I arrived in Melbourne the first week in October 1958, a few days after the VFL Grand Final. To the uninitiated, the VFL Grand Final is by far the most important event of the year for almost every red-blooded person living in Victoria, even more important than the Melbourne Cup, which comes in second. Consequently my arrival was totally unnoticed.

Part 1 - Becoming a Country Teacher

I was born in 1901 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and I emigrated to Australia in 1911 with my mother, brother and sister. My father had preceded us some time before, and we settled in Melbourne.