David Ballantyne

David Ballantyne
Born (1924-06-14)June 14, 1924
Auckland
Died February 24, 1986(1986-02-24) (aged 61)
Other names David Watt Ballantyne
Occupation Journalist

David Watt Ballantyne (14 June 1924 – 24 February 1986) was a New Zealand journalist, novelist and short-story writer.

Ballantyne was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 14 June 1924.[1] After a brief episode in the military and after not completing his medical studies, he began his career as a journalist at the Auckland Star. In 1948, he published his first novel, The Cunninghams in the United States. He finished Freeman’s Bay, a novel about Auckland working-class life, in 1950, but it was not accepted by either his American or his New Zealand publisher.[1]

Ballantyne married the painter Jean Vivienne Margaret Heise in 1950, with whom he had a son. In 1954 he moved with his family to London, where he continued working as a journalist and author. In 1966, the family returned to New Zealand.

Ballantyne died at his home in Ponsonby in inner-city Auckland in 1986.[1]

He published eight novels, of which the first The Cunninghams and the fifth, Sydney Bridge Upside Down are recognised as New Zealand literary classics.

Novels by David Ballantyne

  • The Cunninghams (1948)
  • The Last Pioneer (1963)
  • A Friend of the Family (1966)
  • Sydney Bridge Upside Down (1968)
  • The Talkback Man (1978)
  • The Penfriend (1980)
  • And the Glory (1983)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Moisa, Christodoulos E.G. (2012). "Ballantyne, David Watt". Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved February 23, 2016.


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