Who is Colin Thiele?

Colin Thiele was born in Eudunda in South Australia. He was educated at several country schools including Kapunda High School before studying at the University of Adelaide, graduating from the university in 1941. He served with the Australian Army and RAAF attaining the rank of corporal during World War II and later taught in high schools around South Australia, including Brighton High School. He taught at Wattle Park Teachers College as an English lecturer and spent time at Murray Park College of Advanced Education as Principal. He then took up a position as Director of Wattle Park Teacher’s Centre from which he retired in 1980.

Thiele wrote more than 100 books, which often described life in rural Australia, particularly the Coorong region of coastal South Australia. Several of his books have been made into films or television series, including Sun on the Stubble, The Fire in the Stone, Blue Fin and Storm Boy.

He was also a poet, playwright, adult novelist and teacher. But it was as a children's writer that he was best known. Storm Boy, published in 1963 is "regarded as an Australian classic".

Colin Thiele died 4th September, 2006.

[FROM: http://www.thieleps.sa.edu.au/colinthiele.html]

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