Louis Becke

Louis Becke was an Australian short-story writer and novelist whose years as a trader and traveler in the Pacific supplied much of his subject matter. Born George Lewis Becke in Port Macquarie, he went to sea young, worked in Samoa and Micronesia, survived shipwreck, and later turned those experiences into fiction. His 1894 collection By Reef and Palm established his reputation for compact South Seas narratives. The Naval Pioneers of Australia, published in 1899, was written with Walter Jeffery rather than by Becke alone. The historical study follows the British navy’s connection with Australian exploration and settlement, drawing attention to maritime figures and voyages that preceded colonial development. It differs from Becke’s better-known island fiction in method and collaboration, joining documentary history to practical knowledge of ships and Pacific routes. Becke and Jeffery also collaborated on novels, while Becke eventually produced more than thirty books. Bulletin editor J. F. Archibald encouraged the concise prose that became a feature of his career.