Hibberd, Jack (1940– )

Australian writer. He is best known for his play Dimboola (1974), a warm-hearted send-up of a country wedding, which came to popular notice in a production directed by David Williamson and became the most performed of all Australian plays. His other works include A Stretch of the Imagination (1973) and One of Nature's Gentlemen (1976).

Hibberd was born in Warracknabeal, Victoria, and practised as a doctor from 1968 until 1973 when he began full-time theatre work. From the late 1980s he also published fiction, including the novels Memoirs of an Old Bastard (1989), The Life of Riley (1990), and Perdita (1992).