West was born in St Kilda, Victoria, the son of a commercial salesman. Due to the large size of his family, he was sent to live with his grandparents. He … See more

West worked as publicity manager at Melbourne radio station 3DB. He moved into radio drama, setting up his own radio production company … See more

Early works
West's first novel published under his own name was Gallows on the Sand (1955), written in seven days. He followed it with Kundu (1956), a New Guinea adventure written in three weeks. He also wrote a play, See more

A major theme of much of West's work was a question: when so many organisations use extreme violence towards evil ends, when and under what circumstances is it morally acceptable for their opponents to respond with violence? He stated on … See more

West was born on 26 April 1916, in St Kilda. He and his first wife, Elizabeth Harvey, had two children: Elizabeth, who became a nun, and Julian who was a wine-maker before his death in 2005. Julian and his wife Helen Grimaux, had a daughter named … See more

West was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours of 1985. He was upgraded to Officer of the Order in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1997. See more

Fiction
• Moon in My Pocket (1945, using the pseudonym "Julian Morris")
• Gallows on the Sand (1956)
• Kundu (1956) See more