David Rowbotham

David Harold Rowbotham (27 August 1924 – 6 October 2010) was an Australian poet and journalist.

Early life
Rowbotham was born in the Darling Downs of Queensland, in the city of Toowoomba. He attended Toowoomba Grammar School and studied at the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. He served in the Second World War on the Pacific front.

Literary career
Rowbotham worked as a journalist for the Toowoomba Chronicle and Brisbane Courier-Mail (1955–64). He lectured in English at the University of Queensland (1965–1969) and became the literary critic of the Brisbane Courier-Mail (1969–1980), and its literary editor (1980–1987).

Though lyrical in form, Rowbotham's poems are often concerned with history. After the publication of his Selected Poems by Penguin in 1994, covering a period of fifty years, Rowbotham entered a startling late period of productivity which culminated in the publication of the much-lauded Poems for America in 2002. In 2005 the Wagtail series from Picaro Press published a chapbook of Rowbotham's called The Brown Island.

Later life
A friend and mentor to many other Australian writers, Rowbotham also maintained extensive international connections, travelling frequently to the United States.

He died on 6 October 2010.

Awards and recognition
Rowbotham was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1991 in recognition of his service to literature.

In 2007 Rowbotham received the Patrick White Award; the presentation was made 9 November 2007, in Brisbane.