W. Bede (William Bede) Christie

William Bede Christie was an Australian writer whose career ranged far beyond books. Sources describe him as a surveyor and lecturer, and also note his work in the Mildura and Wentworth districts and later in Western Australia, where he became closely involved in promoting fruit-growing settlements around Korijekup, now Harvey.

He also spent time in journalism. AustLit says he edited the Wentworth Advocate in the late 1880s and became known for his legal disputes and forceful personality. A family-history article from Harvey History Online paints him as highly educated, energetic, and deeply involved in public life, with interests said to include astronomy and Egyptology as well as horticulture and land development.

As an author, he is best associated with Christmas on the Briny: The Innocents Abroad; or, A Holiday Trip to the Abrolhos Islands, a travel narrative set off the coast of Western Australia. Project Gutenberg and AustLit connect him with that book, and contemporary records suggest he was born in New South Wales in 1842 and died in 1929 at about 87 years old.