David Campbell (poet)

Campbell was born on 16 July 1915 at Ellerslie Station, near Adelong, New South Wales. He was the third child of Australian-born parents Alfred Campbell, a grazier and medical practitioner, and his wife Edith Madge, née Watt. In 1930, Campbell went to The King's School, Parramatta, and in 1935, with the support of the headmaster, he enrolled at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1937. His studies in English literature developed his interest in poetry. Campbell returned to Australia from Cambridge in 1938 and on 6 November 1939 joined the Royal Australian Air Force. He had learned to fly while at Cambridge and went to train as a pilot at Point Cook. He served in New Guinea, where he was injured and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and flew bombing missions from Darwin in the Northern Territory. "He was the war hero, the victor in the boxing ring, the strong man in the rugby scrum, the fisherman, the horseman, the polo player who knew all about Myshkin [character from The Idiot] and Theodora Goodman [character from ''The Aunt's Story'']. I saw him knock out a man in the bar at Delegate for casting doubts on his manhood. The next morning I saw him cast a fly with such delicacy that it landed on the waters of the Snowy River with the grace of a butterfly." David Campbell died of cancer on 29 July 1979, at the Royal Canberra Hospital. ==Literary career==

While Campbell had a few poems published in Cambridge journals between 1935 and 1937, his poetry didn't start appearing regularly in print until 1942 when he started sending poems to The Bulletin. "See how these autumn days begin With spider-webs against the sun, And frozen shadows, fiery cocks, And starlings riding sheep-backs." "The powdered bloom along the bough Wavers like a candle's breath; Where snow falls softly into snow Iris and rivers have their birth." "White snow daisies spring, Snowgums glint from granite rock, Whitebacked magpies sing." As well as writing poetry, Campbell also edited several anthologies, including the 1966 edition of Australian Poetry and, in 1970, Modern Australian Poetry. He also wrote short stories, and became known for the support he gave to young poets. ==Mullion Park==

In November 2007, Mullion Park was officially opened in Gungahlin in the Australian Capital Territory. The park is located in an area which incorporates what was once Campbell's property at Wells Station. The original paddock boundary is marked by a line of remnant eucalypt trees and the original fence by ceramic tiles inlaid with barbed wire. The name of the park comes from the book of poems, The Miracle of Mullion Hill, which Campbell wrote when he lived at Wells Station with his family. It was published in 1956. At the opening of the park, Chief Minister of the ACT, Jon Stanhope, said that Campbell is "often called the poet of the Monaro" and that his poetry "reflects the local landscape and was greatly influenced by his life as a farmer of the surrounding countryside". The park incorporates excerpts from his poems, embedded in wooden pedestals and on pathways. It is intended to connect residents of Wells Station to the heritage of the region and provide a cultural as well as a recreational retreat. ==Bibliography==

• 1968: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for Selected Poems 1942–1968 • 1970: Henry Lawson Australian Arts Award • 1980: Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for Man in the Honeysuckle ==Legacy==

The David Campbell Award was awarded as part of the ACT Poetry Award by the ACT Government between 2005 and 2011, for an unpublished poem by an Australian poet. ==Notes==