James Martin Devaney was born in Sandhurst, Victoria, on 31 May 1890. Devaney studied at St. Joseph's College and in 1915 made his final vows, taking the religious name Fabian Joseph. However he left the order in July 1921. In 1921 he moved permanently to Queensland to a career of full-time writing and journalism. From 1924 to 1943 he published a weekly column of nature notes for the Brisbane Courier-Mail under the pseudonym 'Fabian'. He also wrote a regular 'Literary Section' for the Catholic Leader. Devaney was president of the Queensland Authors' and Artists' Association (later the Fellowship of Australian Writers or FAW). He died on 14 August 1976.

Paul Grano was born in Ararat, Victoria in 1894 , the fifth child of Theodore George Grano and Kate Cecilia 'Cecily' (nee Patten). He had another nine siblings from his father's second marriage to Ellen Mary Schuback. From 1899 the Grano family lived at the house named Dominica in Ararat. The house had been built as a wedding present for Theodore's second wife.
The Grano family originated in Spain and, later, the West Indies (St Kitts, Martinique, Dominica). Paul Grano's grandfather G. W. H. Grano arrived in Geelong in 1857 and established his hardware business and family in Ararat. His son Theodore Grano established a legal practice in Ararat.
Paul Grano was educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat. He studied law at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1916. For a time Grano practised law at Stawell. On 11 December 1919 he married Violet Irene Galloway. They had a son and twin daughters. The Granos moved to Brisbane in about 1932, and Paul Grano established himself as a journalist and poet. He wrote for Australia, and the Brisbane Catholic Advocate. He was a contemporary of James Picot, Brian Vrepont, Martin Haley, Frank Francis and James Devaney. He published several volumes of poetry. He died in 1975 and bequeathed his body to the medical faculty of the University of Queensland.