author
Atha Westbury
1838–1901
A prolific storyteller of late 19th-century Australia and New Zealand, he wrote mystery adventures, children’s tales, and poetry under the names “Atha” and “Atha Westbury.” His work was especially popular in newspapers and magazines, where many of his stories first appeared in serial form.
1 Audiobook
Australian fairy tales
by Atha Westbury
About the author
Born James Bleasby in Hunslet, Leeds, on May 5, 1838, he became known to readers as Frank Atha Westbury. He wrote under the pen names “Atha” and “Atha Westbury,” and is remembered as a busy, wide-ranging author whose fiction, verse, and children’s writing found a strong audience in Australia and New Zealand.
After arriving in Australia around 1866, he built a varied life as well as a literary one, working in roles including clerk, hospital secretary, and land agent. Much of his fiction appeared in serialized form in newspapers and journals between the late 1870s and early 1900s, helping make him a familiar name to contemporary readers.
He is still noted for the sheer range of his output: mystery and adventure novels, children’s stories, poetry, and works such as Australian Fairy Tales. He died on September 24, 1901, leaving behind a large body of popular writing from the colonial literary world.