He was born in
Pinjarra, Western Australia, and moved to
Perth as a young boy. He attended
Perth Modern School. With the outbreak of
World War II, he enlisted and served in South-west Asia, Ceylon (now
Sri Lanka), and
New Guinea. He wrote the regular "Outsight" column for
Nation Review and was its editor for several years, then contributed to
Toorak Times, the eccentric weekly newspaper published by
Jack Pacholli (1929–2004). He also worked for the
ABC, earning the attention of
ASIO as a Communist sympathiser. He died from lung cancer. ==Family==