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her. He had had no contact with her for 12 years and it soon became clear that although his mother was pleased to see them all, she was more interested in the money they could provide. Bert left and took up work as a cattle drover. Over a period of six months he worked in a team moving cattle from the
Ashburton river over 970 kilometres (600 mi) to market in Geraldton. During a furious storm he became separated from the other drovers and lost his way. He almost died of hunger and exposure before being found a week later by Aboriginal peoples, who took care of him and lead him back to the drovers. Later he worked with the water board, clearing bores, digging channels and building water reservoirs and dams on wheat belt properties, even surviving the perilous collapse of a deep water bore his team was clearing. At the age of eighteen he began as a railway line
215:. His aunt and her husband had been granted an agricultural lease there, so the children moved with them and Mrs Carr to start a farm. At the age of eight, although two older brothers remained, when a neighbouring farmer offered a wage and all found, Bert was put into service. His new employer, a horse thief, was given to violent drunken rages, but after being given a severe horsewhipping, Bert managed to escape. Work on subsequent farms were much better experiences and Bert's appreciation of life in
246:, Joseph and Roy, two of his brothers, were killed, and Bert was badly wounded. He suffered severe problems, which the medics were unable to either explain or treat. Whilst recuperating, he met his future wife Evelyn Mary Gibson. The medics had given him two years to live, but they resolved to enjoy every day together and were married in
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Bert had not lost touch with his uncle's farm, his grandmother and siblings. At the age of 14, when Roy and Eric resolved to go to live with their mother, who was by then in Perth, he took the decision to leave the very companionable family set-up he had found himself working for and go to live with
157:
During the initial days of its publication, Albert Facey became a nationwide celebrity. Notwithstanding the interest in it, Facey considered his life to be simple and "had no idea what all the fuss was about". When asked in an interview, where the name of the book originated, he replied, "I called it
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Facey had been making notes on his life since an early age, and had been entertaining family and friends for decades with his stories which, over the years, became more and more polished (at times at the cost of historical accuracy). At the urging of his wife, he eventually wrote them up into a full
230:
Throughout his childhood and teenage years, there had been no possibility of formal education, but Bert taught himself to read and write. Looking for work in the pre-war years, he realised that he was not comfortable with paperwork, offices and cities, far preferring life in the bush. He had become
199:
with Bert's two eldest brothers. In 1898, Bert's
Grandpa became ill and died in October that year. Bert's mother then left the rest of her children to be looked after by their grandmother Mrs Jane Carr (born 1832 – died 1932), to go to the Goldfields, but met and married another man and had nothing
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and featured many well known
Australian actors. It starred a cast of young actors who started their careers in this series: Scott Bartle (plays Bert aged 5), Antony Richards (Bert aged 9), Benedict Sweeney (Bert aged 14) and Donovan Curyer Oshlack (plays Roy aged 14–16). It was filmed in Mount Tom
161:
It has become a classic piece of
Australian literature and is one of Australia's most beloved books. As of 2020 it has, since its publication in 1981, sold over one million copies, becoming a primary account of the Australian experience during World War I. It is also featured in many Australian
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before returning to
Wickepin six years later with their children, where they lived until 1934. His wife died in 1976, shortly before what would have been their sixtieth wedding anniversary. The couple had seven children – the eldest, Barney, was killed during the
275:, requesting that twenty copies be printed and bound for family members and friends. Facey's story was so remarkable, however, that it was immediately accepted for commercial publication. It appeared just nine months before his death on 11 February 1982, in his 88th year.
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Critics have suggested that the book had been heavily edited, but surviving manuscripts of his several versions refute this contention. The final version reveals considerable artifice. He was uncertain about dates and the book contains some factual
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have been the recipients of a host of award nominations since the initial publication of the book but have only won two major book awards. It won the 1981
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227:. Bert had developed an interest in boxing while in Perth, which was put to use dealing with the vindictive line construction overseer.
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by
Umbrella Entertainment in March 2008 and is compatible with all region codes. As of May 2020 it was available for streaming on
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manuscript, by hand, in a series of exercise books, working at the kitchen table. He then had the manuscript typed up and sent it to
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and his return to civilian life after the war. It also documents his extraordinary life of hardship, loss, friendship and love.
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to the
Goldfields in the care of his grandmother, together with three of his six older siblings: Roy, Eric and Myra.
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647:. Vol. 17 (Online ed.). Melbourne: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
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Australia on the Small Screen, 1970-1995: The
Complete Guide to Tele-Features and Mini-Series
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The autobiography begins at his birth. Albert
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In 2004 the book was named as
Australia's 10th most popular on the
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158:'A Fortunate Life' because I truly believe that is what I had".
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further to do with Bert's upbringing. In 1899 Bert moved from
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669:. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2004. Archived from
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Journal of the Australian War Memorial (Issue 33 - 2000)
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area, some 200 kilometres (120 mi) south east of
641:(2007). "Facey, Albert Barnett (Bert) (1894–1982)".
702:. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 196.
231:an accomplished horseman, bushman, and at 18 was a
539:based on the novel, which screened in 1986 on the
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83:, Hardcover Viking, Penguin Books Australia, Ltd.)
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253:The Faceys lived in
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724:"A Fortunate Life"
673:on 8 February 2014
577:Amazon Prime Video
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284:Awards and honours
233:professional boxer
148:Gallipoli campaign
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464:of episodes
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431:Bill Hunter
404:Marcus Cole
397:Directed by
363:Mini series
358:Other media
152:World War I
146:during the
842:1986 films
801:Categories
709:0195539494
583:References
554:Kalgoorlie
550:Coolgardie
523:1986-03-12
472:Production
427:Val Lehman
389:Written by
255:East Perth
193:Goldfields
118:0670807060
38:A.B. Facey
562:Fremantle
545:Bill Kerr
448:Australia
392:Ken Kelso
240:Gallipoli
168:secondary
105:Paperback
91:Australia
76:Published
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698:(1996).
649:Archived
625:Q4656846
621:Wikidata
599:(1981).
485:Producer
409:Starring
377:Based on
350:Q4656846
346:Wikidata
324:(1981).
217:the bush
209:Wickepin
202:Victoria
174:Overview
101:Hardback
54:Language
654:errors.
558:Mullewa
548:Price,
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516:Release
506:Network
456:English
248:Bunbury
164:primary
144:private
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57:English
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311:list.
219:grew.
130:is an
103:&
81:Puffin
79:1981 (
34:Author
225:navvy
213:Perth
70:Drama
62:Genre
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704:ISBN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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