Fate The Fiddler

By Herbert C. Macilwaine

Published by Archibald Constable & Co Ltd: London 1901

"Herbert MacIlwaine was born on 13 November 1858 in Belfast, son of Rev Dr William MacIlwaine, canon of Belfast Cathedral, and his wife Mary. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, Herbert (like Cecil Sharp) spent eight years (1885-93) in Australia. He and his older brother Arthur were partners in a horsebreeding venture at Mullaburra, near Mount Garnet 100 miles SW of Cairns in Queensland. It was a lonely existence and eventually the business failed. However, Herbert was a shareholder in the Townsville Herald Newspaper Company and got a job there as a journalist before returning to London, where he worked as a reader for the publishers Archibald Constable & Co. He then wrote a number of thoughtful stories about the colonial experience, particularly describing bush life and aborigine/pioneer relations. These fourteen stories were published in both countries."