Mitchell, Elyne

Elyne Mitchell was born Sibyl Elyne Keith Chauvel on December 30, 1913 in Melbourne and was formally educated at St Catherine's School. Her father was General Sir Harvy Chauvel, commander of the Australian Light Horse in Sinai and Palestine. Elyne was a rider from an early age, captivated by her father's stories of the Light Horse, and later creating both adult and children's books about the Light Horse. From the time of her marriage to Thomas Mitchell in 1935, she lived at 'Towong Hill' near Corryong, Victoria, overlooking the western face of the Snowy Mountains. Her writings include 'The silver brumby', 'Towong Hill', a novelisation of 'The man from Snowy river', and numerous other books depicting the Australian landscape and the High Country. Elyne was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to literature in 1990, an honorary doctorate from Charles Sturt University, and won highly commended awards for her books in the 'Silver brumby' series.