Timelines And Faultlines - An Autobiography | Austin Macauley Publishers

John Hill's autobiography makes for riveting reading. Covering the first eighty years of his life he paints a vivid picture of the 'lost' 1930s, his childhood during the Second World War, then his family's migration to South Africa. His working life is a wonderful adventure story, beginning with working as a deckhand on a whaling factory ship in the Antarctic before starting his career as a geologist in the colonies of the British Empire and later in Russia, Australasia and South America. He tells of the fascinating places and people he has worked with, including life as an expatriate family, a Royal visit and a series of thrilling adventures and mishaps in unpredictable situations.The account of John's life is interwoven with world events, the effects of empire building and the wars and conflagrations that affected mankind throughout the twentieth century.

John Hill was born in England in 1932 as the world groaned under the Great Depression. He won a scholarship to Natal University, South Africa. Graduating as a geologist he witnessed "winds of change" in the Solomon Islands and Malaya.
Transferring to Australia in the early 1960s, he worked for several companies during the halcyon post WWII reconstruction decades.
In the early 1990s, he became involved in the Russian mining industry with Moscow State University as base. During this decade Russia was a fading democracy with a chaotic economy.
His interest in the advancement of youth showed in his association with the Scout movement, the Sail Training Association and the Flinders Fellowship.
In 2002, John commenced "non-retirement" on a cattle property.
Quoting F C Facey, "A fortunate life".