Ruth Park

Ruth Park is a New Zealand-born author of children’s books. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, her family later relocated to Te Kuiti, further south on the North Island of New Zealand, where they spent years in isolated areas. Ruth has spent most of her life in Australia.During the Great Depression, Ruth’s father took on various jobs to make ends meet, from working on bush roads to being a council worker in Auckland. Despite winning a partial scholarship, Ruth’s education was interrupted by financial hardships. This lead her to stay with relatives, where she faced harsh treatment. She was involved in the Queen Street riots alongside her father and later worked at the Auckland Star before moving to Australia in 1942, where she married Australian writer D’Arcy Niland.