Elyne Mitchell facts for kids

Elyne Mitchell, who received the OAM award, was an Australian writer. She was born on December 30, 1913, and passed away on March 4, 2002. She is most famous for her exciting Silver Brumby series of children's books. Her non-fiction books often explored her family's history and the Australian landscape.

Elyne Mitchell's Life Story

Elyne Mitchell was born Sybil Elyne Keith Chauvel in Melbourne, Australia. Her father was General Sir Harry Chauvel, a very important military leader. He commanded the ANZAC Mounted Division and the Desert Mounted Corps during World War I. He was well-known for leading a famous charge at Beersheba.

Elyne went to St Catherine's School, Toorak. In 1935, she married Thomas Walter Mitchell, who was a lawyer and later became a politician. They moved to the beautiful Snowy Mountains. There, her husband taught her how to ski. They had four children together.

A Champion Skier and Horsewoman

Elyne became an amazing skier and horse rider. In 1938, she even won the Canadian downhill skiing championship! In 1941, she became the first woman to ski down the entire western side of the Snowy Mountains.

During World War II, her husband joined the army. He was sent to Singapore and was away for a long time. Elyne bravely managed their large property, called Towong Hill, all by herself until he returned after the war.

Exploring Elyne Mitchell's Books

Elyne Mitchell's novels describe the landscapes and wildlife of eastern Australia in great detail. Her books were part of a trend in Australian writing during the 1930s and 1940s that celebrated the country's unique identity.

The Silver Brumby Series

The Silver Brumby series is set in the Snowy Mountains area of the Australian Alps. This region is near Mount Kosciuszko in southern New South Wales and northern Victoria. The books tell the story of a pale palomino brumby (wild horse) stallion named Thowra. The first book, The Silver Brumby, was published in 1958. The series continues with books like Silver Brumby Whirlwind.

Even though the horses and other animals in her books talk to each other, they still act like real animals. They don't have human feelings or thoughts, especially in the first two Silver Brumby books.

The idea for the Silver Brumby series came about because Elyne found it hard to find suitable books for her daughter, Indi. Indi was 10 years old and growing up quite isolated on the family's remote cattle station, Towong Hill, in the Snowy Mountains.

Film and TV Adaptations

The Silver Brumby book was made into a film in 1993. It starred Caroline Goodall as Elyne Mitchell and Russell Crowe as "The Man." The film was also known as The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild Brumbies. There's also a children's cartoon TV series with the same name. While the TV show uses some character names, it's quite different from the original books.

Other Works by Elyne Mitchell

Elyne Mitchell wrote other fiction books that are also set in the Snowy Mountains, around places like Thredbo and the Cascade Hut. These stories also feature brumbies and other animals, both native and wild. Characters from the Silver Brumby books sometimes appear in her other stories. Elyne often used her own photographs to illustrate her books.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Elyne Mitchell received many awards and honours for her writing.

• In 1990, she was given the Medal of the Order of Australia for her contributions to literature.
• In 1993, Charles Sturt University gave her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters.
• Her books also won awards from the Children's Book Council:
  • The Silver Brumby was highly praised in 1959.
  • Silver Brumby's Daughter was commended in 1961.
  • Winged Skis was highly praised in 1965.

You can even see one of Elyne Mitchell's old typewriters, a 1936 Corona, at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. In 2001, the library in Corryong, Victoria, was renamed in her honour. There is also a literary award for rural women named after her, which offers prizes totaling $2,000.

Books by Elyne Mitchell

Fiction Books

• Flow River, Blow Wind (1953)
• Black Cockatoos Mean Snow (1956)
• The Silver Brumby (1958)
• Silver Brumby's Daughter (1960)
• Kingfisher Feather (1962)
• Winged Skis (1964)
• Silver Brumbies of the South (1965)
• Silver Brumby Kingdom (1966)
• Moon Filly (1968)
• Jinki: Dingo of the Snows (1970)
• Light Horse to Damascus (1971)
• Silver Brumby Whirlwind (1973)
• The Colt at Taparoo (1973)
• Son of the Whirlwind (1979)
• The Colt from Snowy River (1980)
• Snowy River Brumby (1980)
• Brumby Racer (1981)
• The Man from Snowy River (1982) (a book version of the film screenplay, based on the famous poem by Banjo Paterson)
• The Lighthorsemen (1987) (a book version of the film screenplay)
• Silver Brumby, Silver Dingo (1993)
• Dancing Brumby (1995)
• Brumby Stories (1995)
• Brumbies of the Night (1996)
• Dancing Brumby's Rainbow (1998)
• The Thousandth Brumby (1999)
• Wild Echoes Ringing (2003)

Nonfiction Books

• Australia's Alps (1942)
• Speak to the Earth (1945)
• Soil and Civilization (1946)
• Images in Water (1947)
• Australian Treescapes: A photographic study (1960) (with photographs by Harold Cazneaux and others)
• Light Horse: The Story of Australia's Mounted Troops (1978)
• Chauvel Country – The story of a great Australian pioneering family (1983)
• Discoverers of the Snowy Mountains (1985)
• Vision of the Snowy Mountains (1988)
• Towong Hill: Fifty Years on an Upper Murray Cattle Station (1989)