Herb Wharton

Herb Wharton AM (b. 1936), Kooma Elder, poet and author, was born at Yumba, an Aboriginal camp near the Queensland town of Cunnamulla. He began writing poetry in his fifties, after a long career as a stockman, drover and labourer. In 1990 he entered several poems in a competition for unpublished Aboriginal writers, and as a result was commissioned to write a novel for the University of Queensland Press. The resulting book, 1992's Unbranded, drew on Wharton's experiences as a stockman in the Australian interior. This was followed by the fictional works Cattle Camp (1994) and Where Ya' Been, Mate? (1996), as well as the autobiography Yumba Days (1999), written during a residency at the Australia Council's Paris studio. A frequent participant in major literary festivals throughout Australia and the world, Wharton's awards include the Australian Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature (2012).

Jim Rolon took this image while on assignment to photograph drovers for Wharton's book Cattle Camp. As he recalled: 'The portrait of Herb Wharton was taken in Mt Isa after we had photographed the drovers we came there to meet. The days were long at that time of year, and I waited until the end of the day to photograph Herb … I can still feel the heat in the air.'

Purchased 2013