The Australian Women's Register

Emily Bulcock grew up in rural Queensland and was educated by her father, Henry Burnett Palmer. Her brother was writer Vance Palmer. She worked as a teacher until 1903 when she married orchardist Robert Bulcock. In 1914 the pair moved to Caloundra, where Emily Bulcock began writing regular newspaper pieces. In 1917 they moved again, to Brisbane.

Bulcock wrote several volumes of poetry including Jacaranda Blooms (1923), From Quenchless Springs (1945), and From Australia to Britain (1961). Her verse was published in major newspapers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. In the 1920s, Bulcock worked as a freelance journalist for the Graziers’ Journal and Farmers’ Gazette. She was a foundation member and vice-president of the Queensland Authors’ and Artists’ Association, later the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Queensland), and became a life member in 1965. She was appointed O.B.E. in 1964 for services to literature.