Denison Deasey
Denison Deasey (24 October 1920 - 4 February 1984) born William Denison Deasey, was an Australian writer and teacher. His most notable work was Lunch At The Villa.[1], an essay which describes life in the South of France with Richard Aldington after World War Two.
Early Life:
Deasey grew up in Hawthorn, Melbourne, and attended Geelong Grammar with Australian literary figures including Geoffrey Dutton, Stephen Murray-Smith, and Robert Southey. The son of a Church of England Vicar, Murray-Smith described Deasey as being "the only other person as unhappy as me at the school"[2]. In 1938, Arthur Boyd did "a quick sketch by an open fire"[3] of Deasey, named Man Kneeling and was later gifted to the National Gallery of Australia by the Bundanon Trust.
World War Two:
Deasey was attending Melbourne University when World War Two broke out in 1939. He describes the announcement of War in diaries held at the State Library Victoria. After skipping a lecture to catch a train to Caulfield in 1941, he soon found himself signing up for "dangerous and immediate service" with what became the first Australian Commandos.
Europe and London
In 1947, Deasey caught a 6-week "hell-ship" to London[4], which, it was later discovered, gave him tuberculosis of the left lung. He later emigrated to France, working for a time with Richard Aldington, then in Paris as a translator and English Teacher. He lived for a year at the Hotel Floridor where he was mistaken for defected Russian spy Donald Maclean in May 1951, after trying to book a train to visit friend George Bailey in Berlin. Friend Alister Kershaw wrote of the years spent in Paris and the Hotel Floridor and how for a time, the Hotel became "Little Australia"[5]. Deasey returned to Australia in December 1955 with his French wife, Gisele.
Later Life and death
Deasey returned to Melbourne, working in the history department of Monash University. In 1969, he met Lynette Odgers, with whom he had three children: Ayala (1970), Declan (1973), and Louisa (1977). Deasey returned to England and France in the 1970 - 1976, living in France and England while researching Education Under Six[6] Deasey died of prostate cancer in 1984. His papers were acquired by the State Library Victoria for their historical value in 1985, and they are currently held in the Australian manuscripts collection. Other diaries and papers are held at the National Library Australia. He was working on a biography of Australian explorer, Peter Egerton Warburton when he died. Geoffrey Dutton described Deasey, with whom he'd attended Geelong Grammar as "one of the most original and talented people I have ever met."
References
- ↑ Deasey, Denison (December 23–30, 1980). "Lunch At The Villa". The Bulletin: 177-180.CS1 maint: Date format (link)
- ↑ Murray-Smith, Stephen. Memories of Melbourne University. Melbourne University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Bungey, Darleen (2006). Arthur Boyd: A Life. Crows Nest, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Search this book on
- ↑ Deasey, Louisa (2018). A Letter From Paris. Melbourne: Scribe. Search this book on
- ↑ Kershaw, Alister (1986). The Pleasure of Their Company. Olympic Marketing Corp. Search this book on
- ↑ Deasey, Denison (1977). Education Under Six. London: Croom and Helm. Search this book on
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