Australian Legends
The Australian Legends book is the first of its kind. The book has 80 original photographs of Australian Legends, along with a biography on each legend and my own experiences with each of them. From November 2005 the Australian Legends page will be changing bi-monthly with new pictures and stories of the 80 Australian Legends.

The Australian Legends book will be released mid August 2005 throughout all good book stores around Australia and includes a foreword by Ray Martin. I also plan on having a photographic exhibition throughout Australia. If you would like the exhibition to travel to your area please Email me via this site.

To purchase limited edition Australian Legend photos click here.

   Alec Campbell, Last survivor of Gallipoli WW1

From all the nations that enlisted Alec Campbell became the face for all who served in Gallipoli. He didn’t want to, nor did he understand why; but history books will show that Alec William Campbell would be the last man standing that served in Gallipoli.
I was lucky to meet Alec and spent two days with him and his wife Kathleen in February 2002. I spent time interviewing and photographing him, his memory had almost gone from his days spent at Gallipoli and it’s just as well; Gallipoli was no place for anyone to fight at in 1915, especially a 16 year old boy.

Alec died on Thursday 16th May 2002. The entire nation mourned as one. Men women and children cried when they heard the news. Prime Minister John Howard said at Alec’s funeral “Being the last to fall Alec Campbell had become a symbol for all those young men who landed on that beach and fought that terrible war.” In February 2002 I asked Alec “Do you feel proud to be a part of Gallipoli, “No, it never struck me to be proud, why should I be?” Alec embodied the true Anzac spirit; he was and always will be our digger.

  David Warren, black box flight recorder 1957

It took me years to track down David Warren. In the mid 90’s I read a small article on him in a magazine. I rang everything that had to do with aviation and other scientific agencies but no one had heard of him. Finally by sheer chance I was given a poster by Professor Earl Owen with some information on Australian inventions, there it had Warren’s final work place. I rang them got his phone number and was finally able to meet him in 2000 in Melbourne. I found out that he didn’t make anything from his invention as he was paid by the Aeronautical research laboratories to do his job.
He may not have made any money out of the black box, but he made something that’s in commercial aeroplanes around the world and by doing so, made history.

   Jack Lockett, WW1 Veteran

When Jack passed away in May 2002, he was 111 years old and Australia’s oldest male. In 2000 Jack was a torch bearer and he carried the Olympic torch through Bendigo; he rates that day as the greatest day of his life. “I did a good job, I was very proud of myself, there were thousands of people cheering me and a few of them had a tear in their eyes.”
When I met Jack in 2000, he was 109 and had a very sharp memory, he could still walk quite well and to me he looked and acted like a man of about 80. He had newspaper clippings of people that had passed away in Australia that were older than him. “I suppose being the oldest male in Australia, means that I am part of history.” Jack was certainly part of history, what an amazing thing to do, to reach 111 and still be able to tell stories of when you were a child growing up in Australia, in the 1800’s.

   Jeffrey Smart, Artist

Jeffrey Smart is a painter who paints ordinary things and turns them into extraordinary things. For most artists painting airports, street signs, oil drums, or playgrounds would seem very boring. Except for Jeffrey, where these are the obvious choices; Jeffrey makes the boring exciting and the exciting into a modern day masterpiece.
I had wanted to meet Jeffrey Smart for some years, but as he has been living in Italy since 1965 I was not able to do so. In 2001 my girlfriend and I travelled to Europe, with the help of Margaret Olley, I sent a letter to Jeffrey and requested to meet for a photo shoot. Jeffrey kindly wrote back informing me that he was going to be away for an exhibition in London, but would be back home on certain dates. We planned the entire Italian portion of our trip around Jeffrey's availability. We eventually ended up in Florence, where I faxed Jeffrey requesting to meet him. I asked Jeffrey to fax me back if my arrival would not be convenient. The next day I had not received a reply from Jeffrey, so my girlfriend and I packed our gear and headed to Jeffrey’s home.
We caught a train from Florence to Arezzo which took approximately two hours, and then we jumped in a taxi. After a while, the driver asked us why we were going to Posticcia Nova for, as there was nothing there except for a few scattered houses and farms. “We’re going to an artist’s house.” I said. “Are you going to Jeffrey Smarts House?” asked the interested driver. “Yes” we told him. “Do you know Jeffrey?” “Oh yes” replied the driver. “He is very famous.” After about a 45 minute ride, we arrived at Jeffrey’s house. The gates were open and two peacocks were slowly gliding through the entrance; it was to say the least breathtaking.
As we were getting out of the taxi Jeffrey came out to the balcony. “How can I help you?” he asked, I told him who I was. “Oh dear didn’t you get the fax that I sent you early this morning?” “No” I embarrassedly replied. Jeffrey then informed us that he had guests over and we could not do the photo shoot that day. I explained to him that it was the last time that I could meet him at his house, as we were leaving the next day for another country. Luckily Jeffrey agreed to the shoot, told the taxi to wait and invited us into his beautiful house.
We did the photos and Jeffrey then invited both of us into a room where he played the piano. After an hour we left Jeffrey’s house and during a marathon day of travelling we made our way back to our hotel, where there on the bed was Jeffrey’s fax that he had sent earlier. I believe that everything happens for a reason, because if I had received his fax that morning I would not have gone to his house that day and experienced such a magical ride.

   Nora Heysen, Artist and Archibald Prize Winner

The first female to win the Archibald Prize in 1938.
The art world is predominately ruled by men; think of famous artists that you know of, how many of them are women? So for a young girl from Adelaide to be the first female to win the Archibald Prize was a massive achievement.
When I first met Nora Heysen it was a great thrill for me as I had heard that she was a recluse and had been very selective in her choice of photographers and interviewers over the years. However I was able to contact her and convince her to see me. After the photo shoot I packed up my gear whilst Nora walked back into her home. A few moments later I walked into her living room to find Nora sitting in a dim lit room holding a cigarette. The smoke from the cigarette was slowly gravitating towards a single light bulb. I felt like I was in a Katherine Hepburn movie. After a few moments of silence, I asked Nora what she wanted to be remembered for. Nora simply answered, ‘that I tried’. After a moment or two she looked at me and said, “I hope I gave you everything that you needed?” “Yes, you gave me more than I could ask for”. I replied. “I’m glad” she said. I thanked her for her time and left her to think about the day that she changed history. In doing so, she inspired not only female artists, but all artists in helping them to achieve their dreams.

Nora Heysen died in December 2003 aged 92.

   Don Bradman, World’s greatest batsman

In 1995 and 1996, I was fortunate enough to meet Sir Donald Bradman. On one occasion I arrived at his house in Adelaide, only to be told by a lady at the door, that prior to my arrival a group of school children were sitting on the front steps of his house; whilst Sir Donald helped them in answering questions about himself for their school project.

Another time, I was behind him in my car, we drove through a school where there was a group of school children practicing cricket in the nets. Bradman stopped his car and watched the children as they practiced. None of the school children were to know that Sir Donald Bradman was watching them play cricket.

Click here to read my full story on Sir Donald Bradman.

   Rod Taylor, Actor, The Birds, Time Machine

“I figure if men in the audience want to have a drink with you & the women want to sleep with you, then you’ve made it” Rod said in a 1967 interview. Rod Taylor did make it, he may not have lived in Australia for over 50 years, but he is and always will be, one of “Australia’s Legends.” Long before Russell Crowe or Nicole Kidman, there was Rod Taylor.

Rod Taylor has to be one of the most genuine people I have ever met. I originally met him at his home, in LA in 1999 when my girlfriend and I drove to his house in Beverley Hills and knocked on his door. We were told by the house keeper that no one by the name of Rod Taylor lived there. I knew that I had the correct address for Rod, so I went back the next day. Again I encountered the same problem. After the fourth day of going to his house Rod opened the front door and greeted me with a warm smile. Rod was extremely happy to meet us. He told us that when he heard our Australian accents, he felt very homesick. Not that Rod had lost his Aussie accent. He was, to my delight, still the same Rod Taylor that left Australia in the 50’s to become a Hollywood star. In 2003 I met up with Rod again when he was on holidays in Sydney. He was very generous with his time and told me some great stories about his amazing life. Rod was so kind that he even rang me whilst he was on holidays in northern NSW to give me an update of his travels. Rod has been extraordinarily supportive of my project and unlike many has been true to his word. Whenever he has had a chance to help me he has; forever praising my work. I can not thank him enough. He is truly a fantastic person.

   John Laws, Radio Presenter

I wrote a letter to John in 2001 and a few days later he had promptly invited me to his apartment in Woolloomooloo. After clearing 4 security check points, I was finally able to meet him. John was extremely kind and down to earth. I found him to be very inviting and helpful, allowing me plenty of time and even coming up with suggestions for the photo shoot.

At one stage, John went into his room and brought out an old radio player for the shoot, he was going through my photos when he asked “are you going to photograph RM Williams?” I hope so, I replied. “You have to, now he is a real Australian Legend." Ironically in 2002 when I did photograph RM he asked me “have you photographed John Laws?” Yes I happily replied. “Good, the Australian people love him”. And they do, it doesn’t matter who or what you do, we can always rely and relate in one way or another to John Laws.

   Rupert Murdoch, Media/Businessman

I had wanted to photograph Murdoch for sometime but had no idea of how to meet him. In 2002 I went down to the Rushcutters Bay Yacht Club, where the Sydney to Hobart race was leaving. Murdoch’s son Lachlan was racing that year and Rupert was there to wish his son good luck. After the good byes from father and son, I approached Rupert and told him I wanted to photograph him for a book about Australian Legends. “I’m not an Australian legend”, replied a surprised Murdoch. “I think you are and so do a lot of other people”. “OK then, what can I do for you?” asked Murdoch. “I would like to take some photos of you for the book”. “Take two” he replied, and he was not joking. I took two photos of Murdoch casually dressed, almost looking like a school boy and he was off. “Good Luck” he said and within seconds it was over. There’s no wasting time with Rupert Murdoch.

   Reg Grundy, Entrepreneur/Producer

In Monte Carlo in 2003 Reg Grundy was honoured with an award by Prince Albert. Prince Albert said “What he created is now attempting to be replicated by many companies around the world, it is only fitting that given the theme of our conference ‘Formats Forum’ we should honour the great contributions he made in this field of entertainment”. Reg Grundy has produced 120 game shows globally including dramas, movies and documentaries.

It took me a few years to meet and photograph Reg Grundy. I sent many letters, faxes and made numerous phone calls to R.G Capitol. Finally in 2004 I received a phone call from one of Reg’s very kind employees informing me that Reg was coming to Sydney and wanted to meet me. When I finally met Reg I asked him “why did you agree to meet me” Reg told me that he lived by this motto “if you throw enough punches you’ll finally hit”. Reg then told me that I was so persistent that he agreed to meet me. He told me that he found it amusing that people thought of him as a recluse, because it is simply not true. The truth is that Reg Grundy would rather be a successful businessman than a celebrity. Reg Grundy is truly a modest man.
When I think of Reg Grundy I have a smile on my face. The whole time I was with him (approx 2 hours), his wife Joy Chambers and assistant Grahame, we spent the whole time laughing and having fun. Reg is one of the most humble and kindest people that I have ever met. A bona fide pioneer, but most importantly a bona fide human being; I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. They say that good guys come last, well Reg Grundy must have not heard, for he won and throughout his life has remained an honest, gallant and decent person.

Click here to view the 80 Australian Legends page.