W. Bede (William Bede) Christie

William Bede Christie was an Australian surveyor, journalist, lecturer, and author whose career ranged far beyond the page. AustLit notes that he worked as a surveyor in the Mildura-Wentworth districts of Victoria and New South Wales, and later became editor of the Wentworth Advocate in the late 1880s.

Later accounts describe him as a man of many pursuits: a surveyor, author, lecturer, business proprietor, and an enthusiast for subjects including astronomy and Egyptology. An obituary in The West Australian remembered him as a well-known and respected officer of the Lands Department of Western Australia.

For audiobook listeners, Christie is best known for Christmas on the Briny: The Innocents Abroad; or, A Holiday Trip to the Abrolhos Islands, the work listed for him by Project Gutenberg. It promises exactly what his life suggests: travel, observation, and the perspective of a writer who knew Australia not just from books, but from experience.