Neilma Gantner

Born in San Francisco, California on 7 November 1922, Neilma Baillieu Myer was the elder daughter of Merlyn (née Baillieu) and Sidney Myer.[1] The family moved back to Melbourne, Australia in 1929.[2] In 1952, following her divorce, she studied for a Bachelor of Arts in English literature[3] and creative writing at Stanford University.[2][4]

Gantner returned to Melbourne with her two sons in 1954.[2] In 1955 she was a member of the Victorian board of the International Social Service.[5] In mid-1955 she was responsible for signing up hundreds of subscribers to Meanjin, prior to its 15th anniversary.[6] In the same year she self-published her first collection of short stories. Twelve more books followed.

Her elder son, Vallejo, aged 19, was killed in a shooting accident. Gantner subsequently was granted permission to build a hut for bushwalkers in his memory. The Vallejo Gantner Hut is in the Alpine National Park.[2]

In 1991 she founded the biennial Four Winds Festival at Bermagui, bringing classical music performers to the far south coast of New South Wales.[7]

Gantner was a member of The Myer Foundation and other Myer family philanthropic funds.[8]

• Sidney, Neilma (1955), AB initio but ne illegitimi haec legant, N. Sidney
• — (1959), Saturday afternoon and other stories, F. W. Cheshire
• —; Williams, Margaret; Western Australian Teaching and Curriculum Collection (1964), Beaches, Oxford University Press
• — (1966), Beyond the bay (1st ed.), F. W. Cheshire
• — (1970), The eye of the needle, Lloyd O'Neil, ISBN 978-0-85550-021-4
• — (1970), November in India, Community Aid Abroad
• — (1976), The return, Thomas Nelson (Australia), ISBN 978-0-17-005082-1
• — (1986), Journey to Mourilyan: A coastal pilgrimage, J.M. Dent, ISBN 978-0-86770-044-2
• — (1988), Sunday evening : stories, McPhee Gribble/Penguin, ISBN 978-0-14-011547-5
• — (1993), The sweet cool south wind, Barragga Books, ISBN 978-0-646-13402-4
• — (1994), Isola, N. Sidney
• —; Yi, A. (illustrator) (2009), The tale of Henrietta the hen and Pepe, a sea cat, Black Jack Press, ISBN 978-0-9806069-1-1
• —; Yi, Ann (illustrator) (2015), My travelling life, St Kilda, [Victoria] Oryx Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9924865-1-8

Two awards have been established and named in her honour, the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize[9] and the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund, supported by The Myer Foundation.[10][11]

At 18 Gantner married Vallejo Gantner, an apparel manufacturer in San Francisco on 8 August 1941 at St John's Church, Toorak. Her younger sister, Marigold Myer (later Lady Southey) was bridesmaid.[12]

The couple made their home in San Francisco, where Gantner gave birth to two sons, Vallejo junior in 1942 and Carrillo in 1944. In July 1949 she was granted a divorce from her husband on the grounds of cruelty and, although given physical custody of her sons, was prevented from bringing them to Australia for their education.[13]

Gantner died on 15 June 2015 in Bermagui, New South Wales. She was survived by her son, Carrillo, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[8][2]