Joan Lindsay
Encyclopedia
Joan Lindsay, Lady Lindsay (16 November 189623 December 1984) was an Australia
n author, best known for her "ambiguous and intriguing" novel Picnic at Hanging Rock.
, Victoria
, Australia
, the third daughter of Theyre à Beckett Weigall, a prominent judge who was related to the Boyd family
, perhaps Australia's most famous and prolific artistic dynasty. Her mother was Ann Sophie Weigall née Hamilton.
From 1916 to 1919, Joan studied painting at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School
, Melbourne
. In 1920 she began sharing a Melbourne studio with Maie Ryan (later Lady Casey). Joan exhibited her watercolours and oils at two Melbourne exhibitions and also exhibited with the Victorian Artists Society
.
Joan Weigall married Daryl Lindsay
in London
, on St. Valentine's Day
1922. The day was always a special occasion for her, and she set her most famous work, Picnic at Hanging Rock, on St. Valentine's Day.
When the couple returned to live in Australia, they renovated a farmhouse in Baxter, Mulberry Hill, and lived there until the Great Depression
forced them to take up humble lodgings in Bacchus Marsh
, renting out their home until the economic situation improved.
With that difficult experience behind them, Daryl abandoned painting to become Director of the National Gallery of Victoria
, a position he held between 1942 and 1955. The position necessitated their relocation to Melbourne until his retirement. They retained their country home during their Victoria sojourn, however. Daryl was knighted in 1956, thus Joan became Lady Lindsay.
Her work Time Without Clocks describes her wedding and idyllic early married life. The work takes its title from a strange ability which Joan described herself as having, of stopping clocks and machinery when she came close. The title also plays on the idea that this period in her life was unstructured and free.
Lindsay also wrote several plays which remained unpublished, although one, Wolf, was performed. She contributed articles, reviews and stories to various magazines and newspapers on art, literature and prominent people. She and Daryl co-authored the History of the Australian Red Cross. She, Daryl, and Lord
and Lady Casey were founding members of the National Trust of Victoria
, and she encouraged others to bequeath to the Trust. Lady Lindsay was interested in the development of a national identity, and her novel Picnic at Hanging Rock - in Peter Weir
's hands - was hailed as initiating a Renaissance in Australian film.
Daryl Lindsay died in 1976. Lady Lindsay died in Melbourne in 1984 of natural causes. The Lindsays had no children. They donated their Mulberry Hill house to the National Trust upon her death.
by producers Patricia Lovell
, Hal and Jim McElroy, and director Peter Weir
. The story is fiction, though Lindsay dropped hints that it was based on an actual event. An ending that explained the girls' fates, in draft form, was excised by her publisher prior to publication. The final chapter was published only in the 1980s, in accordance with her wishes.
Lindsay based Appleyard College, the setting for the novel, on the school that she had attended, Clyde Girls Grammar School (Clyde School
), at East St Kilda, Melbourne—which, incidentally, in 1919 was transferred to Woodend, Victoria
, in the immediate vicinity of Hanging Rock itself.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n author, best known for her "ambiguous and intriguing" novel Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Life
Joan à Beckett Weigall was born in St Kilda EastSt Kilda East, Victoria
St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. It is located within the Local Government Areas of the City of Glen Eira and the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, it had a population of 12,188.St Kilda East is one...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the third daughter of Theyre à Beckett Weigall, a prominent judge who was related to the Boyd family
Boyd Family
The Boyd family is an Australian artistic dynasty. Members of the family over several generations have established themselves as painters, artists, illustrators, sculptors, potters, ceramists, writers, architects, graphic designers, and musicians....
, perhaps Australia's most famous and prolific artistic dynasty. Her mother was Ann Sophie Weigall née Hamilton.
From 1916 to 1919, Joan studied painting at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School
National Gallery of Victoria Art School
The National Gallery of Victoria Art School , associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was founded in 1867. It was the leading centre for academic art training in Australia until about 1910. Among its luminaries, the school was headed by John Brack from 1962-68 and Sir William Dargie was...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. In 1920 she began sharing a Melbourne studio with Maie Ryan (later Lady Casey). Joan exhibited her watercolours and oils at two Melbourne exhibitions and also exhibited with the Victorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society established in 1856 in Melbourne, Australia promotes artistic education and exhibition in Australia. Fore-runner of the Victorian Academy of Arts, founded in 1870. In 1888 the Australian Artist's Association amalgamated with the Victorian Academy of Arts to form the...
.
Joan Weigall married Daryl Lindsay
Daryl Lindsay
Sir Ernest Daryl Lindsay was an Australian artist and member of the creative Lindsay family.-Early life:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on St. Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1922. The day was always a special occasion for her, and she set her most famous work, Picnic at Hanging Rock, on St. Valentine's Day.
When the couple returned to live in Australia, they renovated a farmhouse in Baxter, Mulberry Hill, and lived there until the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
forced them to take up humble lodgings in Bacchus Marsh
Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
Bacchus Marsh is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately west of Melbourne and west of Melton. The population of the urban area is estimated at over 17,000 people, while the central locality is home to 5,566 people...
, renting out their home until the economic situation improved.
With that difficult experience behind them, Daryl abandoned painting to become Director of the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
, a position he held between 1942 and 1955. The position necessitated their relocation to Melbourne until his retirement. They retained their country home during their Victoria sojourn, however. Daryl was knighted in 1956, thus Joan became Lady Lindsay.
Her work Time Without Clocks describes her wedding and idyllic early married life. The work takes its title from a strange ability which Joan described herself as having, of stopping clocks and machinery when she came close. The title also plays on the idea that this period in her life was unstructured and free.
Lindsay also wrote several plays which remained unpublished, although one, Wolf, was performed. She contributed articles, reviews and stories to various magazines and newspapers on art, literature and prominent people. She and Daryl co-authored the History of the Australian Red Cross. She, Daryl, and Lord
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
and Lady Casey were founding members of the National Trust of Victoria
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
, and she encouraged others to bequeath to the Trust. Lady Lindsay was interested in the development of a national identity, and her novel Picnic at Hanging Rock - in Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
's hands - was hailed as initiating a Renaissance in Australian film.
Daryl Lindsay died in 1976. Lady Lindsay died in Melbourne in 1984 of natural causes. The Lindsays had no children. They donated their Mulberry Hill house to the National Trust upon her death.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock is her best known work. It was made into a 1975 feature filmPicnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1967 drama and mystery novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay. She wrote it over a four-week period at her home Mulberry Hill in Baxter, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. It was first published in 1967 in Australia by Cheshire Publishing and was released in...
by producers Patricia Lovell
Patricia Lovell
Patricia Lovell is an Australian film producer whose work within the that country's film industry led her to receive the Longford Life Achievement Award in 2004 from the Australian Film Institute . One of her productions, Gallipoli, received an AFI Award in 1982 as best film...
, Hal and Jim McElroy, and director Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
. The story is fiction, though Lindsay dropped hints that it was based on an actual event. An ending that explained the girls' fates, in draft form, was excised by her publisher prior to publication. The final chapter was published only in the 1980s, in accordance with her wishes.
Lindsay based Appleyard College, the setting for the novel, on the school that she had attended, Clyde Girls Grammar School (Clyde School
Clyde School
Clyde School was founded as a private girls' school in 1910 in Alma Road, St Kilda by Miss Isabel Henderson, a leading educationist of her day. It quickly gained a reputation for excellent academic results.-Clyde School in Woodend:...
), at East St Kilda, Melbourne—which, incidentally, in 1919 was transferred to Woodend, Victoria
Woodend, Victoria
Woodend is a small town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges Local government area. It is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway and is located about halfway between Melbourne and Bendigo...
, in the immediate vicinity of Hanging Rock itself.
External links
- Theyre à Beckett Weigall (1860-1926) Gravesite at Brighton General Cemetery