Christobel Rosemary (Shepley) Mattingley AM (1931 - 2019)

Born 26 Oct 1931 in Brighton, South Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jun 2019 at age 87 in Glenside, South Australia, Australia

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Biography

Christobel (Shepley) Mattingley AM is Notable.

Christobel was a librarian and author of children's literature

Christobel Rosemary Shepley, best known as Christobel Mattingley, was born at Brighton, a seaside suburb of Adelaide in South Australia, on the 26th of October, 1931.^[1][2] She was the daughter of Arthur Raymond Shepley, an engineer, and Isabelle Margaret Mary Provis, and had a twin who died at birth, as well as a sister, Margaret, who was three years her senior.^[3]

Christobel spent the first eight years of her life with the sand hills and the beach as her playground, before her family moved to Sydney, New South Wales, for her father's work. There Christobel began to keep a diary and by the time she was ten years old, her first pieces had been published in the children's pages of the Sydney Morning Herald and the nature magazine Wild Life. A cave of Aboriginal rock carvings became one of her special places. Her study and appreciation of Aboriginal art, language and culture led to her commission to write a number of books on behalf of the First Peoples of Australia.^[2]

When she was 14, Christobel's family moved to Tasmania, again for her father's work, building dams for the generation of hydro electricity. Here she developed an awareness of the human impact upon the environment and became a supporter of many conservation organisations.^[2]

Her work at the Department of Immigration, following her graduation from the University of Tasmania with First Class Honours in German, assisting post-World War 2 displaced persons from Europe, developed in Christobel an empathy with refugees and migrants.^[2][4]

These life experiences inspired Christobel to write over 50 books, most of which were for children, as well as short stories, poetry, articles and film scripts.^[2] She worked as a school librarian until the 1970s, when she became a full-time author. Christobel was an award winning Australian children's book author, and a Member of the Order of Australia for service to literature and social justice.^[5] In 1987 the City of South Perth inaugurated the annual Christobel Mattingley Awards for Young Writers. She was made an Honorary Doctor of the University of South Australia in 1995 and an Honorary Doctor of Letters of the University of Tasmania in 2015. In February 2019, Christobel was awarded Honorary Membership of the Children's Book Council of Australia South Australian branch.^[4][6]

She married Cecil David "David" Mattingley at St John's church, Toorak, Victoria in 1953.^[7] Their children were Rosemary, Christopher, and Stephen.^[8]

David predeceased her in 2017.^[8][9]

She died on the 1st of June, 2019 in Glenside, South Australia.^[8][6][10]

Sources

1. ↑ Family Notices (1931, November 3). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved June 14, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29872670
   SHEPLEY.—On the 26th October, to the wife of A. R. Shepley, Brighton—a daughter.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} About (Christobel Mattingley. Author's Official Site. https://christobelmattingley.wordpress.com/about/ : accessed 25 Feb 2022)
3. ↑ South Australia Birth Index. (Genealogy SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php : accessed 25 February 2022) birth transcript for SHEPLEY, Margaret Isabelle (Gender: F, Birth Date: 20 October 1928, Father: Arthur Raymond SHEPLEY, Mother: Isabelle Margaret Mary PROVIS, Place of Birth: North Adelaide) Reference: District: Adelaide, Book/Page: 220A/413.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Kirkpatrick, D.L. ed. Twentieth-century Children's Writers. Macmillan Education UK, 1978, page 844. (Google Books, https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Twentieth_century_Children_s_Writers/_DBdDwAAQBAJ : accessed 25 Feb 2022)
5. ↑ Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Government of Australia. (Australian Honours Search Facility, https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869829 : accessed 25 Feb 2022) Member of the Order of Australia awarded to Mrs Christobel Rosemary Mattingley, 11 Jun 1996.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} RIP Christobel Mattingley. (5 June, 2019) Books+Publishing. https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2019/06/05/134349/rip-christobel-mattingley/
7. ↑ Launceston Man Married At St. John's, Toorak (1953, December 21). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved June 13, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61115149.
   Cecil David Mattingley, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. P.F.C. Mattingley, Fairlawn, Elphin Rd., Launceston. THE bride is the younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Shepley, Yallourn (Vic.), formerly of Hobart.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Obituary for Christobel Mattingley (Canberra Times, https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/canberratimes-au/193088766 : accessed 25 Feb 2022)
9. ↑ Mattingley, Cecil David (Virtual War Memorial Australia, https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/798258 : accessed 25 Feb 2022)
10. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Christobel Mattingley," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christobel_Mattingley&oldid=995938669 (accessed January 22, 2021).

See Also:

• Full transcript of an interview with CHRISTOBEL MATTINGLEY on 17 July, 24 July, & 21 August 2001. J. D. SOMERVILLE ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION OH 593/5. STATE LIBRARY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
• Austlit author profile: Christobel Mattingley. (Limited number of free page views, or access via a subscribing library): https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A5146
• The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature holds copies of Christobel's artworks and a research file on her works.
• Christobel Rosemary Mattingley. https://prabook.com/web/christobel_rosemary.mattingley/634931
• Wikidata: Item Q25338419

Acknowledgements

Thank you to The Children's Book Council of Australia (SA Branch) for permission to use the image of Christobel Mattingley AM.