Patrick White
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Patrick Victor Martindale White (1912 - 1990)

Patrick Victor Martindale "Paddy" White
Born in Knightsbridge, London, England, United Kingdommap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1941 [location unknown]
Died at age 78 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australiamap
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Profile last modified | Created 18 Dec 2016
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Biography

Notables Project
Patrick White is Notable.

Patrick White was an Australian writer who, from 1935 to 1987, published twelve novels, three short-story collections and eight plays. He remained, essentially, a private person. He was the first Australian to win a Nobel Prize for Literature and the inaugural recipient of the Miles Franklin Literary Award. He was among the first group of Companions of the Order of Australia (AC) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1975 but resigned in June 1976. His grand home ‘Highbury’ at Centennial Park, Sydney is listed on the State Heritage Register.

Patrick Victor Martindale White was born in Knightsbridge, London, England to Victor White and Ruth Withycombe, both Australians, in their apartment overlooking Hyde Park, London on 28 May 1912.[1] His family returned to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old.

From 1932 to 1935, White lived in England, studying French and German literature at King's College, Cambridge University. Later in the 1930s, he spent time in the United States, including Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and New York City. By the time the Second World War was declared, he had returned to London and joined the Royal Air Force. He was accepted as an intelligence officer, and was posted to the Middle East. He served in Egypt, Palestine, and Greece before the war was over. In 1941, while in the Middle East, he met Greek army officer Manoly Lascaris, who was to become his life partner.[2]

White and Lascaris lived together in Cairo for six years before moving to a small farm, 'Dogwoods', purchased by White at Castle Hill, in Greater Sydney north western Hills district, in 1948. They lived there for eighteen years, selling flowers, vegetables, milk, and cream as well as pedigreed puppies. He wrote some of his seminal works including Voss, in this setting. Patrick Avenue, White Place and Nobel Place, Castle Hill are named after White in recognition of his life at Castle Hill. In 1966 they moved into a grand house, 'Highbury', in Centennial Park, where they lived for the rest of their lives.

White was the inaugural recipient of the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 1957.[3]

In 1962, Austrian-born Australian artist Louis Kahan won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of Patrick White.[4]

In 1970, White declined a knighthood. He accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973,[5] but enlisted Australian artist and friend, Sidney Nolan, to travel to Sweden to receive the award. White used the money from the prize to establish a trust to fund, the Patrick White Award, given annually to established creative writers who have received little public recognition. White was made Australian of the Year for 1974. He declined both a $10,000 Britannia Award and another Miles Franklin Award. He was among the first group of Companions of the Order of Australia (AC) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1975, but resigned in June 1976 in protest of the creation of Knight and Dame of the Order of Australia (AK and AD respectively).

White died on 30 September 1990 in Sydney, aged 78.[6][7][8] His ashes were scattered on his death in Centennial Park in accordance with his request.[9]

He is commemorated by the Patrick White Lawns adjacent to the National Library of Australia in Canberra.[10]

Sources

  1. England & Wales General Register Office, GRO Online Index - Birth (accessed 24 January 2023), database entry for White, Patrick Victor Martindale (Mother's maiden surname: Withycombe), GRO Reference: 1912 S Quarter in St. George, Hanover Square Volume 01A Page 727.
  2. Legal marriage was not an option for White and Lascaris; if it had been they may or may not have availed themselves of it. However, they have been recorded as spouses here, since that is the way WikiTree at present provides to acknowledge their life partnership and record their connection.
  3. Wikipedia: Miles Franklin Award, accessed 24 January 2023.
  4. Winner: Archibald Prize 1962: Louis Kahan's Patrick White - oil and enamel on board/122 x 92 cm. From the Art Gallery of New South Wales website. First accessed online on 6 June 2021.
  5. Patrick White, The Nobel Prize in Literature 1973.
  6. New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages death registration number 19963/1990. Name: Patrick Victor Martindal White; father: Victor; mother: Ruth; district: 001. Accessed 27 January 2023.
  7. From the Archives, 1990: Patrick White, author and stirrer, dies at 78. First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on October 1, 1990. First accessed online on 6 June 2021.
  8. Patrick White, Australian Writer Who Won a Nobel, Is Dead at 78. By Robert D. McFadden Oct. 1, 1990. From the New York Times. First accessed online on 6 June 2021.
  9. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 4 September 2022), memorial page for Patrick White (28 May 1912–30 Sep 1990) Find A Grave: Memorial #100951633; maintained by Find a Grave.
  10. Australian Government. National Capital Authority. Patrick White Lawns. Accessed 24 January 2023.

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