Wolla Meranda facts for kids

Wolla Meranda (born Isabella Gertrude Ada Poyitt) was an amazing Australian writer, journalist, editor, and artist. She was born in 1863 and lived until 1951.

Early Life and School Days

Gertrude Poyitt was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. She had two sisters and one brother. Her father was a miner who passed away when she was very young.

Gertrude spent much of her adult life in a small mining town called Sunny Corner. This town was about 40 kilometers from Bathurst. In Sunny Corner, she worked as a schoolteacher, helping young minds learn and grow. Her brother, Norman, also lived there and had shares in a mine nearby.

Becoming a Writer: Wolla Meranda

Gertrude started writing at a young age. She wrote her first novel, Pavots de la Nuit, when she was 21 years old.

In 1891, she married George Nicol Williams. Sadly, their only child, Roy, passed away as a baby. A few years later, her husband George died in an accident while working in a mine in New Caledonia.

In 1905, she married Malcolm E. Yates, but this marriage only lasted six months. Even so, she was known as 'Mrs. Yates' for the rest of her life.

Writing for Newspapers and Magazines

Gertrude started using the pen name Wolla Meranda for her writing. Her stories and poems began appearing in newspapers in New South Wales as early as 1911.

She became well-known for her poetry during the First World War. Wolla Meranda often wrote about the beautiful Australian nature, including its plants and animals. She even had a special column called 'Bush Calendar' in a magazine called The Bookfellow from 1921 to 1922. People described her as a "prominent nature lover" because of her deep connection to the environment.

Published Books

Wolla Meranda's first novel, Pavots de la Nuit, was published in French in Paris in 1922. It was later released in English in 1930 with the title Poppies of the Night.

She then published three more books in English:

• Villa of the Isles (1930)
• The Red River of Life (1931)
• Light and Outer Darkness (1935)

It seems she helped pay for her books to be published in Australia.

Unpublished Stories

Wolla Meranda also wrote many stories that were never published. Some of these include The World Tongue, What is Truth, and The Summer Seas. Three of her stories, Gold Dust of Mittewa Creek, Big Jack of Mittewa Creek, and Old Paddy O’Mara, are kept safe at the Mitchell Library in Sydney.

Helping a Friend

In 1920, Wolla Meranda helped a person named Julien de Sanary get released from prison in New Caledonia. She had met him after her first husband died and was inspired by his poetry. She worked hard to help him move to Australia. After he was freed, they lived together in Sunny Corner until he passed away in 1929. She also helped publish his collection of poems after his death.

An Artist Too!

Besides writing, Wolla Meranda was also a talented painter. She often drew pictures of her characters to include in her books. She also created art for other publications. A portrait she painted was even a finalist in the famous Archibald Prize in 1922.

Later Life and Legacy

Wolla Meranda passed away on May 12, 1951, at the age of 87. Her tombstone has her pen name, Wolla Meranda, on it, rather than her birth name.

Her contributions are still remembered today:

• In 1989, a book about her life called Gert: A Lady Ahead of her Time was published.
• In 2008, a street in Franklin, ACT, was named Poyitt Street in her honor.
• On May 5, 2019, Wolla Meranda was recognized as a 'Pillar of Bathurst'. This honored her important role in the history of Bathurst city.