Amos Donovan grew up at Greenhills near Kempsey, New South Wales. When Donovan was a child his grandfather, Steve Donovan, lived with the family. His grandfather studied law in the evenings and was able to use legal terminology when dealing with the welfare and police who were trying to take Donovan and his siblings away. Donovan was doing well at school but had to leave when he was fourteen to help his father work.
