This is the autobiography of A B (Bert) Facey, born in 1894, who spent most of his life in Western Australia.

Of the 326 pages, the first 239pages deal with his first 20 years or so, until he trained for and then fought at Gallipoli in WW1 (covered in 39 pages) before covering the next 58 or so years until 1976 (only a few years before he wrote and published in 1980. His early years were critical to the development of the person he became, and as such the book is not unbalanced for that reason alone.

Borne in Victoria, Bert's father travelled with his 2 oldest brothers to WA, chasing gold. His father died soon thereafter and, notwithstanding that, most but not all of Bert's family followed. Bert's mother stayed in Perth, later remarried and had further children. Bert left Perth to live on an Uncle's wheat farm, together with his beloved grandmother. But when Bert was 8 or 9 (that is not a typo), with the struggle in supporting Bert, he went to work for a stranger who promised 5 shillings a week, board, clothes and boots in exchange for light work, looking after / being a companion to Bob's ailing and eyesight failing mother but more importantly, that Bert could return to his Uncle's farm if Bert was not satisfied with the job.

It did not turn out that way: Bert was expected to work from daylight to sunset, looking after the dairy, and everything else. He was never paid; did not receive the clothes of boots promised, meaning he worked through winter with footwear.

This went on for years, and when he raised the topic of returning to his uncle's farm, he was told he would never be allowed to do so. He sought help from various people who visited Bob's farm over the years, including police who were looking for stolen horses and cattle believing that Bob and his brothers were responsible, and yet nothing happened. Bert was also surprised that he never heard from his grandmother, even at the time of his birthdays (it later transpired that Bob never handed on teh Grandmother's letters to Bert).

At one stage Bert was whipped by Bob, so seriously it was thought that Bert would die. He eventually ran away, making it back to his uncle's farm, but was not to stay there long, as things were still grim economically.

What followed was a number of years of working for strangers in developing new wheat farms. Often the only workers were the farm owner (or a hired manager on behalf of the owner) and Bert. They did everything: built temporary and permanent houses and other buildings; cleared the land (often hundreds and hundreds of hectares), which involved cutting timber and then either burning it (often on top of the stumps, so as to burn the stumps down to ground level, or alternatively fashioned for fence posts or use in constructing buildings; fencing paddocks; constructing dams all before planting, tending to, harvesting and transporting the crops. And all the time they were faced with the fickle weather and often faced run when crops failed.

Many of these people were decent, hard working people, but it was a hard life. When Bert was about 16, having worked with a farm manager from the beginning of establishing a new farm, and at one stage taking sole responsibility for looking after the farm which the manager took 5 months leave (to get married) and having been told by the manager that the owners would be delighted with the magnificent job Bert had done during all those times, Bert was not allowed to sit in the same room as the manager and the owners when they visited the farm soon after, and was made to eat alone in the kitchen. He was not seen as being of the same class.

And worse was to come when the manager's brother arrived at the farm, with no farm or other relevant skills and Bert was told there was no room for him and he had to move on.

Apart from farm work, Bert also took on other hard labour jobs, often travelling long distances in his mid teens to seek them out.

Immediately before joining the army at the beginning of WW1, Bert worked in a travelling troupe of boxers.

Bert liked many of his generation willingly signed up to do their bit in WW1. But never did Bert hide the fact that much of war scared him a lot. His training was minimal. And after a short stint in Egypt, he became one of the earlier waves to hit Gallipoli. It sounded insane; there was little that we have not heard or read of before, but it is portrayed from a very personal way. The futility of war came through very much: Bert lost 2 brothers at Gallipoli

And the attitudes f some of the more senior people were appalling: on one occasion there had been a ferocious battle resulting in many people lying dead in no mans land between the Turks and the Australians. Being very hot, the bodies soon began to rot and the smell was terrible. Not for that reason alone but also in order to provide a decent burial, the soldiers attempted to retrieve the bodies, but the Turks would simply mow down anyone who attempted to enter no mans land for that purpose. A visiting high ranking British officer asked why the bodies were not being retrieved and buried. The senior Australian officers explained the situation, only to be met with the British officer replying "What is a few men?" implying that more death was better than the alternative.

Bert was injured and invalided out, returning to Australia. But before he does, there is a terrific piece where Bert is on a vessel on the Mediterranean, being hunted down by a German submarine, which the vessel survives.

The balance of the book covers Bert's rehabilitation in Perth, his marriage and his battle to support his family, notwithstanding his war injuries, his absence of any formal education, the depression which hit Australia in the post war years etc.

From all accounts, he fared well, with drive, cunning and guile. He was a very well respected, self educated person.

It is a terrific read. It paints a picture of an Australia that is not all that long ago and yet it seems like a foreign country.

I heartedly recommend it to anyone wanting to understand early 1900s Australia and the frontier it then (still) was.

Big Ship

3 May 2022 ( )

Really 3.5 stars. A biography of an Australian pioneer, whose positive attitude and strong work ethic helped him overcome life's many challenges, again and again, starting with losing his parents as a very young age. Note: I read an illustrated version with various photos, and historical Aussie advertisements. (Recommended by Yvonne, my Goodreads pal.) ( )

Exceptional. ( )

Why did no-one ever shove this book in my face and tell me how brilliant it is???! Do yourself a favour and read it now! It will get you right from the start. An absolutely fascinating account of life in pioneer Australia from being a boy on the gold fields, a teen working for his keep to a young man enduring the horrors of WWI at Gallipoli and then to marriage and getting by during the depression of the 30's. This book will take you a journey through the hard but ultimately fortunate life of a man who will show you that with the best attitude your life is in your control.
So many times in his life things could have turned out differently or Mr Facey could have given up but this is just a wonderful life and told in a clear, unique and modest voice. ( )

This book captivated me. ( )