Colleen McCullough
Author and Norfolk Island Resident · 1937–2015
Who is Colleen McCullough?
Colleen McCullough was an Australian author and former neuroscience researcher best known worldwide for her 1977 novel The Thorn Birds, a multigenerational saga that became one of the best-selling books of the twentieth century and was adapted into a hit television mini-series. Before turning to full-time writing, she worked as a neurophysiology researcher at Yale University's School of Medicine. Seeking privacy from the intense fame that followed The Thorn Birds, McCullough purchased land and built a home on Norfolk Island in 1980, drawn to its remoteness, dramatic cliffs, and its rich convict and Bounty-descendant history. She lived there for the rest of her life, married Norfolk Islander Ric Robinson in 1984, and continued to write prolifically, producing historical fiction including her acclaimed Masters of Rome series as well as mysteries and further novels, much of it written from her island home. She became a well-known local identity, blending her literary career with island life, and spoke candidly in interviews about both her deep attachment to Norfolk Island's beauty and isolation and the practical frustrations of remote living. McCullough died on Norfolk Island in January 2015 at the age of 77.
Sources: The Washington Post, "Colleen McCullough in Paradise" (26 November 1981) · Encyclopedia.com, "McCullough, Colleen 1937-" · norfolkisland.net, "Colleen McCullough on Norfolk Island"