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Renowned Indigenous poet and author Herb Wharton has passed away aged 90.
The University of Queensland Press issued a statement expressing deep sadness for his passing and honouring his lifetime of work.
"His literary contributions and impactful storytelling rooted in Indigenous culture and life in the outback will continue to touch many," UQP wrote.
Mr Wharton was born in Cunnamulla, Queensland, in 1936 and began working as a drover in his teenage years. He started writing for the first time around the age of 50.
In his poem 'Kings with Empty Pockets', he tells of the allure, romance and harsh realities of a stockman's life. His maternal grandmother was of the Kooma people; his grandfathers were Irish and English.
In 1992 with the publication of his first book, Unbranded, he committed to novel form his experiences of his long years spent on the stock routes of inland Australia. Cattle Camp, a collection of droving histories as told by Murri stockmen and women, was published in 1994.
Where Ya' Been Mate, a collection of short stories, followed in 1996.
Mr Wharton travelled extensively throughout Australia and abroad. In 1998, he was selected for a residency at the Australia Council studio in Paris where he completed Yumba Days, his first book for young readers.
He was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature in 2012, and in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Herb was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for 'significant service to the literary arts, to poetry and to the Indigenous community'.
Most recently he was the recipient of a black&write! Fellowship in 2022. His first work (initially published in 1992), Unbranded, was republished in 2023 as part of the University of Queensland Press' First Nations Classics Series with an introduction by Kev Carmody. This novel is based on his experiences as a stockman in the Australian outback.
Mr Wharton subsequently published several collections of short stories and poetry, and a young-adult novel.
He did much of his earlier writing from a flat in the Yumba.
"It all started with writing when an old mate of mine asked me a question about the past and the present. I was always argumentative, but I couldn't answer him. I borrowed some pen and paper to write him a letter and then I re-read it and I thought, 'That's a pretty good letter, and him being a song writer I'd better turn it into a poem'. I did, and I sent it to him, but I still didn't answer his question," he once wrote.
"So, I wrote five more poems, and then I kept writing and then eventually I wrote about a hundred more. All that and a few books later, I still haven't answered his question. I don't know if I write poetry or prose and I don't give a bugger."
In an interview with Sensanostra in 2013, Mr Wharton said: "I belong to the land, it gives me my identity. I don't own it. Some people do, but they will never belong to it."
"May his words continue to find new readers," UQP said.
"Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Vale Herb Wharton."
