In 2014 the Society established the annual Croker Prize for Biography in memory of our generous Benefactors Colin and Loas Croker. In 2014 and 2015 two prizes of $1000 were available; one the Members' Choice and the other the SAG Board Prize chosen by the Croker Committee. Following feedback from members the guidelines were revised for 2016 and one prize of $1000 is now awarded for the best entry as judged by the Croker Prize Committee. Every financial member can submit one entry each year.
2017 Entries
The theme for 2017 was 'A Tough Life'.
Congratulations to Kim Hatherly for her entry ' A Boy from Shoreditch' which was announced in September 2017 as the winning entry. You can read Kim's work, together with all the other entries received, below. The winning entry also appeared in the September issue of Descent.
- 1701 - This World has no Time for Useless Things - Heather van Woerden
- 1702 - Elizabeth's Remarkable Pioneering Resilence - David Lowe
- 1703 - No High Life For Susannah - Wendy Pryor
- 1704 - A Gypsy From Parramatta - Barbara Kernos
- 1705 - A Tough Life as a Tudor Manager - John Stanhope
- 1706 - Who Knows what Lies Ahead - Catherine Philps
- 1707 - A Life Rescued - Sandra Smith
- 1708 - Mary Ann Bell - A Life of Trouble - Georgina Brett
- 1709 - Orphan, Teacher, Warrior - Kim Phillips
- 1710 - Susannah Eleanor Brown - Colin Kilduff
- 1711 - Marion's Story - Teresa Collis
- 1712 - Calamity and Conquest - Allan Hawke
- 1713 - Scrabbling in the dirt - Jim Fleming
- 1714 - Are you there, Horatio? - Ellen Ash
- 1715 - Our Tenacious Grandfather - Charles Chidgey - Patrica Braden
- 1716 - Always a Prisoner - Brian Ahearn
- 1717 - In the Shadow of Battle - Kerry Close
- 1718 - Whale of a Tale- Sue Sims
- 1719 - Ann Paget - Determined to Survive - David Edwards
- 1720 - A Boy from Shoreditch - Kim Hatherly - WINNER 2017 CROKER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY
- 1721 - There's No Going Back - Ray Parkins
- 1722 - It's Tough being a Fairytale Princess - Leonie Worrall
- 1723 - Nancy Hocking - a tough life in South Australia in the 1850s - Janette Hannan
- 1724 - A Girl from Killkishen - Michael Burleigh
- 1725 - The Journey Here - Lauren Seaborn
- 1726 - Rose Sherry - My Irish Orphan Girl - Kim Connor
- 1727 - John Gilligan - Searching for a better life - Brett Maron
- 1728 - Henry and Napoleon - Heather Stootman
2016 Entries
The theme for 2016 was 'The Ancestor I most admire is .... ' and the winner was Christine Collins with her essay Dan's Legacy. This was published in the September issue of Descent and is reproduced below. There were 25 entries and all are able to be downloaded individually by following the links below, or you can download one composite file here.
- 1601 - Olive de Conlay - by Barry Ridding
- 1602 - Jock Frew Story - by John Ross
- 1603 - A self-made man - property investor John Knipe - by Jennifer Oswald-Sealy
- 1604 - Louisa's Secret - by Maureen Coply
- 1605 - Louisa - by Patricia Rogerson
- 1606 - An English Rose of Picardy - by Roberta Madsen
- 1607 - One of the finest horsemen to throw a leg across a saddle - by Dinah Hales
- 1608 - Gallant Gunner - Jack Stuart Murray - by Jennifer Wright
- 1609 - Driving Death from the Door - by Marisa Yeaman
- 1610 - An Admirable Ancestor - Arthur Francis Soundy (1836-1911) by Sylvia Murphy
- 1611 - My Aunt Bessie - by Elizabeth Hall
- 1612 - Allison's Story - by Pam Kempster
- 1613 - Britain's First Lifeboat Station - by Rick Aindow
- 1614 - No Admiration Here - by Donna Kellion
- 1615 - The Clan Keeper - by Jim Fleming
- 1616 - Uncommon Endeavour - by Liz Adams
- 1617 - How Irish rebel Murty Ahern became a pioneer of early Liverpool - by Brian Ahearn
- 1618 - For a Better Life - by Maxine Perry
- 1619 - Luis de Castro Castilla Contreras - by Anthony Lehner
- 1620 - The Phenomenal Family Legacy of Joyce Lily Dodd - by Liesl Harrold
- 1621 - The pilgrimage of life- Thomas Frederick Sames - by Ruth Graham
- 1622 - William Who? - by Melva Kruckow
- 1623 - The Ancestor I Most Admire - by William Barnett
- 1624 - Dan's Legacy - Christine Collins - WINNER 2016 CROKER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY
- 1625 - The Old Lady from France - Megan Fox
2015 Entries
The theme for 2015 was My Immigrant's Story.
Member Bob Wright scooped the pool, winning both the Members' Choice Prize and the Board Prize. His winning essay can be read below.
- 1516 - Granny Greenhalgh - Bob Wright
2014 Entries
The theme for 2014 was The Blackest Sheep in My Family's Flock was ....
The winning entries are shown below:.
- 1401 Old Brine: Terror of the Richmond River (Brian O'Neil) - Winner 2014 - Members' Choice Category - Robert Wright
- 1409 Sailing Unchartered Waters - the wreck of Master Mariner William Whitfield - Winner 2014 - Board Category - Elizabeth Adams