Xavier Herbert

Life and career

Herbert was born Alfred Jackson in Geraldton, Western Australia, in 1901, the illegitimate son of Amy Victoria Scammell and Benjamin Francis Herbert, a Welsh-born engine driver. He was registered at birth as Alfred Jackson, son of John Jackson, auctioneer, with whom his mother had already had two children. Before writing he worked many jobs in Western Australia and Victoria; his first job was in a pharmacy at the age of fourteen. He studied pharmacy at Perth Technical College and was registered as a pharmacist on 21 May 1923 as Alfred Xavier Herbert. He moved to Melbourne, and in 1935 enrolled at the University of Melbourne to study medicine. He started his writing career writing short stories for the popular magazine and newspaper market, publishing under a range of pseudonyms, the most common being Herbert Astor.

The 1940s and 1950s were a relatively lean time for Herbert in terms of publication. He released Seven Emus (1959).

Herbert was well known for his outspoken views on indigenous issues. He was a great champion of Aboriginal peoples, particularly those living in missions in Queensland and the Northern Territory. In his personal life he was considered difficult, and his wife Sadie said it was a choice between having children and looking after Xavier.

Final years and death By 1982, the widowed Herbert was working on a new novel, "Me and My Shadow" and took a two-month tour of his birth state, Western Australia, in 1983 to gather material for the book. On 15 January 1984, at age 83, he left his home in Redlynch, Queensland for the last time to drive in his Land Rover into the centre of the country, the Northern Territory. He travelled 2,000 km to his destination: Alice Springs. In June 1984, Herbert refused to accept an award of the Order of Australia from the Hawke government, on the grounds that it was a British Empire honour rather than a nationalist Australian one.

In September, Herbert was treated for skin grafts on his leg and carpal tunnel syndrome in Alice Springs, where he was visited by the artist Sidney Nolan and his wife Mary. After his treatment, Herbert moved in temporarily with his doctor, Charles Butcher, and Butcher's family, where he would live for the remaining weeks of his life.

Herbert died on 10 November 1984 from kidney failure. He was commemorated by the Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, as "a prodigiously committed Australian". He was buried in Alice Springs, together with his wife's ashes, in a ceremony officiated by Aboriginal activist Pat Dodson in recognition of Herbert's long support for the rights of Aboriginal Australians.

Oral history Herbert was interviewed in 1961 and 1975 about his life and career. The recordings can be found at the National Library of Australia.

Published works

Novels Capricornia (1938) Seven Emus (1959) Soldiers' Women (1961) - about 4 women during World War II in Sydney Poor Fellow My Country (1975) – Miles Franklin Award Winner, 1975

Short story collections Larger than Life (1963) South of Capricornia (1990) – Edited by Russel McDougal Xavier Herbert (1992) – Edited by Frances de Groen and Peter Pierce

Non-fiction Disturbing Element (1963) – Autobiography Letters (2002) – Edited by Frances De Groen, Laurie Hergenhan Letters from Xavier Herbert, 1980–1983 (unpublished), By Peggy Hayes