b. 24 December 1926, Paddington suburb, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, d. 17 August 1990. At the age of three the family relocated into the bush to Cooks Creek, where he grew up listening to the radio to break the monotony of the lonely area. He owned his first guitar at the age of 11 and, initially influenced by recordings he heard of Jimmie Rodgers, he was soon known around the area, especially at local dances, for his singing, yodelling and guitar playing. School held little attraction and he left home at 14, when he was offered a job cutting sleepers for the railroad....