Burwell
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=y|1872|1|24}}
| birth_place        = [[Doncaster]], England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=y|1958|4|8|1872|1|24}}
| death_place        = [[Mosman, New South Wales|Mosman]], Sydney
| death_cause        = 
| resting_place      = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| nationality        = 
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = 
| education          = {{unbulleted list|[[Paddington, New South Wales|Paddington]] Public School|[[Sydney Girls High School]]}}
| employer           = 
| occupation         = Writer
| title              = 
| height             = 
| term               = 
| predecessor        = 
| successor          = 
| party              = 
| boards             = 
| spouse             = [[Herbert Raine Curlewis]] {{small|(m. 22 April 1896)}}
| partner            = 
| children           = {{unbulleted list|[[Jean Curlewis]] (1898–1930)|{{nowrap|Sir [[Adrian Curlewis]] (1901–1985)}}}}
| parents            = {{unbulleted list|Bennett George Burwell ( ~1875)|Sarah Jane Burwell (née O'Brien)}}
| relatives          = 
| signature          = Ethel Turner signature.png
| website            = 
}}
'''Ethel Turner''' (24 January 1872 – 8 April 1958) was an English-born Australian novelist and children's literature writer.

==Life==
[[File:Ethel Turner 1912.png|thumb|Ethel Turner 1912]]
She was born '''Ethel Mary Burwell''' in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah Jane Burwell with two daughters (Ethel and [[Lilian Turner|Lillian]]). A year later, Sarah Jane married Henry Turner, who was 20 years older and had six children of his own. Sarah Jane and Henry had a daughter, Rose. Henry Turner died suddenly, leaving Sarah Jane with nine children and little income. In 1879 Sarah Jane moved to Australia with Ethel, Lillian, and Rose; within the next two years she married Charles Cope and gave birth to his son Rex.<ref name="Ethel ADB">{{cite AuDB |id2=turner-ethel-mary-8885 |title=Turner, Ethel Mary (1870–1958) |first=Brenda Niall |last=Douglas}}</ref>

Turner was educated at Paddington, New South Wales Public School and [[Sydney Girls High School]]<ref name=DistinguishedOldGirls>{{cite web|url=http://www.sghs.nsw.edu.au/History/index.html |title=Distinguished Old Girls |access-date=25 May 2008 |work=The History of Sydney Girls High School |publisher=Sydney Girls High School |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622120326/http://www.sghs.nsw.edu.au/History/index.html |archive-date=22 June 2008 }}</ref>—she was one of the school's original thirty-seven pupils.

She started her writing career at eighteen, founding the ''Parthenon,'' a journal for young people, with her sister Lillian. As ''''Dame Durden'''' she wrote children's columns for the ''[[Illustrated Sydney News]]'' and later for the ''[[Australian Town and Country Journal]]''.<ref>Jane Stewart, 'Turner [née Burwell], Ethel (Sybil) ['Dame Durden']', in ''The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English'', ed. Lorna Sage, 1999</ref> In 1891, the family moved to ''Inglewood'' (now known as [[Woodlands, Killara|''Woodlands'']]<ref name=nswshr-1762>{{cite NSW SHR|5049940|Woodlands|hr=01762|fn=H05/00109|access-date=2 June 2018}}</ref>), a large house in [[Lindfield, New South Wales|Lindfield]], now [[Killara]], which was then out in the country. ''Woodlands'' still stands today in Werona Avenue and is where she wrote ''Seven Little Australians''.

In 1896 Ethel married [[Herbert Curlewis]], a lawyer.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Turner, Ethel|magazine=Who's Who|year=1907|volume= 59|page=1779|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1779}}</ref> After living in Mosman, they built their own house overlooking Middle Harbour. The house, Avenel, is where Turner spent the rest of her years. She survived her daughter [[Jean Curlewis]], who died of tuberculosis, by 28 years. Jean was also a writer of children's books, although not as popular as her mother.  Jean's works include ''The Ship That Never Set Sail'', ''Drowning Maze'', and ''Beach Beyond'' (1923).  Her son [[Adrian Curlewis|Adrian]] was a [[barrister]], captain in [[WW2]] and a [[Changi Prison|Changi]] and [[Thai-Burma Railway]] [[POW]] and later judge.<ref name="Adrian ADB">{{cite AuDB |id2=curlewis-sir-adrian-herbert-12382 |title=Curlewis, Sir Adrian Herbert (1901–1985) |first=Douglas |last=Booth}}</ref>

Turner died at Mosman on 8 April 1958 at 85. She is buried at Macquarie Park Cemetery in Sydney's North.

==Career==
Her best-known work is her first novel, ''[[Seven Little Australians]]'' (1894), which is widely considered a classic of Australian children's literature and was an instant hit both in Australia and overseas. It is about a family of seven children growing up in Australia. The book, together with its sequels ''The Family at Misrule'' (1895) and ''Little Mother Meg'' (1902) deal with the lives of the Woolcot family, particularly with its seven mischievous and rebellious children, in 1880s Australia. A companion to "Seven Little Australians", ''Judy and Punch'' was published in 1928. Like her stepfather, the character of Captain Woolcot was a widower with six children.  The book was made into a feature film in Australia in 1939 and a UK television series in 1953. A 10-episode television series was made in 1973 by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/sevenlittleaus.html |title=Australian Television: ''Seven Little Australians'' |access-date=5 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050618012334/http://www.australiantelevision.net/sevenlittleaus.html |archive-date=18 June 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Turner published a number of other books for children, short stories and poems. ''Three Little Maids'' (1900) is a strongly autobiographical novel about her family's migration from England to Sydney, Australia. Turner wrote more than forty novels. Some were about the mischievous Woolcots. Others were serialized, like her books on "the Cub", and some were stand-alone. The children she wrote about were all adventurous and independent. They frequently got themselves into sticky situations and got themselves out of them with very little to no adult help.

==Awards and honours==
[[File:Ethel Turner-H Cazneaux.jpg|thumb|Cazneaux's portrait of Ethel Turner posing in the window of her study at her Mosman home, ‘Avenel’, 1928]]

Turner was awarded a number of prestigious literary awards and could be considered one of Australia's best-loved authors. She is listed on The Australian Women's Register. The [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards#Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature|Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature]] is given annually under the auspices of the [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards]].<ref>[http://www.arts.nsw.gov.au/FundingOpportunities/Awards/NSWPremiersLiteraryAwards/tabid/109/Default.aspx NSW Premier's Literary Awards<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Curlewis Crescent in the Canberra suburb of [[Garran, Australian Capital Territory|Garran]] is named in her honour and also for her husband.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241038235 |title=AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. NATIONAL MEMORIALS ORDINANCE 1928–1959. |newspaper=[[Commonwealth of Australia Gazette]] |location=Australia |date=29 September 1966 |access-date=9 February 2020 |page=4873 |via=Trove }}</ref>

In 2020, a [[river-class ferry]] on the [[Sydney Ferries]] network was named in her honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nswis.com.au/nswis-news/nswis-alumni-celebrated-on-new-river-class-ferries/|title=NSWIS alumni celebrated on new River Class ferries|publisher=[[New South Wales Institute of Sport]]|date=6 October 2020|access-date=6 October 2023}}</ref>

==Works==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*''[[Seven Little Australians]]'' (1894)
*''[[The Family at Misrule]]'' (1895)
*''Story of a Baby'' (1895)
*''[[The Little Larrikin]]'' (1896)
*''Miss Bobbie'' (1897)
*''Camp at Wandining'' (1898)
*''Gum Leaves'' (1900)
*''[[Three Little Maids (Turner novel)|Three Little Maids]]'' (1900)
*''Wonder Child'' (1901)
*''Little Mother Meg'' (1902)
*''Raft in the Bush'' (1902)
*''Betty & Co'' (1903)
*''Mothers Little Girl'' (1904)
*''White Roofed Tree'' (1905)
*''In the Mist of the Mountains'' (1906)
*''Walking to School'' (1907)
*''Stolen Voyage'' (1907)
*''Happy Hearts'' (1908)
*''That Girl'' (1908)
*''Birthday Book'' (1909)
*''Fugitives from Fortune'' (1909)
*''Fair Ines'' (1910)
{{col-2}}

*''An Orge up to Date'' (1911)
*''Apple of Happiness'' (1911)
*''Fifteen & Fair'' (1911)
*''Ports & Happy Havens'' (1911)
*''Tiny House'' (1911)
*''Secret of the Sea'' (1913)
*''Flower O' the Pine'' (1914)
*''The Cub'' (1915)
*''John of Daunt'' (1916)
*''Captain Cub'' (1917)
*''St Tom & The Dragon'' (1918)
*''Brigid & the Cub'' (1919)
*''Laughing Water'' (1920)
*''King Anne'' (1921)
*''Jennifer, J.'' (1922)
*''Sunshine Family'' (1923) (with Jean Curlewis, her daughter)
*''Nicola Silver'' (1924)
*''Ungardeners'' (1925)
*''Funny'' (1926)
*''Judy & Punch'' (1928)

{{col-end}}

===Short stories===
* "Widening the Horizon" appeared in the ''[[Argosy (magazine)|Argosy]]'', July 1931.
* "The Death Ride", a short story, was in a mystery anthology, ''Murder Pie'', published by Angus and Robertson in 1936.

==References==
{{Reflist}}Poole, Philippa (compiler) "The Diaries of Ethel Turner". Sydney, Collins, 1987

== External links ==
{{wikisource|works=or|Ethel Mary Turner}}
{{Portal |Children's literature}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=1561 }}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Ethel Sybil Turner |sopt=t}} 
* {{Librivox author |id=4147}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Ethel}}
[[Category:English emigrants to colonial Australia]]
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian children's writers]]
[[Category:Australian women children's writers]]
[[Category:Australian women novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian women writers]]
[[Category:People educated at Sydney Girls High School]]