I was born in England, emigrating to Australia in 1963 at the age of 17, under the auspices of the Big Brother Movement. Always interested in science, I obtained a job with a chemical manufacturing firm, and stayed there through various take-overs and shake-ups, until I retired in 2001.

Unable to remain in an increasingly expensive Sydney, I moved to Tasmania with my partner, where I purchased a small property. He and I have now been together for 25 years, and live in splendid rural isolation with our two dogs.