Development of Australian SF and fantasy


19^th century scientific romances

-      influenced by early explorations of Australia and disappearance of famous explores such as
Ludwig Leichhardt in 1848;  written by local residents who returned to England

-      theme of lost civilization: “Oo-a-deen” (1847), anon;

-      Carlton Dawe, The Golden Lake (1891)

-      Fergus Hume, The Mystery of a Handsom Cab (1886): international bestseller

-      G. Firth Scott, The Last Lemurian: A Westralian Romance (1898)

-      Robert Potter, The Germ Growers (1892); the first story of alien invasion

-      theme of utopia: Joseph Fraser, Melbourne and Mars: My Mysterious Life on Two Planets (1889)

-      novels of racial invasion mostly triggered by White Australia Policy

Between the wars

-      very few documented Aus. contribution between the 1920s and 30s; the 1940 import embargo;
mainstream magazines such as the Bulletin and the Australasian publish SF works

Post-war years

-      M Barnard Edlershaw (Marjorie Barnard and Flora Eldershaw) Tomorrow and Tomorrow and
Tomorrow (1947): 1^st example of Commonwealth censorship (restored ed. in 1983)

-      appearance of specialized SF (men’s) magazine

-      A Bertram Chandler (the Golden Age of SF): 44 novels and over 200 short stories; the
Rimworld series; Neville Shute, On the Beach (1957) =the peak of Australian SF in the 1950s

-      1960s; New Wave (modernism and SF); fandom and fanzines propel the genre; Ditmar Awards
1969;

-      first Aus. SF anthologies: John Baxter, Pacific Books of Australian Science Fiction, 1968
and 1971

Aussiecon 1 (33^rd World SF Convention), 1975

-      outcomes: famous int. SF writers organized SF workshops all over Australia; appearance of SF
uni clubs; SF magazines; establishment of The Science Fiction Foundation (1976); propelling careers
of two important authors: George Turner (trilogy Beloved Sun, 1978; Vaneglory, 1981; Yesterday’s
Men, 1983; and critically acclaimed The Sea and Summer, 1987) and Damien Broderick (The Dreaming
Dragons, 1980; The White Abacus, 1997; theoretical works on postmodern SF), opening of SF and
fantasy bookshops (Melbourne 1971, Sydney 1975)

Aussiecon 2 (43^rd World SF Convention), 1985

-      outcome: boom in Aus. commercial genre publishing in the 1990s, propelling the career of
Greg Egan (Quarantine, 1992, Permutation city 1994) in the so called hard SF (quantum mechanics and
posthuman condition)

Recognition of the genre and international fame

-      Aurealis Awards, 1995

-      Australian SF writers winning international awards such as the Nebula Award and the Hugo
Awards

-      continuous publication of SF anthologies: The Year’s Best Australian Science Fiction and
Fantasy, and Dreaming Down Under

-      first structured and comprehensive studies of Australian SF and fantasy history: The MUP
Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paul Collins, ed., 1998), Strange
Constellations: A History of Australian Science Fiction (Russel Blackford, Van Ikin and Sean
McMullen, 1999) and Notes on Australian Science Fiction (Graham Stone, 2001)

-      Aussiecon 3(Melbourne, 1999) and Aussiecon 4 (Melbourne, 2010)