A Fortunate Life

A true classic of Australian literature, Facey’s simply penned story offers a unique window onto the history of Australian life through the greater part of the twentieth century - the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man.

Albert Facey’s story is the story of Australia.

Born in 1894, and first sent to work at the age of nine, Facey lived the rough frontier life of a labourer and farmer and jackaroo, becoming lost and then rescued by Indigenous trackers, then gaining a hard-won literacy, surviving Gallipoli, raising a family through the Depression, losing a son in the Second World War, and meeting his beloved Evelyn with whom he shared nearly sixty years of marriage.

Despite enduring unimaginable hardships, Facey always saw his life as a fortunate one.

A true classic of Australian literature, Facey’s simply penned story offers a unique window onto the history of Australian life through the greater part of the twentieth century - the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man.