D'Arcy Niland was an Australian author who wrote six novels, several short story collections, some poetry, radio and television plays, and an autobiography between 1955 and his untimely death in 1969.
Background
D'Arcy Niland was born in Glen Innes, New South Wales and spent much of his boyhood travelling with his Irish father on the New South Wales shearing circuit. He worked all over Australia in a variety of jobs (opal-miner, circus hand, stevedore, woolshed roustabout) before becoming a writer.
He was married to New Zealand writer Ruth Park of The Harp in the South trilogy fame.
Education
He was encouraged to write by the nuns who saw a literary potential in their young pupil.
Having to leave school by the age of fourteen to help support his large family, he took on varied employment in shearing sheds, potato fields, opal mines, circus tents and boxing shows. He educated himself by reading the dictionary and practised his writing craft when he could.
Career
Of all Niland's books, The Shiralee remains his most renowned. It portrays the wanderings and experiences of an Australian swagman named Macauley and his daughter. It was published in 1955 and made into a 1957 film, starring Peter Finch, and a 1987 TV mini-series, starring Bryan Brown. Niland also compiled a collection of Australian folk songs, releasing them under the title Travelling songs of old Australia.