The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins

With special guest:

• Peter FitzSimons
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

The title tells it all in the latest book by Peter FitzSimons whom we are excited to welcome back to Dads on the Air.

In The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins we hear about the life of a genuine Australian hero with so many adventures that a fraction of them would seem to fill the quota to qualify for that description. This man was decorated in World War 1 while not a combatant, described by another hero, Monash, as the bravest man he had ever had under his command, and yet few Australians had heard of him prior to the release of this book by our guest.

Any exploration of this anomaly could start with his name. Wilkins was known through most of his life as George but when he was prevailed upon to accept a knighthood he insisted on accepting the award as Sir Hubert, this being his middle name. The reason? The King’s name was George so this self-effacing man did not think it was appropriate to receive an award in the same name.

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Bad Boy Boogie

With special guest:

• Jeff Apter
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Bon Scott as his name might suggest was born in Scotland but after his parents signed up to be £10 Poms he arrived in Australia at the age of 6 to a new life. That short life was filled to the brim and Bon provided plenty of his own commentary on his wild adventures before and during his time with the world beating rock band AC/DC.

Our guest today is writer Jeff Apter the author of Bad Boy Boogie, a new book published by Allen & Unwin. Jeff is very familiar with the AC/DC story having previously written about other members of the band the Young brothers and original bass player Mark Evans. When we speak with Jeff again today we are able to go behind the scenes to find out how Bon fitted in so quickly and easily with the Young brothers in their closely guarded troupe. We find out more about the real Bon Scott, his wild side where a party could go on for days but also how many women who came into his orbit described his as a real gentleman.

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Men of Business Academy

With special guest:

• Marco Renai
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

What comes across very clearly when we speak with Marco Renai is that he is a ball of energy.

After Marco left school he had a path available to him in his family’s catering business. His first solo business venture was to set up a gym where members could improve their physical condition and wellness under Marco’s guidance. This was Marco’s first attempt at interacting with the community but alas Covid 19 struck. When the members stopped coming, the business folded.

This is where Marco’s strong family background and personal experience in the field of education shaped what happened next. While Marco had struggled with the discipline and uncompromising system of education he always had his loving and supportive family to fall back on. But when he was asked to volunteer some mentoring to local youth in the Gold Coast region of Queensland he realised that for many young men this safety net was not available. Sure enough, for many of the young men dropping out of the education system led on to big trouble with society and the law.

Having recognised the problem Marco set about doing something about it. Marco rounded up some 100 local businessmen for an Italian lunch and over a pasta or two came up with a plan to raise $1million to help these young men. Being a force of nature this daunting sum did not pose a problem.

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Convict-era Port Arthur

With special guest:

• David W Cameron
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Port Arthur is a beautiful setting for what our guest today describes as “misery of the deepest dye”.

In his book Convict-Era Port Arthur David Cameron takes us back to the days before it became a convict settlement, before its charms were viewed in a completely different light by the British newcomers.

Its advantages as a proposed convict settlement included that it was surrounded by wild impenetrable bush except for one narrow access route that was easily secured. The security at what became known as The Dog Line involved half-starved dogs that were waiting for any convicts trying to escape. You could not swim away from confinement but just in case food scraps were often scattered to keep the sharks interested.

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