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Becke, George Lewis (Louis) (1855 - 1913)

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    'Neath Austral skies
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    Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories
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    Tom Wallis : a tale of the south sea
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    A first fleet family : a hitherto unpublished narrative of certain remarkable adventures compiled from the papers of Sergeant William Dew of the Marines
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    The mutineer : a romance of Pitcairn Island
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Born
18 June 1855
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia
Died
18 February 1913
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Summary

Becke was born at Port Macquarie, New South Wales; when his family later moved to Sydney, he attended Fort Street School. At the age of sixteen, he stowed away to Samoa; not long afterwards he sailed with the notorious pirate Captain W.H. 'Bully' Hayes - an important figure in Becke's later fiction. After Hayes' ship was sunk during a cyclone, Becke took a number of jobs in Australia and across the Pacific. He returned to Port Macquarie, married and settled down, writing stories for the Bulletin - he was introduced to J.F. Archibald, the Bulletin's editor, by Ernest Favenc. In 1893 T. Fisher Unwin wrote to Becke from London, offering to publish a collection of his stories: By Reef and Palm was published in 1894, and T. Fisher Unwin went on to publish most of his major works. Deserting his wife in 1896, Becke left for England, living in London and Eastbourne for a while, followed by time spent in Jamaica and the United States, France and the South Seas. Known as the 'Rudyard Kipling of Australia', Becke's literary reputation rests on his many collections of adventure stories, including Old Convict Days (1899) and Under Tropic Skies (1904).

Published resources

Books

  • Becke, Louis, Tom Wallis : a tale of the south sea, 7th impression edn, Religious Tract Society, London, 319 pp. Details
  • Becke, Louis, Tom Gerrard, T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1905, 292 pp. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, 315 pp. Details
  • Becke, Louis, Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, 166 pp. Details
  • Becke, Louis and Jeffery, Walter, A first fleet family : a hitherto unpublished narrative of certain remarkable adventures compiled from the papers of Sergeant William Dew of the Marines, T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1896, 271 pp. Details
  • Becke, Louis and Jeffery, Walter, The mutineer : a romance of Pitcairn Island, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1898, 298 pp. Details

Short Stories

  • Becke, Louis, 'Last Cruise of John Maudesley', in Fisher, Lala (ed.), By creek and gully : stories and sketches mostly of bush life, told in prose and rhyme, by Australian writers in England, T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1899, pp. 283-298. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Deserter', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 37-53. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'My Friend George, The Docker', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 123-134. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Submarine Deserts', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 311-315. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Captain Bolter's Escape', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 147-157. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Denison Gets Even With Saunderson', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 24-36. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Clarkson's Last Chance', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 186-196. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Loneliness Of It', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 54-104. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Julius Adolphus Jenkins's Christmas Alligator', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 105-122. Details
  • Becke, Louis, ''Jack Shark'', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 255-263. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Man Who Was Too Small For His Boots', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 7-23. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Teresa Stuart : A Reminiscence of the Bush', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 135-146. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Denison Gives A Supper Party', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 167-185. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'An Incident of Marriage in the South Seas', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 228-241. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'An Adventure With 'Grey Nurses'', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 242-254. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Venemous Sea-Snakes', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 305-310. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'On the Ways of Some Tropical Birds', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 300-304. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The 'Fishing Liar' and his Verification', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 295-299. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Palolo Worm of Samoa', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 289-294. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Lots O' Time', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 264-288. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'A Coastal Tramp', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 197-216. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Most Hateful Place I Know', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 217-227. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Some Skipper's With Whom I Have Sailed', in 'Neath Austral Skies, John Milne, London, 1909, pp. 158-166. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Tarria, the Swimmer', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 99-112. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Woman From Sangir', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 113-124. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'A Bar of Common Soap', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 82-98. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Glory of the Gale', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 37-81. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Coward: A Sketch', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 34-36. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'The Prospector', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 141-166. Details
  • Becke, Louis, '"Bully" Hayes', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 9-33. Details
  • Becke, Louis, 'Jimmy Lemon, Pirate', in Bully Hayes, Buccaneer : and other stories, N.S.W. Bookstall Co., Sydney, 1920, pp. 125-140. Details

See also

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Correspondence between Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery and with their publishers 1895-1901 [manuscript], 1895 - 1901, NLA MS 443; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Letters, 1902 [manuscript] - George Louis Becke, 1902, NLA MS 4659; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Rachael Weaver