Michael Fitzgerald Page (2 February 1922 – 3 November 2014) was a British-born Australian writer, editor, advertising executive, World War II veteran and merchant sailor. For his "services to the book publishing industry and to literature as a writer, and through the encouragement and support of upcoming Australian authors" he was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian ...

in 1999. He died in Blackwood, Adelaide in November 2014 at the age of 92.

Early life

Page was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, England in February 1922. His father had been posted to Greymouth, New Zealand when his mother returned to England to give birth. He lived with his Mother, older brother and two sisters in Chester. His father

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

Sherwood Page VRD was a merchant mariner and Great War

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Roy ...

officer. His older brother Charles was an officer in the Berkshire Regiment and served in India, Burma and the South-West Pacific during the Second World War. Michael Page was educated at

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at t ...

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...

,http://www.austlit.edu.au.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/austlit/page/A35677 and began training as a Merchant Navy signals officer and was at sea by the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

War service

Page served for duration of the

in the

Merchant Navy (United Kingdom) The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

as a Radio Officer serving in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...

, the Mediterranean theatre, the North Sea and the Indian Ocean. In 1941 he was transferred from the MV British Fusilier to the island of Aruba for an emergency appendectomy, and then later in 1941 whilst aboard the Norwegian flagged MV Jenny he contracted malaria whilst on the West Africa coast. He finished the war as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Kure, Japan. After this he spent the next two years as part of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in Singapore. Page continued his service with the

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

, retiring from sea service in 1951 in Australia.

Career

After visiting Australia, he migrated to Adelaide with his wife and first child in 1952. He first started writing whilst at sea but did not publish his first book until he had resigned from the Merchant Navy in 1951. He became a copywriter in an Adelaide advertising agency, working for Jackson Waine and Eric Ring, and eventually its manager. Page was a prolific writer, and many of his fictional novels were nautical themed, set either in the Georgian and Victorian era, or the Second World War. He also regularly wrote about Australia during the colonial era. Page's non-fiction works often related to Australian history, notably during the colonial era and early post federation. His most successful book was '' The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were'', illustrated by frequent collaborator

Robert Ingpen Robert Roger Ingpen AM, FRSA (born 13 October 1936) is an Australian graphic designer, illustrator, and writer. For his "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator he received the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in ...

. It was published in 1985 and sold over 70,000 copies. It still continues in print to this day. In addition to being an author, Michael Page joined the Adelaide-based publisher

Rigby Limited Rigby Limited was an Australian book publisher, based in Adelaide. Their output consisted largely, but not exclusively, of Australian subjects, especially non-fiction, by Australian writers and artists. History The founder William Charles Rigby ...

in January 1967 as its Publishing Manager. While at Rigby, he developed their fiction offering,http://www.austlit.edu.au.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/austlit/page/A36934 including publishing works by

Colin Thiele Colin Milton Thiele AC (; 16 November 1920 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian author and educator. He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels '' Storm Boy'', '' Blue Fin'', the '' Sun on the Stubble'' ...

. After Rigby was purchased by

James Hardie James Hardie Industries plc is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products. Headquartered in Ireland, it is a dual-listed company, being listed on the Australian and New York Stock Exchang ...

he took 'early retirement' in February 1982, 'hoping to make a living from freelance editing and writing'. All staff at Rigby were dismissed in 1984.

Honours and awards

In 1999 he was made a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for "services to the book publishing industry and to literature as a writer, and through the encouragement and support of upcoming Australian authors". His investiture was held at Government House in Adelaide. For his war service in the Merchant Navy he has been awarded the 1939–45 Star,

Atlantic Star The Atlantic Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War. Two cla ...

Africa Star The Africa Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 during the Second World War. Three clasp ...

Italy Star The Italy Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served in the Italian Campaign from 1943 to 1945, during the Second World War. The Second World War Stars On ...

and the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

Fiction writing

* '' Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People'' (1986) illustrated by

; Australia title ''Out of This World: The Complete Book of Fantasy'' * ''My Anastasia'' (2004) published by Robert Hale * ''The Great Bullocky Race'' (1984) illustrated by

* ''Worldly Dogs'' (1986) illustrated by

* ''The Runaway Punt'' (1976) illustrated by

published by Rigby Ltd * ''Aussie Battlers'' (1982) illustrated by

* ''Mr Dohnt's Notice Garden'' (1988) illustrated by

Michael Atchison Michael Plant Atchison (4 August 1933 – 16 February 2009) was an Australian cartoonist who worked for the South Australian ''Advertiser'' for over 40 years. He was born in Sandringham, Victoria and moved to South Australia with his family ...

published by Collins * ''Sailor of Fortune'' (1989) Robert Hale * ''Sealed Orders'' (1988) Robert Hale * ''Captain Blaze'' (1987) Robert Hale * ''Blood of an Englishman'' (1985) Robert Hale * ''A Nasty Little War'' (1979) published by Rigby Ltd * ''Fortunes of War'' (1972) published by Robert Hale * ''All in the Same Boat'' (1970) published by Robert Hale * ''The Seizing of the Brig'' (1969) published by Robert Hale * ''A Yankee Skipper'' (1968) published by Robert Hale * ''Magpie Island'' (1964) published by Robert Hale * "Atlantic Star" (1960) unpublished, deemed "too disgusting to print" for the homosexual romantic content * ''The Innocent Bystander etc'' (1957) published by Robert Hale * ''Spare the Vanquished'' (1952) published by Robert Hale *

Non-fiction writing

* ''The Prime Ministers of Australia'' * ''Bradman: The Illustrated Biography'' (1983) published by MacMillan * ''The Flying Doctor Story, 1928 78'' * ''Turning Points in the Making of Australia'' * ''Colonial South Australia: Its People and Buildings'' (1985) illustrated by

* ''The Making of Australians'' (1987) illustrated by

* ''A Sea With Many Islands'' (1952) published by Robert Hale

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Michael Fitzgerald 1922 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Australian writers 21st-century Australian writers Australian children's writers Australian fantasy writers Australian fiction writers Australian non-fiction writers Members of the Order of Australia People from Adelaide Writers from South Australia British emigrants to Australia