Person
Greener, Herbert Leslie (1900 - 1974)
- Born
- 13 February 1900
Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa - Died
- 8 December 1974
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia - Occupation
- Archaeologist, Educator, Journalist and Writer
Summary
Herbert Leslie Greener was a man of many talents. He was a journalist, author of both adult's and children's books, an artist and illustrator, and a gifted epigraphist. He was also a teacher of creative writing for Adult Education in Tasmania - an organization he was Foundation Director of. While a prisoner-of-war in Changi camp Greener illustrated the children's book The Happiness Box which fellow prisoner David Griffin had written as a Christmas present for the children in the camp. Hebert Greener made numerous trips to Egypt throughout his life, where he worked mainly for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor. He also wrote nine books, many of which were based on his war or Egyptian experiences.
Details
After graduating from England's Royal Military College (1918), Greener spent five years as an officer in the Indian Army. This was followed by some years working as a journalist and artist in New Zealand and Australia. Greener moved to Paris in 1927 to study art then went to Egypt where he taught art and French at Victoria College in Alexandria. In 1936 he returned to Australia and took up journalism again. During the second world war Greener enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and was sent to Malaya as captain and divisional intelligence officer of the 8th Division (1941). Twelve months after arriving he was captured by the Japanese and sent to the Changi Prisoner-of-War Camp in Singapore.
When released from Changi and back in Australia, Greener took up journalism again and began writing two books about his war experience (He Lived in My Shoes & No Time to Look Back). He also became Foundation Director of the Adult Education in Tasmania and taught creative writing. In 1954 he resigned from that organization to concentrate on freelance writing and broadcasting. He returned to Egypt and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor to continue his epigraphic work. Later he worked for the Ikhnaton Temple project run by the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to Australia, and Tasmania in 1968.
Chronology
- 1918
- Education - Royal Military College at Sandhurst, UK
- c. 1918 - c. 1922
- Military service - Officer in the Indian Army
- 1927 - 1928
- Education - Art studies at the Académie Julian in Paris
- 1931 - c. 1935
- Career position - Epigraphist at Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor, Egypt
- 1936 - 1958
- Life event - Moved to Australia (Sydney)
- 1940 - 1945
- Military service - War service with the Australian Imperial Force
- 1942 - c. 1945
- Life event - Prisoner of war at Changi, Singapore
- 1945
- Career position - Returned to Australia and transferred to the Reserve of Officers
- c. 1945 - c. 1949
- Career position - Journalist in Sydney
- 1947
- Career event - The Happiness Book, published in Sydney
- 1948
- Career event - He Lived in My Shoes, published
- 1949 - 1954
- Career position - Foundation Director of Adult Education in Australia
- 1950
- Career event - No Time to Look Back, published in New York
- 1951
- Career event - Moon Ahead, published in New York
- 1957
- Career event - Wizard Boatman of the Nile, published in London
- 1957
- Award - Commonwealth Literary Fellowship
- 1958 - 1967
- Career position - Epigraphist with the Epigraphic Survey Department of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor, Egypt
- 1962
- Career event - High Dam Over Nubia, published in London
- 1966
- Career event - The Discovery of Egypt, published in London
- 1968
- Career position - Chairman, Tasmanian Historical Society
- 1971
- Career event - Ross Bridge and the Sculpture of Daniel Herbert, written with Norman Laird, published in Tasmania
- 1975
- Career event - Tea for a Stranger, posthumously published
- 1976
- Career event - Discovering Egypt with Leslie Greener, posthumously published in Tasmania
Archival resources
National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection
- Herbert Leslie Greener - Records, 1908 - 1974, MS 5925; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
Published resources
Book Sections
- Giordano, Margaret, 'Greener, Herbert Leslie (1900-1974)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 14: 1940 - 1980 Di-Kel, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996), p. 344. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140366b.htm. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21539048. Details
- 'Greener, Herbert Leslie (1900-1974)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1463783. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 13 April 2018
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education