Colin Milton ThieleAC (/ˈtiːli/;[1] 16 November 1920 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian author and educator. He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels Storm Boy, Blue Fin, the Sun on the Stubble series, and February Dragon. As Vice Principal and Principal of Wattle Park Teachers College and Principal of Murray Park CAE for much of the 1960s and 70s he had a significant impact on teacher education in South Australia.
Colin Thiele and Rhonnie Thiele with Max Fatchen standing behind at the State Library's "Colin Thiele Day" in the Mortlock Library on 14 September 2000
Thiele was born in Eudunda, South Australia, to a Barossa German family. The young Colin only spoke German until he went to school at Julia Creek.[2] He was educated at several country schools including the Eudunda Higher Primary School, and Kapunda High School before studying at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1941. He later taught in high schools and colleges.[3] He became principal of Wattle Park Teachers College in 1965,[4] principal of Murray Park CAE in 1973, and director of the Wattle Park Teachers Centre until his retirement in 1980.[5]
He started teaching at Robertstown South Australia, before war service. His first post war teaching post was Port Lincoln, where he wrote his first book, a geography textbook due to frustration with the available textbooks.[8]
In 1977, he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, then the second highest level of the order, for his services to literature and education.
Thiele suffered from severe arthritis from 1955[9] and in his later years left South Australia to settle in warmer conditions near Dayboro, Queensland.
On 4 September 2006, Thiele died from heart failure in a Brisbane hospital, aged 85.[10] He was survived by his wife, Rhonda, two children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Media coverage of his death was minimal, as he died on the same day as Australian conservationist and media personality Steve Irwin.
Thiele's literary works ranged from the early 20th-century until the very early 21st-century until just prior to his death in September 2006. The primary component of his work was children's literature and educational support for teachers and other authors, primarily educating in the areas of English, drama and Australian history.
The road designated Highway B81 between the start of Highway A32 Main North Road just north of Gawler, and Morgan on the Murray River and passing through Kapunda and Eudunda, is named the Thiele Highway after him.[12]
^Thiele, Colin Milton (2002). With Dew on My Boots and Other Footprints. South Melbourne Victoria: Lothian. ISBN0734403100.
^Nicholas Tucker (6 September 2006). "Colin Thiele Obituary". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2006.
