Alan Marshall AM, (2 May 1902 – 21 January 1984) was an Australian writer, story teller, humanist and social documenter. Personal correspondence between Gwenda Sanderson and Alan Marshall, dated between 1979 and 1983. There are 21 letters in all, the last 3 of which were dictated from the Hurlingham Nursing Home in Brighton. Background information for the letters (daugher Merrilyn Sanderson 10 October 2025): My mother, Gwenda Sanderson ( nee White ) grew up in the western district and knew Alan Marshall's sister. Gwenda was an aspiring author, and reached out to Alan for support and advice regarding her writing. Alan proved to be a generous and inspiring mentor and as you will see, they established a rapport. In 1966 Gwenda moved from Mortlake to Montmorency (quite a culture shock!) and around 1983 she and her husband, Stan moved to Diamond Creek. Letters: 1. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 15 August 1979 2. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 22 August 1979 3. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 28 August 1979 4. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 7 September 1979 5. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 19 September 1979 6. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 11 October 1979 7. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 18 October 1979 8. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 1 November 1979 9. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 10 January 1980 10. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 24 January 1980 11. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 15 February 1980 12. Gwen Hardisty on behalf of Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 27 May 1980 13. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 17 June 1980 14. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 29 July 1980 15. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 4 August 1980 16. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 22 August 1980 17. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 5 February 1981 18. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 5 August 1981 19. Gwen Hardisty on behalf of Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 11 May 1982 20. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 27 Octopber 1982 21. Alan Marshall to Gwenda Sanderson, 21 February 1983 alan marshall, gwenda sanderson, gurrawilla, elsie louise mcconnell, black rock (vic.), korny kenna, folk tales, australian folk tales, davie carson, tommy stratton, neil black, black emily, noorat, purnim encampment, pompey austin, aboriginal characters, john manifold, john hooker, collins publishers, eltham history, alan marshall (pioneers and painters), james bonwick, mount shadwell, mount noorat, john smith, blacksmith, mary turner-shaw, on mount emu creek (book), wooiwyrite, western district victoria, merrilyn sanderson, mortlake, the land (poem), collected verse (book), austin family, hammers over the anvil (book), eeyeuk, dennis family, peg dennis, noorat church, jim smith, miss dennis, mrs polly, mrs angus gillies, mental health, frank smith, country life (english paper), field (english paper), peter mcleod, bill beechey, angus gillies, mag dennis, east driscoll, camperdown, bill white, alec irvine, jack irvine, staughton's stable, cumming family, jallalabad, miss baird, private catholic school, jack peoples, shaw's, weatherley, miss ann gordon, ballangeich, writer, author, sun (newspaper), william collins (aust.) ltd, chatsworth homestead, russia, i can jump puddles (book), nat gould, race horses, ethell dell, gertrude page, geoffrey farnell, east driscoll (story), shamrock smith, the catholic ball (story), lance skuthorpe, the blood of johnny meagher (story), winter-irving, sarah midgeley, richard skilbeck, miss edith (story), sun competition, mandeville hall, hampden council, alan marshall commemorative plaque noorat, russian theatrical troupe, noorat show, eliza sturgess, sam johnson the baker, elsie johnson, crupper, martingale, a.j. black, shaw women, miss laura, squatter, duke of edinburgh, royal family, 'texas' green, member for kalgoorlie, duke of gloucestor, the girl in pink, prince of wales, may creedie (story), mrs scott of mortlake, smouldering fires (book), lindsay russell, mary murray of our valley (book), the fellowship of australian writers, jim hamilton, journey to aboriginal victoria (book), mary gilmore, peter mcallum institute, may creedie (book), gwen hardisty, heart attack, bulletin (magazine), stephenson, gloria swanson, jennifer marshall, daniel (grandson), cathy (daughter), sandringham hospithal, east brighton nursing home, alan marshall writes alone (review)

Sculture in bronze of Alan Marshall by Marcus Skipper, 1995 Alan Marshall, AM., O.B.E., Hon.LL,D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia's most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940's he spent some time living at Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan's occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged Children's Societies. Alan's books are numerous and include novels, short stories, children's books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies "I Can Jump Puddles" and "This is the Grass". Others include "These are My People", "Ourselves Writ Strange", "People of the Dreamtime"; "The Gay Provider" and "Wild Red Horses". In 1971 he wrote the Centenary History of the Shire of Eltham, "Pioneers and Painters". Covered under National Trust of Australia (Victoria), State significance. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p159 Outside the Eltham Library a bronze figure of a short one-legged man with a crutch invites people to the world of literature. The bronze statue, by Marcus Skipper, is of author Alan Marshall, who is famed for his autobiography I Can Jump Puddles, about growing up and overcoming the effects of polio. That plucky little boy later lived in the Nillumbik district for more than 50 years, and on his death in 1984, was buried in the Nillumbik Cemetery at Diamond Creek. Although a hugely successful author, his grave is modest with only a tiny boulder and simple bronze plaque on a grassed plot. From 1955 to 1972 Marshall lived in a tiny fibro-cement bungalow at the rear of a house at Park West Road, Eltham, owned by his older sister, Elsie McConnell. It was there that he wrote most of his autobiographical trilogy and his history of the former Eltham Shire, Pioneers and Painters. His long association with Eltham Shire began in 1918 when his family moved to Diamond Creek. Then in 1920 he began work as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices on Main Road, Kangaroo Ground near the Yarra Glen Road, while boarding at the hotel next door. Marshall later bought a block of land in Research, which had three bark huts. In one of these he wrote his first book These Are My People. He later sold the land but lived in a caravan there and in 1955 wrote I Can Jump Puddles.1 Proud of its citizen, the Eltham Shire named a park after Marshall at the corner of Main Road and Leanne Drive, Eltham. In 1985 the Shire initiated the Alan Marshall Short Story Award. It was Marshall’s early life in the country that taught him to live courageously in spite of his crippling polio, and he inspired many. This informed his writing – full of courage, championing the battler and love of the bush. Alan Marshall was born in 1902 at Noorat in Western Victoria, as the only son of Billy a drover, horse breaker, hawker and then general store owner. At the age of six, Marshall contracted infantile paralysis and was later hospitalised in Colac for 18 months. With his father’s encouragement, Marshall learnt to swim, wrestle and box, ride a bicycle (downhill), ride a horse and drive a car. Marshall won a scholarship to Stott’s Correspondence College to study accountancy. To help him continue his studies and find employment, his family bought 12 acres (4.8ha), in Ryans Road, Diamond Creek, opposite Windmill Court. There they ran cows, some poultry and an orchard. But life with a disability and during the Depression was hard for Marshall, who for 20 years, endured long periods of unemployment and loneliness and was often exploited at work.2 However, life improved in the 1930s, when he published short stories and articles in newspapers and magazines, including a column of advice to the lovelorn, which he wrote for nearly 20 years. At age 42 Marshall published his first book and in the next 30 years he published more than 20. His most successful book was I Can Jump Puddles, which sold more than three million copies internationally. It was made into a film, released in 1971, by Czechoslovakian director Karel Kachyna. Marshall was one of the first Australians to write about Aborigines who called him Gurrawilla - teller of tales - when he lived with them in Arnhem Land for eight months.3 In 1941 Marshall married Olive Dixon, with whom he had two daughters, Catherine and Jennifer. Marshall and Olive divorced in 1957. In 1972 Marshall was awarded an OBE for his work with the handicapped. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Melbourne University, an Order of Australia for services to literature and the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, alan marshall, art in public places, eltham, eltham library, marcus skipper, panther place, public art, sculpture

Autobiographical book about Alan Marshall's childhood in country VictoriaHardcover book with text and paper sleeve with colour Imageaustralian history, alan marshall, polio, authors

One of a collection of books by local writer Alan Marshall held at EDHS. This one is of "anecdotes and yarns" as described by Marshall before its publication in July 1981 in the Canberra Times. Alan Marshall's Australia, the Australia of "I Can Jump Puddles" has vanished. No longer do we have time to sit on the sliprail and exchange yarns, to drive buggies down long, quiet dusty roads, or to watch the king-hit merchant operating in some small hotel. Even the Cu-nims hold no terrors for a Boeing 427! And yet - Alan Marshall's Australia lives for all those who read this book. Meet Lance Skuthorpe who tethered an old bull in Bourke Street and offered £5 to anyone who could ride it for half a minute and Binjarrpooma, the Arnhem Land terror. Accompany Alan in his horse-drawn caravan or buggy to country sales, pubs and stations and listen with him to great bush eccentrics, lairs and yarn spinners. Go further back and remember Conversation Lollies, the cigarette cards you collected and the school yard games. Can you recall how to test an axe blade, choose a pocket knife, or the penetrating power of Goanna Oil? But this book is more than a nostalgic journey into the past ; it is history for the young and a timely reminder for us all - it is our roots. - Front end papers viii, 165 p. : ill. ; Two copiesISBN 0908090390alan marshall, prose, short stories, ancedotes, australia, tales, yarms

READINGS recorded 1959 in Alan Marshall’s study, Eltham • See the White Feathers Fall (Ourselves Writ Strange) • The Chinese Herbalist (I Can Jump Puddles) • The Press (How Beautiful Are They Feet) • The Drought (I Can Jump Puddles) TALES FROM THE SPEEWAH, recorded 1 May 1959 in Nicholas Hall, Melbourne, at ‘Readings From Australian Writers’ presented by the Australiasian Book Society on behalf of the Melbourne May Day Committee. REMINISCING recorded 11 May 1964 in the Healesville Art Gallery of Nicholas and Ruth Heiderich with an audience of about 50 guests. Chairman, Nicholas Heiderich. At two stages throughout the recording a substantial rain storm can be heard on the roof almost drowning out the presentation.Two TEAC MX1 compact audio cassettes labelled Alan Marshall Here! Part 1 (#0128 red and Alan Marshall Here! 2 (#0129 yellow) Tape 0128 Side A Dubbed from original tape (1959) READINGS recorded 1959 in Alan Marshall’s study, Eltham • See the White Feathers Fall (Ourselves Writ Strange) • The Chinese Herbalist (I Can Jump Puddles) • The Press (How Beautiful Are They Feet) • The Drought (I Can Jump Puddles) TALES FROM THE SPEEWAH, recorded 1 May 1959 in Nicholas Hall, Melbourne, at ‘Readings From Australian Writers’ presented by the Australiasian Book Society on behalf of the Melbourne May Day Committee. Tape 128 Side B REMINISCING (part 1) recorded 11 May 1964 in the Healesville Art Gallery of Nicholas and Ruth Heiderich with an audience of about 50 guests. (Concluded on tape 0129) Tape 0129 Side A REMINISCING (part 2) recorded 11 May 1964 in the Healesville Art Gallery of Nicholas and Ruth Heiderich with an audience of about 50 guests. Chairman, Nicholas Heiderich. (Part 1 on tape 0128) Converted to MP3 files EDHS_05002-1 Readings 43.9MB; 0:34:31 EDHS_05002-2 Tales from the Speewah 15.6MB; 0:12:49 EDHS_05002-3 Reminiscing 86.9MB; 1:21:05alan marshall, alan marshall bungalow, audio cassette, audio recording, australiasian book society, healesville art gallery, melbourne, melbourne may day committee, nicholas hall, nicholas heiderich, readings from australian writers, ruth heiderich

A sculpture of local author Alan Marshall welcomes visitors in the grounds of Eltham library. Alan loved telling stories and talking to children and his own story overcoming the legacy of polio has been an inspiration to generations of Australians. Marcus Skipper, the sculptor, knew Alan well and the sculpture is said to capture his spirit and appearance perfectly; the jumper was even cast from one of Alan’s own. A realistic depiction (almost life size) of Alan Marshall (1902-1984) cast in bronze with green patination. Dressed in a jumper and slacks, Marshall is shown perched on a crutch, holding a book to his heart, gesturing to his audience to come and listen to his words. It was scupluted by local artist Marcus Skipper (b.1950 Melb. died 2011). HISTORICAL INFORMATION Alan Marshall was an author of more than fifteen books, and lived much of his life in Eltham. He became a central figure in the area's arts community of writers, artists, sculptors, film makers, actors and musicians . He is shown stroking a book to his heart, perched on a crutch, which references his disability (contracted polio when he was young), and his status as one of Australia's most successful and loved authors. His most famous book, 'I Can Jump Puddles' is based on his life story and the obstacles he faced as a child in trying to overcome his disability. Marcus Skipper submitted the idea for the work to the first 'Art in Public Places' Awards in 1990. The selectors at the time recommended that the work would be more suitably placed near the Eltham Library. It was commissioned and installed for the new Eltham Library, which was designed by Greg Burgess in 1994. It was partially funded by the then Shire of Eltham's Art Development Fund (Eltham Arts Council) and the rest donated by the artist Marcus Skipper. - Highlights from the Nillumbik Public Art Collection. "The setting and location are ideal and Marcus has really captured the typical Marshall character. It has attracted much favourable comment since its completion. .. Alan Marshall, A.M., O.B.E., Hon.LL.D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia's most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940s he spent some time living at Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan's occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged Children's Societies. Alan's books are numerous and include novels, short stories, children's books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies "I Can Jump Puddles" and "This is the Grass". Others include "These are My People", "Ourselves Writ Strange", "People of the Dreamtime", "The Gay Provider" and "Wild Red Horses". In 1971 he wrote the Centenary History of the Shire of Eltham, "Pioneers and Painters". -EDHS Newsletter No. 104, September 1995This work has significance for its reference to two well known names associated with Eltham and its history. The sculpture is a realistic statue of the famous Australian author Alan Marshall who wrote "I Can Jump Puddles". He lived and worked in the Shire. The artist Marcus Skipper represents a highly recognised family of artists associated with Monsalvat . The sculpture 'Alan Marshall' has been classified as of regional significance by the National Trust of Australia. - Highlights from the Nillumbik Public Art Collection.Born Digitalart in public places, alan marshall, marcus skipper, sculptures, eltham library

Alan Marshall was an author of more than fifteen books, and lived much of his life in Eltham. He became a central figure in the area's arts community of writers, artists, sculptors, film makers, actors and musicians. He is shown stroking a book to his heart, perched on a crutch, which references his disability (contracted polio when he was young), and his status as one of Australia's most successful and loved authors. His most famous book, 'I Can Jump Puddles' is based on his life story and the obstacles he faced as a child in trying to overcome his disability. Marcus Skipper submitted the idea for the work to the first 'Art in Public Places' Awards in 1990. The selectors at the time recommended that the work would be more suitably placed near the Eltham Library. It was commissioned and installed for the new Eltham Library, which was designed by Greg Burgess in 1994. It was partially funded by the then Shire of Eltham's Art Development Fund (Eltham Arts Council) and the rest donated by the artist Marcus Skipper. This work has significance for its reference to two well known names associated with Eltham and its history. The sculpture is a realistic statue of the famous Australian author Alan Marshall who wrote "I Can Jump Puddles". He lived and worked in the Shire. The artist Marcus Skipper represents a highly recognised family of artists associated with Monsalvat. The sculpture 'Alan marshall' has been classified as of regional significance by the National Trust of Australia. A realistic depiction (almost life size) of Alan Marshall cast in bronze with green patination. Dressed in a jumper and slacks, Marshall is shown perched on a crutch, holding a book to his heart, gesturing to his audience to come and listen to his words. alan marshall, bronze, skipper, i can jump puddles, eltham library, novalist, ekphrasis2017, figure, public art

Alan Martin studied under Max Meldrum, at the National Gallery School and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He later established his own art school. He has won several prizes and is represented in several provincial collections. Alan Marshall was the author of more than fifteen books, and lived much of his life in Eltham. He became a central figure in the area's arts community of writers, artists, sculptors, film makers, actors and musicians. He contracted polio when he was young is considered one of Australia's most successful and loved authors. His most famous book, 'I Can Jump Puddles' is based on his life story and the obstacles he faced as a child in trying to overcome his disability. The portrait of Alan Marshall was exhibited as a finalist at the 1956 Archibald Prize.