Joseph Furphy
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Joseph Furphy (26 September 1843 – 13 September 1912), is widely regarded as the "Father of the Australian novel". He mostly wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins, and was extremely popular in Australia during the late 19th century. Furphy is best known for his book Such is Life (1903).
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[edit] Biography
Furphy was born at Yering Station in Yering, Victoria. His father, Samuel Furphy, was originally a tenant farmer from Tanderagee, County Armagh, Ireland who emigrated to Australia in 1840.[1] Samuel Furphy was head gardener on the station. There was no school in the district and at first Joseph was educated by his mother. The only books available were the Bible and Shakespeare, and at seven years of age Furphy was already learning passages of each by heart, he never forgot them. About 1850 the family removed to Kangaroo Ground, Victoria, and here the parents of the district built a school and obtained a master. In 1852 they moved again, to Kyneton where Samuel Furphy began business as a hay and corn merchant. A few years later he leased a farm and also bought a threshing plant. This was worked by Joseph and a brother and both became competent engine-drivers. In 1864 Furphy bought a threshing outfit and travelled the Daylesford and surrounding districts. At Glenlyon he met Leonie Germain, a girl of 16, of French extraction, and in 1866 they were married.
Soon afterwards Leonie's mother went to New Zealand and Furphy for a time carried on her farm, but two years later took up a selection near Colbinabbin. The land proved to be poor, and about 1873 he sold out and soon afterwards bought a team of bullocks. He became prosperous as the years went by, but the drought came and he had heavy losses. Some of his bullocks and horses died from pleuro-pneumonia, and about 1884 he accepted a position in the foundry of his brother John at Shepparton. There he worked for some 20 years doing much reading and writing in the evenings.
Late in his life Furphy moved to Western Australia to join his sons who had established an iron foundry there. He died in Claremont on 13 September 1912, and is buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.
[edit] Literary career
In his youth Furphy had written many verses and in December 1867 he had been awarded the first prize of £3 at the Kyneton. Literary Society for a vigorous set of verses on "The Death of President Lincoln".
Such is Life is a fictional account of the life of rural dwellers, including bullock drivers, squatters and itinerant travellers, in southern New South Wales and Victoria, during the 1880s.
The book comprises a series of loosely interwoven stories of the various people encountered by the narrator as he travels about the countryside. At times the prose is difficult to understand because of the use of Australian vernacular and Furphy's attempt to convey the accents of Scottish and Chinese personalities. This novel nevertheless provides an insight into the character of rural dwellers in Australia in the latter half of the 19th century.
The title of Such is Life is said to be derived from Ned Kelly's last words.
In 1905, Furphy moved to Western Australia, where his sons were living. He built a house at Swanbourne, which is now the headquarters of the West Australian branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.
Furphy's popularity may have influenced the usage of the Australian slang word furphy, meaning a "tall story". However, scholars consider it more likely that the word originated with water carts, produced in large numbers by J. Furphy & Sons, a company owned by Joseph's brother John.
[edit] References
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Furphy, Joseph". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
- Manning Clark, 'Furphy, Joseph (Tom Collins) (1843 - 1912)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, MUP, 1981, pp 600-602.
Additional resources listed by the Australian Dictionary of Biography:
- A. L. Archer, Tom Collins (Joseph Furphy) as I Knew Him (Melb, 1941)
- J. Barnes, Joseph Furphy (Melb, 1963)
- Furphy papers (State Library of New South Wales).
