Albert Shelling was born in Kalisz, a town in the southwest of Poland near the German border. His childhood was marred by the advent of World War II and the untimely death of his father in Siberia. It is now well over fifty years since he, his mother, and three brothers, migrated to Australia.
The bookshop, SHELLING’S BOOKS in Armadale, Victoria, which he established with his wife, Yvonne, in 1978, always brings up good memories. Both Albert and Yvonne are now retired, but with two children, seven grandchildren, a great grand-daughter, and a turtle named Hamlet, they are kept busy all year round.