This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Chris Chittleborough (talk | contribs) at 16:20, 20 December 2007 (Restructure to have proper lede (please improve my headings), add alt names, call his Man-Kzin work "stories" not novels, rm uncited WP:SYNTH per WP:BLP). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 16:20, 20 December 2007 by Chris Chittleborough (talk | contribs) (Restructure to have proper lede (please improve my headings), add alt names, call his Man-Kzin work "stories" not novels, rm uncited WP:SYNTH per WP:BLP)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Hal Gibson Pateshall Colebatch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945 |
| Occupation | Author, poet, lecturer, journalist, editor, and lawyer |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
Hal Gibson Pateshall Colebatch, also known as Hal G. P. Colebatch and Hal Colebatch (born 1945) is an Australian author, poet, lecturer, journalist, editor, and lawyer.
Personal History
He is the son of the late Australian politician Sir Hal Colebatch and Lady Marion Colebatch, a former Australian Army nursing sister who was the daughter of long-time Fremantle Mayor and Member of Parliament Sir Frank Gibson. He is the author of Sir Hal Colebatch's biography, Steadfast Knight (foreword by Professor Geoffrey Blainey), published by the Fremantle Arts Centre Press.
He received a BA Honours and MA in History/Politics and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Western Australia as well as degrees in jurisprudence and law.
He was awarded an Australian Centenary Medal in 2003 for writing, law, poetry and political commentary, the only award for this combination of activities. He has also received an award from the Vietnamese community in Perth for work for Vietnamese refugees and was chairman of the Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship in Western Australia 2003-2006.
Writing
As well as Steadfast Knight, his work includes six volumes of poetry (starting with Spectators on the Shore in 1975), a series of science-fiction stories published in the US in the series The Man-Kzin Wars, created by Larry Niven, and books of political, social, legal and economic commentary. He writes regularly for a number of publications including Quadrant and his 1999 book Blair's Britain was chosen in The Spectator (London) as a Book of the Year. He also writes for The American Spectator Online, op-ed articles for The Australian and occasional pieces for other publications including the IPA Review and The New Criterion. He also writes regular book-reviews for The West Australian and The Record in Perth. His Return of the heroes is a study of heroic fantasy including The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter, and he has contributed several articles to the forthcoming J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopaedia; Scholarship and Critical Assessment.
Many of his poems concern Perth and its suburbs, the Swan River and Rottnest Island, as well as travels in Britain, Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. His poetry, which has won various prizes, is in both free-verse and highly structured forms including sonnets and sestinas.
He was described by Peter Alexander, Professor of English at the University of New South Wales, as being among Australia's best writers.
His seventh book of poetry, The Light River, with a foreword by Les Murray is due to be published by Connor Court publishers in 2007. He is also co-author of a forthcoming book on traffic law in Western Australia.
His most recent published book is Caverns of Magic (Cybereditions, 2006), a survey of caves in myth, legend and story, and of the development of speleology. As a reporter on The West Australian, Colebatch was involved in the discovery of several kilometers of extensions to Easter Cave in the south-west of Western Australia. The book has a foreword by naturalist and conservationist Harry Butler.
He is not to be confused with Dr Hal K. Colebatch who was born in 1944, has taught political science at several universities, and is also the author of a number of books.
Titles written by Colebatch (partial list)
- Claude de Bernales : the magnificent miner : a biography Carlisle, W.A. : Hesperian Press, 1996. ISBN 0-85905-200-1
- Steadfast knight : a life of Sir Hal Colebatch with a foreword by Geoffrey Blainey. Fremantle, W.A. : Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2004. ISBN 1-920731-39-3 - biography of his father.
- Return of the Heroes : The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Social Conflict : Cybereditions Corporation, 2003. ISBN 978-1877275579
- The Light River Connor Court, 2007. ISBN 0-9802936-4-2
  | This article about an Australian writer is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |