Raised in Kaitangata, schooled at South Otago High School, initially worked in the coal mine.

Became a fire fighter back in the day when the uniforms were button up Jacket & trousers, and in those days the hours were 24 on and 24 off. The wages were not great and everyone had secondary employment. In the day the fire station doors were manually operated.  When on duty he was badly burnt from a deep fryer.

In those days health and safety were somewhat lacking during training, how someone wasn't badly injured was more good luck than good management, which is slightly ironic as he was promoted to serious accident investigated for Otago and Southland, retiring in 2015.