David Rowbotham

David Harold Rowbotham AM (27 August 1924 – 6 October 2010) was an Australian poet and journalist.¹

Rowbotham was born in the Darling Downs of Queensland, in the city of Toowoomba.² He attended Toowoomba Grammar School and later studied at the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney.³ During the Second World War, he served on the Pacific front.¹

Rowbotham worked as a journalist for the Toowoomba Chronicle and Brisbane Courier-Mail from 1955 to 1964.⁴ He lectured in English at the University of Queensland between 1965 and 1969, then became the literary critic for the Brisbane Courier-Mail from 1969 to 1980, and later its literary editor from 1980 to 1987.³

Though lyrical in form, Rowbotham's poems often focus on history. After Penguin published his Selected Poems in 1994, which covered fifty years of work, Rowbotham entered a productive late period that culminated in the well-received Poems for America in 2002. In 2005, Picaro Press's Wagtail series published a chapbook of Rowbotham's titled The Brown Island.⁵

A friend and mentor to many Australian writers, Rowbotham also maintained wide international connections.¹

He died on 6 October 2010.⁶

Rowbotham was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1991 for his service to literature.⁷

In 2007, he received the Patrick White Award, which was presented to him on 9 November 2007 in Brisbane.⁸