Wynne Whiteford
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|---|---|
| Name: | Wynne Whiteford |
| Alias(es): | |
| Type: | |
| Fandoms: | science fiction, space, astronomy |
| Communities: | Melbourne Science Fiction Club, Austrek, Space Association of Australia, Eastern Writers' Group (Melbourne), SF Writers of America, Astronomical Society of Victoria, Ship Lovers Society |
| Other: | |
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| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Wynne Whiteford (23 December 1915 - 30 September 2002) was a long-time, prominent science fiction fan and author who lived in Melbourne, Australia.
He was a keen participant in clubs ranging from Austrek and the Ship Lovers Society; through to the Eastern Writers' Group and the science fiction discussion group, the Nova Mob (these latter two groups were co-founded by him).
As a published and awarded author, he was happy to use the 'expert' and 'scholastic' background of his position to add credibility to fandom-related activities. For example, on one occasion, he participated in a radio program connected to the space program, and used the opportunity of Star Trek's 25th anniversary to speak about the links between science fiction and science fact. On another occasion, he used his professional background to challenge science fiction readers/viewers to ponder meta questions about the differences between literary and media forms of the genre:
Styles in science fiction change. Ever wondered what people will be reading in fifty years? In a hundred years? Or, while we're in wondering mode, what would Captain Jean-Luc Picard read, listen to, or look at while relaxing in his stateroom on the starship Enterprise, in star date 25095 or whenever?
Whatever it is, or however it is transmitted or displayed, I think it's a safe bet that a large proportion of it will be classifiable as SF, whether you take the acronym to mean "science fiction" or "speculative fiction", or whatever new marketing label is applied to it in that era...Throughout history - yes, and through what we can know as pre-history - changing methods of transmitting information from one individual to another have left an identifiable mark on the thought processes of the human race.[1]
Wynne's enthusiastic involvement in such groups as the Space Association of Australia and the Astronomical Society of Victoria arguably lent a 'hard science' edge to his SF writing, which drew mixed responses from some readers. Nevertheless, he remained a successful author among audiences in the USA and Australia. As well as science fiction novels, he also wrote many short stories that were published in a variety of magazines.
Paul Collins notes:
In 1995 at the National Science Fiction Convention in Hobart, Whiteford was presented with the A. Bertram Chandler Award for lifetime achievement in Australian science fiction.[2]
Bruce Gillespie reported on the wake:
The wake/celebration/garden party in Wynne’s memory was also held at the home of Paul and Meredith on 12 October. Many of the members of the Eastern Writers’ Group were there, and one of them read out the last chapter of Wynne’s Breathing Space Only... The sun shone; it was a perfect Melbourne spring day. We were glad to be alive. We felt glad that Wynne had been alive — and we felt again the need to remember him properly. Nobody can explain the necessity for death except a biologist. It’s up to writers to keep alive the memory of a well-spent life.[3]
Books
Breathing Space Only (1980)
1980 releases... Wynne Whiteford's Breathing Space Only, which I thoroughly enjoyed... gave me a bit of a shock when I read it, as it is set in the same place (the Snowy Mountains) and not terribly different circumstances than a novel I was researching at the time. It involves a group of people who have escaped the terrible pollution of the lowlands and survive precariously in the mountains, discouraging anyone from wandering in on them. They are contacted by returning spacefarers, and debate ensues over whether the returnees should be permitted to land.[4]
Wynne also became close friends with Paul Collins and Rowena Cory, who ran Cory & Collins, the small press that began in the same year as Norstrilia Press. Encouraged by Paul and Rowena, Wynne returned to writing, and produced his first novel, Breathing Space Only, at the age of sixty-five. I typeset it, and Elaine pasted it up on the kitchen table. It appeared in 1980, and was followed by several more novels for Cory & Collins. People who didn’t like Wynne’s writing said it was ‘oldfashioned’. Maybe. He provided a few too many explanations, but he did not use clichés or waste words. His descriptions of the interactions between people are quite subtle, and he knew how to throw in a joke when appropriate, such as in the superb last line of the novel.[5]
Sapphire Road (1982)
Three of Whiteford's earlier novels, BREATHING SPACE ONLY, SAPPHIRE ROAD and THOR'S HAMMER were first published in Australia by Cory & Collins before being reprinted by Ace as part of a multi-book deal. These three novels cover a range of themes from the breakdown of society, to space colonisation and first contact. SAPPHIRE ROAD, which reads like halves of two entirely separate and quite complete novels, is the most ambitious of these books. [6]
Thor's Hammer (1983)
Wynne Whiteford's Thor's Hammer (Void, 1983) was more to my liking, but didn't really satisfy me either. Our hero is sent to the Asteroid Belt to stop a suspected plot to divert an asteroid into a collision course with Earth. There's quite a bit of good action, but I don't really like stories that depend on one (or two) people 'saving the Earth' (or humanity) from destruction. I do however like Whiteford's use of both enhanced people (with computer links or other bionic assets) and people we might consider 'handicapped' but who may actually be at an advantage in a space environment - - for example a dwarf and a man without legs, both of whom do very well in a spacecraft.[7]
See also Thor's Hammer
The Hyades Contact (1987)
Even though the plot fell short I enjoyed the descriptions of the different aliens and how the humans worked to build up the world they were on.[8]
Lake of the Sun (1989)
According to 'Strange Constellations: A History of Australian Science Fiction' (1999), by Russell Blackford, Van Ikin and Sean McMullen, Lake of the Sun is “a novel of first contact between Martians and humans, although both of these groups also subdivide, and it turns out they are closely related genetically, sharing a history in the deep past..." ... Wynne Whiteford’s Lake of the Sun won the Ditmar Award in 1990 for Best Australian Long Fiction.[9]
The Specialist (1990)
The style is always fairly competent, the dialogue is clear, if lifeless, the physical backgrounds are clearly drawn. My largest problem is with the plotting and the characters. [10]
Gallery
Greg Franklin and Wynne Whiteford (centre) at the Austrek Xmas Party in 1987 (from the Helena Binns collection)
Wynne Whiteford (SF author) and Kelvin Roberts at the 1987 Austrek Xmas Party (from the Helena Binns collection)
Space Association of Australia folks (including Helena Roberts, Wynne Whiteford, and Geoff Allshorn) meet former NASA Administrator, Thomas Paine (center), in Melbourne on 18 October 1988
From right: Wynne Whiteford, Geoff Allshorn, Diane Marchant and Greg Franklin at the Space Association of Australia's special 'Star Trek 25th anniversary' program on the Space Show, "Southern FM" radio station, Melbourne, on 8 September 1991
References
- ^ Wynne Whiteford, 'Fiction of Tomorrow', in Ali Kayn (ed.), The Science Fiction and Fantasy and Horror Fan Resource Book, 1994, pp. 25 & 26
- ^ Paul Collins (ed.), 'Wynne Whiteford', in The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melbourne University Press, 1998, page 180.
- ^ Bruce Gillespie, 'Wynne N. Whiteford, 1915–2002', in SF Commentary #78, February 2003, p. 9.
- ^ Jean Weber, 'Australian F & SF', in Weberwoman's Wrevenge #6 (Vol. 1 #6), May 1982, p. 12.
- ^ Bruce Gillespie, 'Wynne N. Whiteford, 1915–2002', in SF Commentary #78, February 2003, p. 9.
- ^ Bill Congreve, The Specialist book review, 'In Depth #7', in Ron Clarke (ed.), The Mentor #80, October 1993, p. 28.
- ^ Jean Weber, 'Books (Recent Australian SF & F', in Weberwoman's Wrevenge #16 (Vol. 3 #4), January 1984, p. 13.
- ^ Laura, The Hyades Contact (online review), Goodreads, 8 February 2017.
- ^ Paul, 'Lake of the Sun, a novel by Wynne Whiteford' (online review), Books On Mars blogspot, 23 January 2009.
- ^ Bill Congreve, The Specialist book review, 'In Depth #7', in Ron Clarke (ed.), The Mentor #80, October 1993, p. 29.