D'Arcy Niland
| D'Arcy Niland | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Darcy Francis Niland 20 October 1917 Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 29 March 1967 (aged 49) Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia |
| Resting place | Northern Suburbs cemetery, Sydney |
| Occupation | Farm labourer, novelist, short story writer |
| Alma mater | Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Glen Innes |
| Notable works | The Shiralee |
| Spouse | Rosina Ruth Park (1942–1967) |
| Children | |
| Relatives |
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D'Arcy Francis Niland (20 October 1917 – 29 March 1967) was an Australian farm labourer, novelist and short story writer. In 1955 he wrote The Shiralee, which gained international recognition in its depictions of the experiences of a swagman and his four-year-old daughter. It was made into a 1957 film, starring Peter Finch, and a 1987 TV mini-series, starring Bryan Brown. Niland married fellow writer, Ruth Park (1917–2010), on 11 May 1942 and the couple had five children: Anne (born ca. June 1943), Rory, Patrick and twin daughters, Kilmeny (1950–2009) and Deborah (1950–present). Niland died on 29 March 1967 of a myocardial infarction, aged 49.
D'Arcy Niland was born as Darcy Francis Niland on 20 October 1917 in the rural town of Glen Innes. His father Francis Augustus Niland was a cooper and wool classer, and his mother was Barbara Lucy, née Egan. He was the eldest of six children in the Irish-Catholic family. Niland was named by his father after the boxer, Les Darcy (1895–1917), he changed the form of his first name to D'Arcy as an adult. He attended the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart school in Glen Innes.
Niland left school at 14 and two years later he briefly worked in Sydney as a copy boy for The Sun newspaper, hoping to become a reporter. His poem "Old Folks' Christmas", was printed in December 1934 and was followed by "My Country" in March 1935 in The Sydney Morning Herald. In December 1935 he wrote an article, "Lore and Legends of the Christmas Tree", for the same newspaper. The Great Depression ended this avenue of employment, however, and for some years he travelled the country, finding work in a wide variety of occupations including as a farm labourer, opal miner, circus hand, potato digger, and shearing shed rouseabout. In the late 1930s he returned to Sydney where he worked as a railway porter. During World War II, Niland was rejected for military service due to a cardiac condition – he worked as a shearer under the Manpower Directorate.
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