D'Arcy Niland

D'Arcy Niland
BornDarcy Francis Niland
(1917-10-20)20 October 1917
Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia
Died29 March 1967(1967-03-29) (aged 49)
Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
Resting placeNorthern Suburbs cemetery, Sydney
Occupation
  • Farm labourer
  • novelist
  • short story writer
Alma materSisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Glen Innes
Notable worksThe Shiralee
SpouseRosina Ruth Park (1942–1967)
Children
Relatives
  • Francis Augustus Niland (father)
  • Barbara Lucy, née Egan (mother)

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.