Lee Harding

Lee Harding (19 February 1937 - 19 April 2023)Author unknown, "Lee Harding (1937-2023)", Locus, 1 May 2023Belinda Gordon, "Lee Harding, my father", in Bruce Gillespie, SF Commentary #112, June 2023, pp. 4 - 5.Different sources list different dates for his death, ranging from 18th to 20th April. The date of the 19th is supplied by his daughter Belinda in her tribute to her father. was a long-time, prominent science fiction fan and author, one of the co-founders of the Melbourne Science Fiction Club and editor of some of its earliest publications.
He was born in Colac, a country town in Victoria, and later grew up in Geelong. He began writing his own stories at seven, and at age twelve he bought his first typewriter. He discovered science fiction during his teenage years. He left school at fourteen and became a professional photographer, pursuing that career until 1969.Paul Collins (ed.), "Harding, Lee (John)", The MUP Encyclopedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, Carlton South: Melbourne University Press, 1998, p. 85. Subsequent jobs included working in Space Age Books.
Dick Jenssen later recalled Lee's enthusiasm for photography:
Bruce Gillespie reported on Lee's enthusiasm for theatrics at a 1971 convention:
It should be noted that at around the time of this convention, Lee had joined Merv by working for some years at Space Age Books.
== Founding the Melbourne Science Fiction Group ==
Race Mathews hosted the first meeting of what was later renamed the Melbourne Science Fiction Club:
Dick Jenssen later recalled those young years:
Lee himself recalled those days of science fictional scarcity:
He also had his finger on the pulse of fandom across the country, as evidenced by his report on Perth fandom (and its interconnectedness with fandom around Australia) in 1953:
Dick Jenssen recalled how this scarcity of SF material - and its accompanying underground fandom enthusiasm - produced one outcome for the early MSFC:
==Writing Career==
Lee's first published article was a 1959 review of On the Beach, illustrated with his own photographs. This article in Photo Digest led to a monthly column.
His first published short story was Displaced Person, published in the London-based Science Fantasy magazine (issue 46) in 1961; this story was later expanded and published as a full-length novel of the same name in 1979 (also known as Misplaced Persons in the US) and won the 1980 Book of the Year Award from the Children's Book Council of Australia.
During the 1960s, Lee wrote about twenty science fiction and fantasy stories, most of them being published in the British magazine New Worlds.
Apart from Displaced Person, his other YA novels included The Children of Atlantis (1976), The Frozen Sky (1976), The Weeping Sky (1977), Return to Tomorrow (1977), The Web of Time (1980), and Waiting for the End of the World (1983). Adult novels include A World of Shadows (1975) and Future Sanctuary (1976). He also wrote non-genre novel Heartsease (1997).
He reviewed genre fiction for Australian SF Review from the first issue (June 1966). He also edited the anthologies Beyond Tomorrow: An Anthology of Modern Science Fiction and The Altered I: An Encounter with Science Fiction (both in 1976), the latter of which presented some of the productions of an sf workshop in Australia presided over by Ursula K Le Guin following the first Aussiecon, and Rooms of Paradise (1978). He received the Chandler Award for life achievement in 2006.John Clute, "Lee Harding", The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 29 August 2023.
As a fan author, Lee wrote and narrated the soundtrack for the first Anti-fan film, Aussie Fan, helping to publicise the bid for the first Aussiecon.. P\He was also the producer of Joe Phaust, Australia's first fan opera.Author unknown, "Lee Harding", Fancyclopedia 3.
==Death and Legacy==
Towards the end of his life, Lee reminisced about "the good old days" during a 2017 Facebook discussion on changes in fandom. He jointly lamented the past and softly chastised those who were critical of younger generations:
Due to illness, Lee spent the last few years in Perth with his family, who reported his death at 6:33 am on 19th April 2023, and acknowledged his love of 'worlds of literature and books, theatre, cinema, photography, and music.' He also loved cooking, his family, and his extended family within the science fiction and amateur theatre communities. Bruce Gillespie's 2006 tribute aptly summarises Lee's place within his beloved science fiction community:
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Zine Editors
Category:Fan Club Organizers
Category:Fanwriters