The Ghost of Dad Rudd, On the Stump

Authors

  • Julieanne Lamond University of Sydney

Keywords:

Steele Rudd, Andrew McGahan

Abstract

This paper examines the cultural and political legacies of Dad Rudd, a fictional character who first appeared in short stories by “Steele Rudd” (A.H.Davis) in the Bulletin in 1895 and has since appeared in popular fiction, theatre, film, television and radio adaptations throughout the twentieth century. It traces a set of national tropes – particularly that of the battler - through stump speeches made by Dad Rudd in On Our Selection! (1899), Dad in Politics (1908), the stage melodrama On Our Selection (1912), and Ken G. Hall’s film Dad Rudd, M.P.(1940), and considers how they have continued to be used to create both political and cultural constituencies in Australia.

Author Biography

Julieanne Lamond, University of Sydney

Julieanne Lamond is working on a PhD thesis at the University of Sydney, looking at citizenship, the Australian public and the national audience in the work of Rosa Praed and Steele Rudd.

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Published

2007-11-29

Issue

Vol. 6 (2007)

Section

Articles

License

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