John grew up on a cattle station in Central Queensland. He became acquainted with the Cook story as a boy during Christmas holidays when the family visited the coast. There he spent magic days exploring and fishing the rich waters of Keppel Bay with his father and uncle in their vessel the Flying Cloud. Cook's presence was everywhere in the Bay. He gave the bay its name, and named Keppel Isles and several other features in the area. In those early days of the late 50's much of the area was empty of civilization. It was just as Cook saw it. When John read Cook's journal, and Banks', he was hooked for life.

John travelled to England, trained as an actor and worked in the theatre where he met Clare.Clare was born with the explorer's gene. Leaving her home in England she set off alone into the unknown on a romantic journey to Australia. A match was born. The Cook story took John and Clare to Cooktown in far North Queensland, where Clare worked as a Dietitian looking after the health of the indigenous Guugu Yimithirr people, and John joined the Cooktown Re-enactment Association, helping to research Cook's seven week stay there in 1770, and writing and producing the town's annual re-enactment.Together they found themselves always returning to the Cook story, which over the years grew several limbs - a self-guided tour of Cooktown's historical sites followed, then a website describing Cook's east coast journey, and now this book.With it they hope to set the record straight, by letting Cook and his companions speak for themselves, saying what they saw and did, without the outside interference of any commentators.John is a volunteer guide at the Australian National Maritime Museum guiding visitors wishing to explore the replica ship Endeavour which is sometimes moored at the museum.