Colin Milton Thiele AC BA (1920 - 2006)

Born 16 Nov 1920 in Eudunda, South Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Rhonda Gladys (Gill) Thiele — married 17 Mar 1945 in Kent Town, South Australia, Australia

Died 4 Sep 2006 at age 85 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Colin Thiele AC BA is Notable.

Colin Milton Thiele AC, BA, Dip Ed, Dip T. was a South Australian educator and author of over 100 works. He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels Storm Boy, Blue Fin, the Sun on the Stubble series, and February Dragon which were made into films and / or television series.^[1]

Early Life

Born on 16 November 1920 at Eudunda, South Australia, as the fourth of five children of Carl Wilhelm (Bill) Thiele and his wife Anna Wittwer, ^[2] Thiele only spoke German until he started school at Julia (northwest of Eudunda). He completed his secondary education at Kapunda High School, then studied at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1941,^[3] and Adelaide Teachers' College in 1942.^[4]

Military service

Colin Thiele AC BA is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army 1940-1942
18th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment

With the Second World War already underway, upon completing his university course he enlisted (part-time) in the Australian Army Militia, 18th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment; enlistment date 24th December 1940.^[5][6]

Colin Thiele AC BA is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Royal Australian Air Force 1942-1945

He transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force, fulltime duty, on 16th July 1942. He was discharged following the end of hostilities on 20th September 1945. His final posting was to Air Defence Headquarters Higgins.^[7][8] RAAF Base Higgins, originally known as Jacky Jacky, was at the tip of Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland.^[9]

Marriage & Family

As the war was coming to a successful conclusion, Colin married Rhonda Gladys Gill on 17 March 1945, at the Kent Town Methodist Church, South Australia.^[10] They had two children.^[11]

Teaching & Writing

Thiele commenced his teaching career at Robertstown before the war.^[1] His first post war teaching post was at Port Lincoln from 1946 to 1955, where he wrote his first book, a geography textbook, due to frustration with the available textbooks. He later taught for a year at Brighton High School, Adelaide. Thiele joined the staff at Wattle Park Teachers' College (later known as Wattle Park Teachers' Centre) as a lecturer in English from 1957 to 1963. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1958 to study teacher education. He became Vice Principal in 1964, Principal from 1965 to 1972, and then Principal of Murray Park College of Advanced Education in 1973 (now the Magill campus of the University of South Australia). In 1974 he became Director of Wattle Park Teachers Centre until his retirement in 1980.^[4]

Thiele became a prolific writer, authoring more than 100 books, which often described life in rural Australia. His books covered both non-fiction and fiction, and his work also included radio plays and poetry.^[4]

Recognition

Thiele has won many awards for his work, including but not limited to:^[4]

• W.J. Miles Poetry Prize, 1944, for the manuscript of Progress to Denial Commonwealth Jubilee Literary Competitions.
• 1st prize in radio play section, for Edge of Ice, and 1st prize in radio feature section.
• 1951 South Australian winner in World Short Story Quest.
• 1952 Fulbright scholar in the United States and Canada.
• 1959-60 Grace Levin Poetry Prize.
• 1962 Children's Book of the Year Award
• 1962 Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowship.
• 1967-68 Hans Christian Andersen Award
• International honours list for Blue Fin in 1972.
• Writers Award, 1973, for The Fire in the Stone.
• Children's Book of the Year Award, 1974, for The Fire in the Stone (commended)
• Edgar Allan Poe Award, Best Juvenile Mystery, runner-up, 1975, for The Fire in the Stone.
• Visual Arts Board Award for Illustration, 1975, for Magpie Island.
• Children's Book of the Year Award, 1975, for Magpie Island (commended).
• Netherlands Award of the Silver Pencil ,1976, for the film of Storm Boy.
• Companion of the Order of Australia for services to literature and education, 1977.^[12]
• Austrian State Prize for Children's Books, 1977, for Magpie Island.
• Austrian State Prize for Children's Books, 1979, for The Hammerhead Light.
• Austrian State Prize for Children's Books, 1979, for the Sknuks.
• Advance Australia Award, 1980.
• Children's Book of the Year Award, 1982, for The Valley Between.
• German Publisher Award ,1984.
• Austrian State Prize, 1986, for Pinquo.
• Christian Blind Mission International Book of the year, 1988, for The Seed's Inheritance.
• Great South Australian Award - Services to the Arts, 1989.
• Family Award of Children's Books - New South Wales Family Therapy Association, 1989.
• The International Board on Books for Young People Certificate of honor, 1992, for Blue Fin.
• Christian Book of the year, Children's Award- Australian Christian Literature Society, 1994 , for Martin's Mountain.
• Christian Book of the year, Children's Award, 1995, for Gemma's Christmas Eve.
• YABBA Shortlist, 1996, recommendation for Jodie's Journey.
• New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards 1997.
• Wilderness Society Environment, 1997, Award for High Valley.
• Dromkeen Medal was awarded in 1997 for his contribution to children's literature.
• Centenary Medal in 2001, for distinguished service to the arts as a poet and novelist.^[13]

Retirement

Thiele suffered from severe arthritis from 1955, and retired in 1980 to settle in warmer conditions near Dayboro, Queensland. Colin Thiele passed away as a result of heart failure, aged 85 years, on 4 September 2006 in Brisbane. He was survived by his wife of 61 years, Rhonnie, two daughters, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild,^[14][15][16] and was interred in the Dayboro Cemetery, Dayboro, Queensland.^[17]

Legacy

A life sized memorial of Thiele with a pelican was sculpted by Chris Radford and is located in the Eudunda Town Gardens. Thiele's book Storm Boy, the story of a young boy's relationship with a pelican, his father and an outcast Aboriginal man named Fingerbone, sold more than one million copies worldwide, was translated into nine languages and dramatised several times, including in play and film.^[18]

South Australian Highway B81 from Gawler (north of Adelaide) through Kapunda and Eudunda to Morgan is named the Thiele Highway in his honour.

The Thiele Library at the Magill campus of the University of South Australia was named after him many years before his death. The Senior Student Library which is shared by Golden Grove High School, Pedare Christian College and Gleeson College is named after and was officially opened by him on 10th May 1989. The Secondary House Thiele at Matthew Flinders Anglican College is named in his honour. A house in the middle school of Trinity College, Gawler, North Campus is also named is his honour.^[1]

Videos

• Colin Thiele: His Work and Legacy, 2 Jun 2015
  

• Colin Thiele, published online 12 Sep 2006 ^[19]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia contributors, "Colin Thiele," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (revised, 3 April2022).
2. ↑ South Australia Births 1842-1928 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed 28 March 2021) database entry for Thiele, Colin Milton (Birthdate: 16 November 1920, Father: Carl Wilhelm Thiele, Mother: Amalie Anna Wittwer, Birthplace: Eudunda) Reference: District: Kapunda, Book/Page: 66A/504.
3. ↑ Postcards. Colin Thiele. (Postcards, archived at Wayback Machine 28 Nov 2011, retrieved 28 Mar 2021)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} University of South Australia. Colin Thiele Research Collection. (University of South Australia, archived at Wayback Machine 18 Sep 2006, retrieved 28 Mar 2021)
5. ↑ Department of Veterans Affairs. World War II Nominal Roll. (Department of Veterans Affairs, https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/ : accessed 28 Mar 2021) database entry for Thiele, Colin Milton (Service: Australian Army, Service Number: S49958, Date of Birth: 16 Nov 1920, Place of Birth: Eudunda SA, Date of Enlistment: 24 Dec 1940, Locality on Enlistment: Immanuel College, Place of Enlistment: Torrens Hall SA, Next of Kin: Carl Thiele, Rank: Private, Posting at Discharge: 18th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment, Prisoner of War: No, Honours: None for display)
6. ↑ Department of Defence. Series B884 Citizen Military Forces Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947. (National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection : accessed 28 Mar 2021) Control symbol S49958, digital file for Colin Milton Thiele.
7. ↑ Department of Veterans Affairs. World War II Nominal Roll. (Department of Veterans Affairs, https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/ : accessed 28 Mar 2021) database entry for Thiele, Colin Milton (Service: Royal Australian Air Force, Service Number: 115059, Date of Birth: 16 Nov 1920, Place of Birth: Eudunda SA, Date of Enlistment: 16 Jul 1942, Locality on Enlistment: North Adelaide, Place of Enlistment: Adelaide, Next of Kin: Carl Thiele, Rank: Corporal, Posting at Discharge: Air Defence Headquarters Higgins, Prisoner of War: No, Honours: None for display)
8. ↑ Royal Australian Air Force. Series A9301 RAAF Personnel files of Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and other ranks, 1921-1948. (National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection : accessed 28 Mar 2021) Control symbol 115059, digital file for Colin Milton Thiele.
9. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Northern Peninsula Airport," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_Peninsula_Airport&oldid=1003383288 (accessed March 27, 2021).
10. ↑ The Advertiser, Adelaide, SA, 14 March 1945, page 12, column 1, Approaching Marriages (Trove, National Library of Australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/?type=newspapers : accessed 28 March 2021)
11. ↑ Colin Thiele. (Colin Thiele, archived at Wayback Machine 28 Mar 2021)
12. ↑ Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Government of Australia. (Australian Honours Search Facility, https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870199 : accessed 28 Mar 2021) Companion of the Order of Australia award granted to Mr Colin Milton Thiele, 6 Jun 1977.
13. ↑ Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Government of Australia. (Australian Honours Search Facility, https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1124757 : accessed 28 Mar 2021) Centenary Medal granted to Dr Colin Milton Thiele, 1 Jan 2001.
14. ↑ Hassan, Toni. Storm Boy author Colin Thiele dies. Published online 5 Sep 2006. (Australian Boradcasting Commission, https://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1733728.htm : accessed 28 Mar 2021)
15. ↑ Nicholas Tucker. Colin Thiele Obituary. The Independent. Published online 6 Sep 2006. (The Independent, archived at Wayback Machine 8 Oct 2006, retrieved 28 Mar 2021)
16. ↑ Colin Milton Thiele, AC, BA, Dip Ed, Dip T. (Flinders Ranges Research /South Australian History, http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/thiele.htm : accessed 28 Mar 2021)
17. ↑ Burial Record (Moreton Bay Regional Council, https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/ : accessed 28 Mar 2021) database entry for Thiele, Colin Milton (Cemetery: Dayboro Cemetery, Birth Date: 16 Nov 1920, Death Date: 4 Sep 2006, Age: 85y, Location: Section MT Row MTB Plot 0009).
18. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Storm Boy (novel)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Storm_Boy_(novel)&oldid=1005269744 (accessed March 28, 2021).
19. ↑ Colin Thiele (Behind The News, ABC TV, https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/colin-thiele/10542450 : accessed 28 Mar 2021)

See also

• Virtual War Memorial Australia. Colin Milton Thiele AC.
  Virtual War Memorial Australia, : accessed 28 Mar 2021
• Wittwer, Cheralyn C. The history and family tree of Johann Goffried Wittwer, 1858-1986. ISBN 0 7316 0749 X. Pages 151-156.
• Wikidata: Item Q1108703, en:Wikipedia