Clement Semmler

Clement Semmler OBE, AM (23 December 1914 – 10 August 2000), often referred to as Clem Semmler, was an Australian author, literary critic, broadcaster and radio and television executive.

Clement Semmler
Born
Clement William Semmler

(1914-12-23)23 December 1914
Eastern Well, South Australia
Died10 August 2000(2000-08-10) (aged 85)
Occupation(s)Author
Literary critic
Broadcasting executive

Early life and education

Semmler was born Clement William Semmler on 23 December 1914 in Eastern Well, South Australia.[1] His parents were Germans of the Lutheran faith.[2] He studied at Murray Bridge High School. He continued his education at the University of Adelaide, graduating with a B.A. with honours in English language and literature, followed by an M.A., (Thesis: Thomas Hardy) in 1932.[3]

Career

Australian Broadcasting Commission

Semmler taught English and Latin at Unley High School, South Australia until 1942, when he joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).[2] He worked at the ABC for 35 years, rising to become the deputy general manager, from 1965 to 1977. He "helped launch ABC television" to which he introduced "famous programs" such as Four Corners, The Critics and Six O'Clock Rock.[2][4]

When Semmler assumed control of programs at the ABC in the 1950s through 1970s, he "introduced jazz programs by Eric Child, Kym Bonython, Arch McKirdy, Ian Neil and others, and arranged regular programs from jazz groups all over Australia" and arranged "record-breaking concert tours by Australian jazz bands" (including those of Graeme Bell and Bob Barnard and the Australian Jazz Quintet).[5]

Disenchanted with the new direction the ABC was taking, Semmler resigned in 1977.[6][7]

Media reviewer and literary historian

During his years at the ABC, Semmler devoted much of his leisure time to writing numerous books and reviews. In 1966, Lansdowne Press published his study of the Australian poet Banjo Paterson, The Banjo of the Bush.[8] Other books from Semmler in this period included studies of Barcroft Boake (1965), Kenneth Slessor (1966) and Douglas Stewart (1974).

After Semmler's departure from the ABC, he worked as a book reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald for many years. He also wrote the "Semmler on Television" column for the same newspaper.[9]

He moved to Bowral in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales,[10] where he remained busy writing books, articles and letters to the editor and presenting a "regular jazz program on the local community FM station".[11][12] Books written and edited in this period included The ABC: Aunt Sally and Sacred Cow (1981), The War Diaries of Kenneth Slessor (1985), and his memoirs, Pictures on the Margin (1991).

Public service and retirement

During his retirement he also served as the Chairman of the Alexander Mackie CAE Council (1977–81), the Deputy Chairman of the Library Council of NSW (1981–83), a member of the Council of the Sydney College of Advanced Education (1982–84), one of the panel of judges for the NSW Premier's Literary Award,[13] and the Chairman of the Board of the Sydney City Art Institute (1982–84).

Clement Semmler died in Bowral on 10 August 2000. His final book review was published in Quadrant just after he died. A note accompanying it says he "wrote more reviews for the magazine, over forty-three years, than anybody else".[14]

The library of the University of New South Wales's College of Fine Arts is named the Clement Semmler Library in his honour.

Personal life

Semmler was married twice. His first marriage was to Ella Janzow,[15] with whom he had a daughter Jacqueline Dorn Semmler[16] and a son Peter Clement Bronner Semmler,[17] a barrister.[18] His second marriage was to Catherine, with whom he had a daughter, creative producer Imogen.

Awards

In 1969, Semmler was awarded a D.Litt. by the University of New England "on the basis of his published works".[4] For his contributions to Australian literature he received an Order of the British Empire in 1972[19] and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989.[20]

Bibliography

Books as author
  • For the Uncanny Man: Essays, Mainly Literary (1963)
  • Barcroft Boake: Poet of the Stockwhip (1965)
  • A. B. "Banjo" Paterson (1966)
  • Kenneth Slessor (1966)
  • The Art of Brian James and other Essays on Australian Literature (1972)
  • Douglas Stewart (1974)
  • The ABC: Aunt Sally and Sacred Cow (1981)
  • Pictures on the Margin: Memoirs (1991) University of Queensland Press, St Lucia ISBN 0-7022-2411-1

Books as editor
  • Literary Australia (with Derek Whitelock) (1966)
  • Coast to Coast 1965-66 (1966)
  • Twentieth Century Australian Literary Criticism (1967)
  • A Frank Hardy Swag (1982)
  • The War Diaries of Kenneth Slessor: Official Australian Correspondent 1940-1944 (1987)
  • The War Despatches of Kenneth Slessor: Official Australian Correspondent 1940-1944 (1987)
  • Bush Ballads, Poems, Stories and Journalism and The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson (1992)

Reviews and critiques
Year Media critique
1963 Semmler, Clement (March 1963). "Glimpses of World Television". Australian Quarterly. 35 (1): 58–67. doi:10.2307/20633851. JSTOR 20633851.
1991 Semmler, Clement (April 1991). "The (Abysmal) State of Australian Television". Quadrant. 35 (4): 10–20.
Year Review article Work(s) reviewed
1996 Semmler, Clement (May 1996). "The threefold Muggeridge". Quadrant. 40 (5): 83–84. Wolfe, Gregory (1995). Malcolm Muggeridge : a biography. Hodder & Stoughton.

Articles

References
  1. "Clement Semmler | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. AustLit. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  2. Peter Coleman, "Clement Semmler", The Age, 18 August 2000, Obituaries, p. 33.
  3. "Clement Semmler papers, 1924-1992 Adlib Internet Server 5 | Details". archival.sl.nsw.gov.au. Sydney, Australia: Library of the University of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. Semmler, Clement, in: Oxford Companion to Australian Literature (2nd ed.) (online version). Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  5. Clement Semmler, Obituary: Eric Child (1910-1995), squarespace.com. Retrieved on 9 November 2018. This obituary originally appeared in Jazzchord, June/July, 1995.
  6. "A man of letters and a vigorous campaigner for an ABC devoted to quality", The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October 2000, p. 6.
  7. Helen Frizell, "Semmler retires after 35 years in ABC", The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November 1977, p. 3.
  8. Gavin Souter, "Man Who Shuns Nightclubs", The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October 1966, p. 4. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  9. "Fiction may be closer to truth than history", The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 September 1980, p. 8.
  10. The Radio Pioneers of Australian Jazz, jazzinaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  11. Clement Semmler, "Whither Jazz?", Bondi Junction, Waverley Library, 1997 (The Annual Bell Jazz Lecture).
  12. "Today's Television", The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 November 1986, p. 25.
  13. Roger Collier, "Barwick book wins $5,000 prize", The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 September 1980, p. 1.
  14. Quadrant, October 2000, p. 80.
  15. "Bride Wears Chantilly Lace". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 31 December 1940. p. 15. Retrieved 2 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 34, 138. New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1947. p. 24. Retrieved 2 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "Family Notices". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 93, no. 28, 634. South Australia. 19 July 1950. p. 20. Retrieved 2 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. Alex Mitchell, "Bar too high for Shaw", The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 1998, p. 15.
  19. Honours - OBE, itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  20. Honours - MOA, itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  21. Clement Semmler (1993). "Bronner, Rudolph (Rudi) (1890–1960)". Australian Dictionary of Biography: Bronner, Rudolph (Rudi) (1890–1960). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 13 March 2019.

Further reading
  • Albert Moran and Chris Keating, The A to Z of Australian Radio and Television, London, Toronto and Plymouth, U.K., The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009 (The A to Z Guide Series, No. 72).
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