Portfolio

Colin Weiss was born on September 15th, 1943 in Bundaberg in the Wide Bay region, about 400 km north of Brisbane and grew up in nearby Sharon. Sharon is a farming district on the other side of the Burnett River from Bundaberg West. His family had around 50 acres and ran a few cows and […]

John Gleeson was born in Chinchilla, 260 km from Brisbane, on December 28th, 1938. He was one of nine children (John had three sisters and five brothers). His parents were the biggest influence on John and his siblings. Their family was extremely close, and if one had trouble they all had trouble. This can be […]

Lionel Morgan was born on the Tweed on August 12th, 1938, the third of four sons to parents with Ni-Vanuatu ancestry. As a boy, he was very polite and respectful. He listened carefully to what his parents taught him about life and was very well thought of by his teachers. As part of the Tweed […]

Francis Drake was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain on 15th February, 1939. In his very early years there were two family tragedies that were to have a major impact on his life. The first was when his father fell off a crane when Frank was four years old. He sustained severe injuries and […]

James Paterson was born in South Townsville on the 31st August, 1934. South Townsville is actually east of the city centre and the two are separated by Ross Creek. The suburb’s northern and eastern boundaries are the Pacific Ocean, and as a boy, saltwater used to come on to Jim’s property when there were king […]

Dudley Beattie was born in Marburg, about 20 km west of Ipswich, Queensland, on the 27th April, 1934. Not long after Dud started attending Marburg State School, Dud’s father, Robert, joined the army and was stationed with his unit in New Guinea as a sapper. It was a trying time for Dud and his brother, […]

Brian Davies was born on 16th May, 1930 and grew up in the Brisbane suburb of Corinda with his brother, Col, who was one year older. Brian was a relatively quiet boy, even to the point of sometimes being a little reclusive. He was mild-mannered and it took a lot to get him going. Despite […]

Desmond McGovern was born in Toowoomba on 13th February, 1928. His father had a bakery business in Grantham, near Gatton. There was no hospital in Grantham, so he was born at the Toowoomba hospital. Des was the youngest of three brothers, and they all had their share of work to do in the bakery before […]

Harry ‘Mick’ Crocker was born in Forbes Street, West End, Brisbane on the 14th December, 1927. West End is a suburb located on the Brisbane River and, right from an early age, Mick loved the water. He was down at the river any chance he got. There were always small sharks in the river – […]