I was born at the end of a long and trying labour, in Rolfshagen, a tiny village near Rinteln, Germany. It was just before the Nazis finally capitulated. With the rest of my family I cruised across to Australia on a very big ship in 1955 and lived in a simple fibro cottage on a hillside called Glenroi Heights in Orange for seven years. Most of the time at Orange High I was confused, out of my depth and terribly self conscious but still clever enough to get to Teachers College.

I've been a jack of many trades and, until about twenty years ago, master of none. I've tried my hand and brain at teaching manual arts, photo-journalism, environmental planning, being a meticulous academic, ski instructing, mountain guiding, running adult education courses and, not to forget, being a father and partner. I have lived in Newcastle, Yanco, Dapto, Wellington, Sydney and Canberra, and in an ashram near Bombay for a month.

One of my passions is the Australian Alps. I have photographed them, interviewed numerous old timers who were born around them, skied and walked them from one end to the other, and by degrees managed to turn them into something I could make a living from.

The BIG breakthrough came in 1982 when ANU Press published 'Huts of the HighCountry'. Now in its seventh printing it has sold 14,000 copies, a great start for a writer. Having seen what publishing was all about I set up Tabletop Press in 1984. Initially I published my own books, eg, 'Kosciusko - where the Ice-Trees Burn' and 'People of the Australian High Country', but having developed expertise in this field I was soon called upon to help others. They included Alan Andrews with 'Kosciusko - The Mountain in History', Matthew Higgins with 'Skis on the Brindabellas' and Gwen Wilson with 'Murray of Yarralumla'. I've collaborated with Mark O'Connor, the Olympic poet, on a volume of poetry and photos called 'Tilting at Snowgums' and I've reprinted some old classics.

Having printed these books they needed to be sold, so with loaded campervan I took to the road and covered numerous bookshops in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and sundry watering places in between. I discovered that I could be a specialist wholesaler of books about the Australian Alps and proceeded to buy in books from other publishers.

In 1996 I decided that I would suspend writing about the life and adventures of others and write about my own. This turned out to be much more demanding than I had thought especially if I was to be honest and sincere about it. The result was 'One Step at a Time'. Since then I have produced the award winning book ‘Huts in the Victorian Alps’ and two photographic books ‘Mountain Landscapes and Historic Huts’ and ‘A String of Pearls – the South Coast of NSW’ . In between books I've produced over 100 feature articles and photo essays for magazines and newspapers.

I’m an honorary life member of various clubs and in younger days obtained many Life Saving Awards including the Award of Merit and the Distinction. The interest in life saving followed my clumsy rescue of two people from the Georges River when I was 14 years old. At university I completed an arts degree with honours and a Master of Science in plant ecology. I belong to an exclusive, but quite large club who did not complete a Ph D. University taught me many things but not how to make a living. Life taught me that. It also taught me that if you enhance your community with a substantial body of work you may get an Order of Australia. This happened in 2012.

I’ve had a number of dramatic dalliances and three meaningful, long term relationships with women (in tandem and not like some Mormons, all at once!) and am now married to Patricia, a herbal medicine practitioner. I have, over the years, helped to bring up six children, two of whom are my own. I now have five grandchildren, Jarrah, Angus, Zoe, Ben and Hailey.

I love Australia and being an Australian, and, having sung the stirring words in several choirs, think that our national anthem should be 'I am Australian'. I tend towards Republicanism but have a soft spot for the current queen. I would like our parliament to be more inclusive and less adversarial. I follow an ancient spiritual tradition called Siddha Yoga and like to meditate and chant.

More than anything else I'm a human being trying to make sense of life, death and all things in between. I've had fleeting glimpses of the Holy Grail but not yet grasped its full splendour.