John Bede Dalley | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of John Bede Dalley, photographed by Harold Cazneaux, published in The Home, December 1921. | |
| Born | John Bede Polding Dalley 5 October 1876 Rose Bay, Sydney |
| Died | 6 September 1935 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | St. Aloysius' College St. Augustine's Abbey school Beaumont College University College, Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, editor, novelist |
| Father | William Bede Dalley |
John Bede Dalley (5 October 1876 – 6 September 1935) was an Australian journalist, editor and novelist. He had a long-standing association with The Bulletin magazine in Sydney and was also employed as an editor and correspondent with The Herald newspaper group in Melbourne. His published novels took a sardonic view of upper-class Sydney society and the English aristocracy.
John Dalley was born and raised in Sydney, but he and his brothers completed their education in England after the death of their father, a politician and barrister, in 1888. Dalley studied law at Oxford University and was admitted as a barrister in 1901, after which he returned to Australia and practised law in Sydney for about four years. In 1906 he was employed as the editor of the Bathurst newspaper The National Advocate. Apart from the later war years, Dalley remained in the field of journalism for the rest of his life. In 1907 he took up a position as sub-editor at The Bulletin magazine in Sydney. During World War I Dalley served for three years in the A.I.F. in Egypt and France, and on his return to Australia rejoined The Bulletin with writing and editorial duties. In late 1924 he accepted the position of editor of the Melbourne Punch, revitalised after being acquired by The Herald newspaper group. After a year, however, Punch was incorporated into the weekly magazine Table Talk and Dalley left for England where he became the London correspondent for Melbourne's Herald newspaper. In early 1928 his novel No Armour was published in England, soon after which Dalley returned to Sydney and rejoined The Bulletin as an associate-editor. Two more of his novels were published in subsequent years. Dalley died on 6 September 1935, aged 58, after he was washed off a rock platform while fishing at the northern seaside suburb of Avalon.