Frank Atha Westbury

Who was Frank Atha Westbury?

Frank Atha Westbury, who wrote under the pen names of "Atha" and "Atha Westbury", was a popular and prolific author of mystery adventure novels, children's stories and poetry in late 19th century Australia and New Zealand. Most of his fiction was serialised in newspapers and journals between 1879 and 1905. His two major works were: “The Shadow of Hilton Fernbrook, A Romance of Maoriland” and “Australian Fairy Tales”, which won him a place as one of the better known writers for children in Victorian-era Australia. Many of his novels were adventure romances set in New Zealand at the time of the Māori uprisings of the 1860s, which the author experienced as a soldier in the British Army.