Ted Egan has lived most of his life in the Northern Territory, and presently lives in Alice Springs - if he's still around as he was born in 1932 and is getting on in years. As he writes on his website www.tedegan.com.au:
"Gooday! May I introduce myself. I am Ted Egan, an old bushy who lives in Alice Springs in the Centre of Australia. Since I left my Melbourne birthplace at age 16, I have been fascinated by Australian history, its unique people and the Australian way of life, in this, perhaps the most multi-cultural nation on Earth. For the last 40 years I have been writing and recording songs, filming and writing about the Australian people who to me represent the real ethos of this country. I have just completed my 30th album of songs. I am "the presenter" of 13 x 1 hour documentary films titled This Land Australia, and I have written ten books. That represents a classy way to make a living. Fancy getting paid for it!"
I first heard of Ted Egan when I worked alongside his brother, a retired policeman, doing forensic auditing in the Fraud Investigation Unit of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission in Canberra. The internet was still in its early stages and DVDs were yet to come on the market, and so were Ted Egan's thirteen-part series of documentaries under the title "This Land Australia", some of which are now on YouTube.
I've got them all, including the above "Islands of The Torres Strait", which I play again and again whenever I feel a little "homesick" for the Torres Strait where, almost fifty years ago, I lived on Thursday Island, one of the most exciting places I've ever been to, and where I worked in one of the least challenging jobs I've ever worked in. All good memories!
