Name Graham Jenkin | Role Poet | |
Occupation Historian, Poet, Writer, Composer Notable works Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri, Ballad of the Blue Lake Bunyip, The Fencers Yarn Notable awards 1978 SA Biennial Literature Prize, 1979 Wilke Award for Australian non-fiction Books Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri, The Bardunyah Ballads | ||
Graham Jenkin (born Graham Keith Jenkin, 17 May 1938) is an Australian poet, historian, composer, and educator.
Graham Jenkin was born in Adelaide and educated at various country schools and at Prince Alfred College, Wattle Park Teachers College, and the University of Adelaide. He spent two years working as a jackeroo on stations in northern South Australia. In 1961, he founded the Tea and Damper Club which was devoted to the preservation of Australian folklore, music and poetry.
From 1963 to 1965, he was Head Teacher of Coober Pedy Primary School.
In 1966, Graham Jenkin was appointed as a lecturer at Wattle Park Teachers College and then its successor institution the University of South Australia.
In 1968 Graham Jenkin, together with his wife Robyn Jenkin, Tony Strutton and Brenton Tregloan, formed The Overlanders, a group which performed Bush Songs and Bush Ballads. The Overlanders produced records, including Songs of the Breaker (1980) and Songs of the Great Australian Balladists (1978).
In 1996, Graham Jenkin was awarded the title of National Non-Indigenous Person of the Year, by the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC), for services to Aboriginal history.