AustLit

Mary Simpson, nee Williams, was born in Stawell, Victoria, of English West-country heritage, which she drew on for stories that depict Cornish immmigrants. The pen-name Weeroona is reminiscent of Lake Weeroona, near Bendigo. She began publishing when, during a difficult financial period in Melbourne after the death of her father, her sister sent one of her sketches to the Sydney Bulletin. She contributed humorous sketches to the Bulletin for twenty-six years, and also to the Australian Woman's Mirror and the Australian Journal. In 1926 she published a number of these in Tell Tale Stories from the 'Bulletin.' Her stories use urban, suburban and country town settings, with broad humour and sharp characterization. She also wrote comedies and one-act plays produced by the Australian Literature Society.