Award-winning Australian author John Marsden has died, aged 74.
Book one of his Tomorrow, When The War Began series was released in 1993, sold millions of copies worldwide and was adapted as a film in 2010. It was dubbed “the best series for Australian teens of all time”.
Both the Candlebark primary school and Alice Miller secondary school the author and educator founded in regional Victoria confirmed Marsden’s death late on Wednesday 18 December in a joint statement, describing his contribution to young adult (YA) literature as “revolutionary” and praising his “unflinching honesty in addressing complex themes”.
“John Marsden transformed countless young lives through both his writing and his groundbreaking approach to education,” the statement from the schools said.
“As one of Australia’s most beloved and successful authors, he sold more than five million books and was translated into 15 languages.”
Marsden was just nine years old when he knew he wanted to be a writer. But his dream took a winding path before being realised, and his early adulthood saw him work a range of jobs, including at an abattoir, as a truck driver and in a hospital emergency department.
He then taught at a diverse range of schools, including Geelong Grammar’s Timbertop and Fitzroy Community School, before publishing his first YA novel, So Much To Tell You, in 1987. It was the first of more than 40 novels he published.
In 2006, Marsden won the Lloyd O’Neil Award for his contribution to Australian publishing, won every major award for YA publishing over many years, and also wone the prestigious Christina Stead Award for Best Novel for his book, South of Darkness, in 2015.
Enduring passion for education
But despite his literary success, Marsden loved teaching and turned a sprawling regional property he owned on the northern edge of Melbourne into a primary school, Candlebark, in 2006.
In a message on social media following the news of Marsden’s death, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the author and educator “wanted young Australians to read more and his writing made that happen”.
“Vivid, funny, quintessentially Australian, he wrote with a real love for our land and a true sense of our people’s character,” the Prime Minister wrote.
“John’s work will live long in our national memory.”
Much-loved Australian author Alison Lester says Marsden had left an “enormous” legacy through the Tomorrow series.
“He would’ve got so many kids reading who would never have read otherwise, I think. Here was a whole world that they could believe in,” she said.
“Those books, they looked like they were going to change the world, they were such a force.
“The kids [in the books] were so powerful … I think that was the most amazing thing.”
Marsden stepped down from his role as a principal at Candlebark, as well as the secondary school Alice Miller, earlier this year, due to health issues.
“John was a true champion of children and young people. He had unflinching belief in them and viewed them with profound respect,” current principal Sarita Ryan said.
“The schools were designed to allow students to be authentic, expressive, and highly capable given the right opportunities.
“John never viewed Candlebark and Alice Miller as particularly radical, as in his mind the schools ‘just did the bleeding obvious’.”
Letting kids get their hands dirty
Marsden’s approach to engaging children in learning was that “It’s very important that young people get their hands dirty, both literally and metaphorically”.
The physical environment of the school he created in a stunning bushland setting was at the heart of his educational ethos and so was creating a culture of genuine affection and connection.
At Candelbark and Alice Miller, Marsden said, “there’s a lot of laughter”.
“There’s a lot of joking. There are a lot of serious conversations, too.”
A school that says ‘yes’
Marden himself explained his vision for the school in an old interview.
“It’s different from the secondary schooling I had, which was very formal and rigid, and I suppose it taught me that that’s not necessarily the best way to learn.
“What I want is a school full of surprises. A school that’s innovative and flexible at the same time as we do maintain that academic standard. I want a school that’s got a sense of humour.
“I want a school where we say ‘yes’ to things instead of ‘no’. It seems like most schools have a banner fluttering from the flagpole with the word ‘no’ written on it.
“In creating a school, I want the perfect school. I know I won’t get it, but I must always aspire to it.”
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