White, Osmar

Journalist, war correspondent and author. Osmar Egmont Dorkin White was born in New Zealand in 1909 and grew up in New Zealand and Katoomba, New South Wales. White entered journalism in Australia, worked as a journalist in New Zealand and was also a freelance writer in South and Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the South Pacific. During World War II White became a war correspondent and covered the New Guinea campaigns of 1942 and 1943. In 1944 he went to Europe with the Herald & weekly times where he was the only Australian correspondent present at the official German surrender. After the War he worked for the Melbourne Herald as a Pacific and Southeast Asia reporter specialising in Papua New Guinea. He was press representative with the Australian Antarctic expedition of 1956-1957. White was the author of several works of non-fiction including Green armour (1945) and, following his retirement from journalism in 1963, focussed on writing short stories, novels, radio and television scripts, and children's books. White's other non-fiction works include Parliament of a thousand tribes: a study of New Guinea (1965), Australia for everyone: a modern guide (2nd ed., 1974) and Conquerors' road (1996). His short stories and feature articles appeared in the Bulletin, the Australian journal and other Australian, and British and American publications. White died in 1991.

From the description of Papers of Osmar White, circa 1930-2005 [manuscript]. [1930-2005] (Libraries Australia). WorldCat record id: 527529217