Bertha Southey Brammall

A direct descendant of English Poet Laureate Robert Southey, Brammall wrote material for children's radio programs as well as poems, novels and short stories for adults.

Set in northern Tasmania, it tells the story of an orphan taken in by a large family, where she is harshly treated before being rescued by her long-lost parent.

[2] It commences with the following lines: High on the shoulders of the Apennines, Where only grey wolves roam, They found our Hinkler 'mid the twisted pines, Ten thousand miles from home.

Only the pale stars, and the wailing winds, That lay the pine trees low, Knew where he slept through the long winter nights,

Broadcast twice a week the program was very popular, with Mrs Brammall receiving letters from all over Australia and as far away as New Zealand and South Africa.

In 1934 she won second prize in an Australian Broadcasting Commission play-writing competition with her play, Flickering Candles, one of nearly 400 entries received.

[4] She was a consistent winner in the old Lyceum Club literary circle in Hobart and was a regular contributor of short stories and poems to a number of Australian periodicals and women's magazines.