Grace Ethel Martyr

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Grace Ethel Martyr
Martyr in 1927
Martyr in 1927
Born1888
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Died22 December 1934(1934-12-22) (aged 45–46)
Quarry Hill, Victoria, Australia
Pen name
  • Ethel Martyr
  • G. E. Martyr
  • Grace E. Martyr
  • G. Ethel Martyr
  • E. Martyr

Grace Ethel Martyr (1888 – 22 December 1934) was an Australian poet, short story writer and journalist. She often wrote as Ethel Martyr.

Early life and education[edit]

Grace Ethel Martyr was born in Ballarat, Victoria in 1888, the only daughter of Grace Flora (née King) and James Kent Martyr and grew up in Maldon.[1] In mid-1906 she passed the University of Melbourne matriculation examination.[2]

Career[edit]

Her father worked for the Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac) throughout his career and Martyr joined that bank as a clerk for four and half years. She was forced to leave due to ill health.[1] While at the bank, she had a book of poems, Afterwards and other verses, published by the Australasian Authors' Agency.[3]

She won several prizes at the South Street Literary Awards in Ballarat; in 1918 for best patriotic poem[4] and in 1919 for best original poem.[5] In 1920 she came second to David McKee Wright in a field of 125 entries for best patriotic poem.[6]

She worked for The Bendigo Advertiser as women's editor and also ran the children's page, remaining on the job until the week before her death.[7]

She wrote many poems which were published in The Australasian,[8] The Bulletin, Australian Woman's Mirror, The Herald and Weekly Times. Her short stories appeared in The Australasian and other newspapers; she wrote 11 stories which were serialised, including one published posthumously.[9]

Journalist and poet, Zora Cross, writing as Bernice May, considered that Martyr and Tasmanian Hilda Bridges created "the most lovable and delightful small girls in our Australian literature today".[10]

Martyr wrote song lyrics which Margaret Sutherland set to music, including Songs for Children, (1929)[11] and "Two blue slippers for children's voices" (1936).[12] She also collaborated with musician William James, creating material for radio programs for children.[13]

Selected works[edit]

Poetry[edit]

Grace Ethel Martyr in 1927
  • Martyr, Grace Ethel (1918). Afterwards and other verses. Australasian Author's Agency.

Serialised stories[edit]

  • "Young Jimmy", Weekly Times, 1925[14]
  • "The Tenby Children", The Australasian, 1925[15]
  • "Four Little Girls", The Australasian, 1926[16]
  • "Cinderella: A Tale of Treasure", The Australasian, 1927[17]
  • "Chums at Wunnamurra", The Queenslander, 1928[18]
  • "John and Judy", The Australasian, 1928[19]
  • "The Apple Tree", The Australasian, 1930[20]
  • "Green Timber", Weekly Times, 1930[21]
  • "Fairy Gold", The Australasian, 1932[22]
  • "The Happy Island", The Australasian, 1933[23]
  • "The Threshold", Weekly Times, 1937[9]

Death and legacy[edit]

Martyr died at Quarry Hill, near Bendigo in Victoria on 22 December 1934. There is no record of a marriage,[7] although she was engaged to Lindsay Webb in 1911.[24] Predeceased by her father in 1931,[25] she was survived by her mother, who died in 1945.[26]

In August 1935, during a service at St Paul's Church, a cross was dedicated by the Anglican bishop of Bendigo to her memory.[27]

Five of her poems were included in Michael Sharkey's 2018 anthology, Many such as she: Victorian women poets of World War One.[28][29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Grace Ethel Martyr". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Matriculation". The Ballarat Star. Vol. 51, no. 15635. Victoria, Australia. 19 June 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Martyr, Grace Ethel (1918), Afterwards and other verses, Australasian Author's Agency, retrieved 12 February 2022
  4. ^ "South Street Competitions". The Ballarat Courier. Vol. CIX. Victoria, Australia. 25 December 1918. p. 6 (Daily). Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "South Street Literary Awards". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 22, 897. Victoria, Australia. 20 December 1919. p. 20. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Sonnet of Welcome". The Herald. No. 13, 791. Victoria, Australia. 25 May 1920. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b "Literary Notes". The Australasian. Vol. CXXXVII, no. 4, 486. Victoria, Australia. 29 December 1934. p. 6 (Metropolitan Edition). Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Grace Ethel Martyr poetry". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b Martyr, Ethel (22 May 1937). "The Threshold". Weekly Times. No. 3634. Victoria, Australia. p. 56 (First Edition). Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ May, Bernice (20 November 1928), "Hilda Bridges", The Australian Woman's Mirror, 4 (52), The Bulletin Newspaper, retrieved 12 February 2022
  11. ^ Sutherland, Margaret; Martyr, Ethel (1929), Songs for children, Allan & Co, retrieved 12 February 2022
  12. ^ Sutherland, Margaret; Martyr, Ethel (1936), "Two blue slippers for children's voices in unison or two-part", Allan's Part-songs, Allan & Co, retrieved 12 February 2022
  13. ^ "Grace Ethel Martyr (2 August 1927)", The Australian Woman's Mirror, 3 (36), The Bulletin Newspaper, 2 August 1927, retrieved 12 February 2022
  14. ^ Martyr, Ethel (18 April 1925). "Young Folks: Young Jimmy". Weekly Times. No. 2903. Victoria, Australia. p. 52. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ Martyr, Ethel (22 August 1925). "The Tenby Children". The Australasian. Vol. CXIX, no. 3, 099. Victoria, Australia. p. 62. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ Martyr, Ethel (4 September 1926). "Four Little Girls". The Australasian. Vol. CXXI, no. 4, 053. Victoria, Australia. p. 68 (Metroppolitan Edition). Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ Martyr, Ethel (24 September 1927). "Cinderella: A Tale of Treasure". The Australasian. Vol. CXXIII, no. 4, 107. Victoria, Australia. p. 80. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ Martyr, Ethel (1 November 1928). "Chums at Wunnamurra". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. p. 56. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ Martyr, Ethel (17 November 1928). "John and Judy". The Australasian. Vol. CXXV, no. 4, 167. Victoria, Australia. p. 64. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ Martyr, Ethel (15 February 1930). "The Apple Tree". The Australasian. Vol. CXXVIII, no. 4, 232. Victoria, Australia. p. 51 (Metropolitan Edition). Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ Martyr, Ethel (15 February 1930). "Our New Serial: Green Timber". Weekly Times. No. 3255. Victoria, Australia. p. 42. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ Martyr, Ethel (26 March 1932). "Serial Story: Fairy Gold". The Australasian. Vol. CXXXII, no. 4, 342. Victoria, Australia. p. 43. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ Martyr, Ethel (11 February 1933). "Serial Story: The Happy Island". The Australasian. Vol. CXXXIV, no. 4, 388. Victoria, Australia. p. 46. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "Family Notices". Table Talk. Victoria, Australia. 4 May 1911. p. 7. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ "Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 26, 498. Victoria, Australia. 20 July 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^ "Family Notices". The Age. No. 28, 200. Victoria, Australia. 10 September 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "Bendigo and District". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 27, 774. Victoria, Australia. 26 August 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ Sharkey, Michael, ed. (27 September 2018), Many such as she: Victorian Australian women poets of World War One, Walleah Press (published 2018), ISBN 978-1-877010-87-3
  29. ^ Sharkey, Michael, ed. (2018). Many such as she: Victorian Australian women poets of World War One (PDF). Hobart, Tasmania: Walleah Press. ISBN 978-1-877010-87-3. Retrieved 12 February 2022.

External links[edit]

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