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Ted Schurmann was an Australian author. He was born Edwin Adolf Schurmann in 1917.[1] As a writer he was also commonly known as E. A. Schurmann,[2] and used other pen-names including Ben Titus, John Shurman, and S. A. Tedd.[3]

Early life and family

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Edwin Adolf 'Ted' Schurmann was born on 7 August 1917, at Natimuk, Victoria, Australia, the second son of Edwin Carl Schurmann (1886-1979, born at Natimuk), and Dorothea Ida Thiele, known as Dora (1890-1980, born in Doncaster, Victoria).[4][5]

Ted Schurmann was living at Horsham Victoria in 1944 when he became engaged to and later married Victoria May Riddles (who hailed originally from WA).[6][7] They had two children, Richard Paul Schurmann and Susan Katherine Schurmann, and moved to Melbourne, living at Ringwood from 1950-1984.[8]

Schurmann was the great grandson of Lutheran pastor Clamor Wilhelm Schürmann (1815-1893), who had been an immigrant to Australia of German origin, who worked with South Australian Aboriginal people and wrote a dictionary of their words.[9]

Career

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Schurmann enlisted in the RAAF at Laverton Victoria, on 5 February 1940 at the age of 22, and held the role of a Warrant Officer (W.O.).[1] He was discharged from the RAAF on 6 December 1945.

Writing career

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Schurmann began his authorial life writing short stories for publication in newspapers and magazines, including The Australian Women's Weekly,[10][11] and New Idea,[12] from 1947-1952. His short stories, mainly for women readers, but also in KG Murray's men's magazines,[3] reflect the tone and themes of the post-war era. At least 15 of these are available through the National Library of Australia's Trove online database.[13][14][15][16]

Schurmann began producing children's books from 1967, when he first published No Trains on Sunday: A boyhood reminiscence.[17] This was followed by Shop! Tales from a Country Store (1975), which consisted of numerous short stories set in Victoria's Wimmera district, bundled together as a novel.[18] At least five more children's books followed, including Charlie Up a Gum Tree, which was shortlisted for the 1986 Children's Book of the Year awards,[19] as well as three illustrated Australian bird identification books.

In 1987 the Lutheran Publishing House distributed Schurmann’s book describing the life and work of his great grandfather Clamor Wilhelm Schürmann, an early Australian Lutheran minister, and his interactions with Aboriginal people including as the Deputy Protector of Aborigines. The book is titled: I'd rather dig potatoes : Clamor Schurmann and the Aborigines of South Australia 1838-1853,[20] the full text of which is available to read online.[21] It is based on research undertaken in South Australia, and translations from the old German hand-written script of his great-grandfather.[9]

In all, Schurmann wrote numerous short stories and children’s books, at least one novel, books about Australian bird-life and bird watching, and his description of C. W. Schürmann's life. His works were published between 1947 and 1992, at which time he was still writing stories for children.[22]

Later years

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Schurmann died on 1 February 2009, at Surrey Hills, in Melbourne, after spending his retirement years at Wehla, near Inglewood.[8]

Bibliography

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Select short stories, mainly for women readers

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  • “Telephone Piece” (Australian Women’s Weekly (AWW), 1947)
  • “Fast Girl” (AWW, 1948)
  • “Ring Off” (AWW, 1949)
  • “I got burnt” (AWW, 1949)
  • “Man’s Job” (AWW, 1949)
  • “Mind if I use your telephone?” (AWW, 1949)
  • “Mug Pug” (The World’s News, Sydney, 1949)
  • “After Hours” (AWW, 1950)
  • “New Formula” (AWW, 1950)
  • “Sweet Thing” (AWW, 1951)
  • “I’ll Walk Between You” (AWW, 1951)
  • “The Night of the Party” (AWW, 1951)
  • “Carry Your Case?” (AWW, 1951)
  • “After the Party” (AWW, 1952)

Children's books

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  • No Trains on Sunday: A boyhood reminiscence (1967; 1985), illustrated by David Cox
  • The Showie (1979)
  • Charlie up a Gum (1986), illustrated by Bruce Treloar
  • The Moon is Shining (1988)
  • Boobook (1994), with Walter Stackpool
  • The Big Horses (1993; 1996), illustrated by David Cox

Fiction

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  • Shop! Tales from a Country Store (1975; 1977)

Non-fiction

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  • Bird Watching in Australia (1977)
  • Australian Water Birds (1982; 1989)
  • Australian Bird Watcher's Diary (1984), illustrated by Wendy Jennings
  • I'd Rather Dig Potatoes: Clamor Schurmann and the Aborigines of South Australia 1838-1853 (1987), by Ted Schurmann, Clamor W Schurmann

References

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  1. ^ a b Department of Veterans' Affairs; Gnabra Building, 21 Genge Street. "DVA's Nominal Rolls: Edwin Adolf Schurmann". nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Trove: Ted Schurmann (author)". trove.nla.gov.au; National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  3. ^ a b "AusReprints - Ted Schurmann". ausreprints.net.au. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  4. ^ "Edwin Adolf Schurmann - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com.au. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  5. ^ Births deaths and marriages Victoria. "Birth record: Edwin Adolf Schurmann". my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  6. ^ "SOCIAL - Engagements". Horsham Times. 1944-02-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  7. ^ "Family Notices - Marriages". The West Australian. 1944-05-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  8. ^ a b "Edwin Schurmann Obituary (2009) - Legacy Remembers". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  9. ^ a b Pirita Wardli, The House of the Possum. "PIRLTAWARDLI Research Website :: Missionary Clamor W Schürmann (1815-1893)". grweb.org. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  10. ^ Schurmann, Ted (1951-06-27). "The Night of the Party". Australian Women's Weekly. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  11. ^ Schurmann, Ted (1951-12-12). "I'll walk between you". Australian Women's Weekly. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  12. ^ "Xmas stories and serial". Mail. 1952-12-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  13. ^ Schurmann, Ted (1947-05-24). "Telephone Piece". Australian Women's Weekly. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  14. ^ Schurmann, Ted (1949-09-24). "Man's Job". Australian Women's Weekly. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  15. ^ Schurmann, Ted (1949-04-09). "Mug Pug". World's News (Sydney). p. 8. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  16. ^ Schurmann, Ted (1951-03-17). "Sweet thing". Australian Women's Weekly. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  17. ^ Schurmann, Edwin A (1967). "No Trains on Sunday: A boyhood reminiscence". trove.nla.gov.au; Trove database, National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  18. ^ "Village shop stories". Canberra Times. 1976-02-20. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  19. ^ Copping, Laurie (1986-08-02). "Attractive titles for younger readers". Canberra Times. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  20. ^ Schurmann, Edwin A. "I'd Rather Dig Potatoes: Clamor Schürmann and the Aborigines of South Australia, 1838-1853". aiatsis.gov.au; Collections | AIATSIS corporate website. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  21. ^ Schurmann, Edwin A. (1987). "I'd Rather Dig Potatoes: Clamor Schürmann and the Aborigines of South Australia 1838-1853" (PDF). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  22. ^ Copping, Laurie (1991-07-27). "Children's writers look at the future". Canberra Times. p. 42. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
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