Editorial.

This issue of Margin marks ten years since I took over the editorship of Margin from Dennis Davison. I have enjoyed my immersion into nineteenth century Australia and looking back I am surprised at the range of subjects covered. This range has concentrated on literature but other subjects such as art, drama, exploration and gardening have all been looked at.

One area that has not been covered is sport in nineteenth century Australia, sport being a subject that has come to dominate everything in our country. Even the news bulletins on radio and TV have 'news' about sporting events. I refer the reader to the 'groin reports' as I call them, usually about the injuries that seem to be part of professional sport. However in this issue we have rectified the previous lack of interest in sport by including an article on cricket. My friends will look in surprise at this because it is the sport. I like the least. As the article points out it is one of the earliest sports to occur in Australia and one of the first to be written about. I hope the readers of Margin will find this an interesting article.

Another article is written on the husband of Mary Grant Bruce, the well known Australian children's author. Husband's seldom took second place in fame to their wives but little has been written about Major Bruce. Dr. Patricia Clarke, the famous biographer of the well known women writers Louisa Atkinson, Tasma (Jessie Couvreur) and Rosa Praed, has written a fascinating article on what seems to be the source of the start of the wonderful novel Fifty Years Ago by Charles De Boos. De Boos is the author of a number of Australian novels as well as satirical works on New South Wales politicians. The Mulini Press has recently published one of his funny books called Me and My Horse a story very, much in the Australian tradition of comic writing made famous by the 'Bulletin authors'.

In addition there is an article on the reception of Rolf Boldrewood's classic novel Robbery Under Arms by the residents of Albury where Boldrewood was living at the time of the story's publication as a book. There are also two Book Reviews one of an important book, a biography of the poet Victor J. Daley. Also a review of the publication of Ada Cambridge's novel, 1 A Black Sheep, taken from the serial version now published as a book.

There will be more of the same kind of mix in Margin in the next ten years and perhaps there will be something on some subjects I have missed in the previous years like music in nineteenth century Australia.