My first degree was in biological sciences from the University of Queensland and for two years I worked as a marine biologist in Papua New Guinea. I then moved to Hong Kong where I taught high school maths and science. After travelling widely in East and Southeast Asia, I worked in Laos for the US Agency for International Development as an agricultural extension officer. In Laos I began reporting for United Press International. As a staff correspondent for UPI, I covered the Second Indochina War for three years, the first in Laos and the second two (1965 and 1966) in Vietnam. For the next five years I alternated between assignments for UPI (in France, Afghanistan and Bangladesh), freelancing and travelling. After returning to Australia, I pursued my joint interests in the philosophy of history and Asian civilisations at the University of Queensland, where I eventually wrote my doctorate on "Evolutionary Theory of History". After a career at UQ during which I published several books, I retired as Professor Emeritus and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.