Tony Parsons (Australian author)
Anthony David Parsons OAM is an Australian author and kelpie breeder.
He founded the well-known Kelpie stud “Karrawarra” in 1950 and has gone on to become the breed's most passionate and hardest working advocate.[1] Before that, he was a professional sheep and wool classer.[2] Don Burke said that Tony Parsons has done more to developing the Kelpie as a working dog than anyone else.[3] Kelpie breeder Jan Lowing says that "Parsons (Karrawarra) was responsible for seeking out and preserving Kelpie bloodlines after the fiasco of two World Wars, during which many ‘studs’ disappeared".[4]
Parsons spent time in the Mudgee area 300 km north west of Sydney up to 1972,[5] and based several of his fiction books in the region. He subsequently lived at East Greenmount, Queensland near Toowoomba[6] where his Kelpie stud is located.
Novels
[edit]- The call of the high country (1991) - Penguin, Ringwood Vic, ISBN 9780143202240
- Return to the high country (2001) - Penguin, Ringwood Vic, ISBN 9780143202240
- Silver in the sun (2007) - Viking, Camberwell Vic., ISBN 9780670070312
- The bird smugglers of Mountain View (2008) ISBN 9781921514012
- Valley of the white gold (2011) - Penguin, Camberwell Vic., ISBN 9780143202226
- Back to the Pilliga (2013) - Allen & Unwin, Sydney, ISBN 9781743318805
- Return to Moondilla (2015) - Arena Books, Crows Nest, NSW, ISBN 9781760111465
Non-fiction
[edit]- The Working Kelpie (1986) - Nelson, Melbourne, ISBN 9780170067621
- Training the working kelpie (1990) - Viking O'Neil, Ringwood, Vic., ISBN 0670902470
- The Australian kelpie : the essential guide to the Australian working dog (1992) - Viking O'Neil, Richmond, Vic., ISBN 0670905135
- The kelpie (2010) – Penguin Group Australia, ISBN 9780670073597
Awards
[edit]In 1992, he was awarded the prestigious Medal of the Order of Australia for his “contribution to the propagation of the Australian Kelpie sheep dog”.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Kelpie breeder pens another book". The Chronicle, Toowoomba. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Guest Blog: Tony Parsons". Fleur McDonald. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ "Burke's Backyard, Working Kelpie Road Test". YouTube. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "About Us". Karmala Kelpies. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ Parsons, Tony (2006). Valley of the White Gold. Camberwell Vic: Penguin Viking. pp. v–vi. ISBN 0-670-02987-4.
- ^ "Tony Parsons". Penguin Books. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "Catalogue National Library of Australia". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ "Award extract - Australian honours - Anthony David Parsons". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 16 April 2021.