John was born on October 14th 1940, in a working class suburb of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. Life as an only child was often lonely, more especially for a "fat kid" with no father. In spite of close family ties and an encouraging mother. It was a conventional childhood and adolescence, with all the usual desperate issues associated with a post-war, testosterone-loaded young man. Girls, drinking, cars...nothing changes. Working at 15 years old with no academic qualifications meant limited career options, and eventually, after an early unsuccessful marriage, the lure of Australia drew him to that...