Gina Ballantyne

Gina Ballantyne (18 June 1919 – 25 July 1973) was an Australian poet, who also wrote as Allinga.[1] She was the first woman to edit an edition of the annual Jindyworobak Anthology.

Gina Ballantyne
Born(1919-06-18)18 June 1919
Adelaide, South Australia
Died25 July 1973(1973-07-25) (aged 54)
Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia
Occupationpoet
Notable works"Vision"
Notable awardsC. J. Dennis Memorial Competition, 1942

Early life and education

Born on 18 June 1919 in Adelaide, Gina Ballantyne moved with her family to Sydney in 1922.[2] At 10, she was awarded a midget certificate as a Sunbeamer by The Sun.[3] She was educated at Hillview School, Manly where she was dux and won the scripture prize in 1932.[4] She then completed her secondary education at Balgowlah Grammar School.[2]

Career

Ballantyne won a prize for her essay on the 1933 Natural History Exhibition and included a four-line poem about the platypus, with an illustration.[5] From 1934 her poems and other writing appeared in the children's pages edited by South West Wind in The Sydney Morning Herald.[6]

Her poem, "Vision", won the 1942 C. J. Dennis Memorial Competition from 70 entries.[7][8]

In 1945 Ballantyne edited the annual Jindyworobak Anthology, the first woman to do so.[2] The poetry reviewer for The West Australian claimed it "is in many respects the best of the series. The verse is more varied, and, while less pretentious, reaches an even and satisfying level of expression" and concluded that she is " one of the most promising of the new school" and "has made a good selection".[9] The Catholic Weekly, however, commented that she had included poems by some young women "too slight and immature to warrant publication".[10]

Her poems were published in the Jindyworobak Anthology of 1943,[11] 1944,[2] 1945, 1947,[12] 1948.[13]

Publications
  • Phantom, F. W. Preece Ltd, 1942[14]
  • Vagrant, Jindyworobak Publications, 1943[15]
  • Jindyworobak Anthology, 1945, editor, Jindyworobak Publications in conjunction with Georgian House, 1945[16]

References
  1. Ballantyne, Gina (1942), Vision, C. J. Dennis National Memorial Society, retrieved 8 July 2023
  2. "Gina Ballantyne". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. "Happy-go-lucky". The Sun. No. 1391. New South Wales, Australia. 24 November 1929. p. 2 (Supplement to the Sunbeams). Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Schools' Prize Distributions". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 628. New South Wales, Australia. 19 December 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Science through youthful eyes". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. 3, no. 181. New South Wales, Australia. 14 September 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ""Winter's Mirth"". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 343. New South Wales, Australia. 4 April 1935. p. 23 (Women's Supplement). Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "£25 Prize Poem". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 32, 667. New South Wales, Australia. 8 September 1942. p. 7. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Adelaide, Debra (1988). Australian women writers: a bibliographic guide. Pandora. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-86358-148-9.
  9. "An Anthology". The West Australian. Vol. 62, no. 18, 666. Western Australia. 11 May 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Books". Catholic Weekly. Vol. V, no. 208. New South Wales, Australia. 21 February 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "The Edge of Immortal Dreaming". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. LXXXVII, no. 26968. South Australia. 10 March 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Hard-working Muse". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 613. Victoria, Australia. 27 December 1947. p. 19. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Anthology". The West Australian. Vol. 65, no. 19, 537. Western Australia. 26 February 1949. p. 23. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. Ballantyne, Gina (1942). Phantom. F.W. Preece Ltd. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  15. Ballantyne, Gina (1943). Vagrant. Jindyworobak Publications. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  16. Ballantyne, Gina, ed. (1945). Jindyworobak anthology, 1945. Jindyworobak Publications and Georgian House. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

Further reading
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