Name Hector Holthouse | Role Journalist | |
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Died 1991, Bribie Island, Australia Books River of Gold: The Story of the Palmer River Gold Rush | ||
Hector Holthouse (1916 – 1991,) was an Australian journalist and author. He was born on the Darling Downs in Queensland and while working as a chemist for the Queensland Sugar industry in North Queensland prior to the Second World War became interested in the history of the area. He took up journalism, writing for the Brisbane Telegraph for many years, and lecturing in journalism at the University of Queensland. He wrote a number of popular history books about Queensland which were published between 1967 and 1991.
The style of the books is colourful and readable, but they are not all well-researched. Holthouse's early works such as River of Gold and Cannibal Cargoes are presented as being based on documentary material, but contain much material taken from sensational newspaper stories, and other material which for which sources have not been found. Others such as S'pose I Die and Looking Back are based on known documentary sources.