Glenville Pike's Early Writings

While yarning about the campfire the other evening, the conversation got around to the subject of the very early writings of the late Mr Glenville Pike.  Farnortherner decided to 'Google' Glenville to get an idea of just what he managed to get published during his teenage years.  His autobiography only briefly examines his very early literary efforts and it was a surprise to find the quantity and quality of his early writing.  Mr Alex Vennard, who at that time edited a children's section in the North Queensland Register newspaper and the Townsville Bulletin under the pen-name 'Maurice Deane', enrolled Glenville in his column as a member of the Golden Rule Club in March 1936 while he was just at the age of 10 years.  He went on to write many letters to this column over the following six years and it was here that Glenville had his first short story 'The Captive' published in September 1936 under the pen-name 'Ivanhoe'.  In May the following year he had published a longer story about a dog entitled 'Gyp to the Rescue' which was printed in two parts.  But it was March 1938 when he had published his first serious venture into historical writing with a novelette that was serialized called 'Forbidden Territory'.  It was written with the help of his mother and was set in 1840 and concerned the pioneers and Aborigines.  This ten part serial was followed up with a sequel in December of that year entitled 'Into the Unknown' which ran through to February 1939.  In May 1940, while still only fourteen years of age, he hd an eighteen episode story entitled 'A Lonely Land' published as a serial.  Later at the age of sixteen, he had a five chapter serial entitled 'One Good Turn' published in May 1942, before the 'Children's Corner' column was wound down to make way for extra war news.  A great apprenticeship for a literary career that was to last seventy-five years. 

Teenage Glenville at his writing desk