Alby Mangels 2023

Mangels was born in the Netherlands on 16 November 1948. His father Johannes (Jos) was a leather tanner. The family moved to Australia in 1955 where they settled in Adelaide, South Australia.

After about eighteen months in Australia his parents separated. His mother Adrianna (Sjann) remarried but died when he was fifteen. He left school at fourteen.

As a teenager, he undertook a wide variety of professions including chicken farming and house construction.

Mangels set off in 1971 with friend John Fields on what was supposed to be a one-off trip. It turned into a six-year odyssey which they filmed through several continents. The resulting film, first shown in Australia in 1977, was a significant success. Mangels continued to travel through the 1980s, filming all the way. Two more World Safari films were made from this subsequent material.

Mangels and Fields often spent time living with local inhabitants in many locations, frequently working for room and board or just to get to know the local culture of each area.