The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins

With special guest:

• Peter FitzSimons
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

The title tells it all in the latest book by Peter FitzSimons whom we are excited to welcome back to Dads on the Air.

In The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins we hear about the life of a genuine Australian hero with so many adventures that a fraction of them would seem to fill the quota to qualify for that description. This man was decorated in World War 1 while not a combatant, described by another hero, Monash, as the bravest man he had ever had under his command, and yet few Australians had heard of him prior to the release of this book by our guest.

Any exploration of this anomaly could start with his name. Wilkins was known through most of his life as George but when he was prevailed upon to accept a knighthood he insisted on accepting the award as Sir Hubert, this being his middle name. The reason? The King’s name was George so this self-effacing man did not think it was appropriate to receive an award in the same name.

Reading the book reveals that apart from his modesty and desire to avoid the spotlight there was also the problem of being a prophet in your own land. Sir Hubert was outspoken on issues that we still struggle with today, namely relations with our First Nations peoples and the risk of harm to the environment by our actions.

But what a story to tell. Peter tells us about George’s general competence from an early age as he outgrew the family farm in South Australia. To add to this native ability George had a thirst to learn from others. We hear how by chance he survives a firing squad in one of his early adventures and then he bobs up on the battlefields of Western France. George was on the wharf as Titanic sailed away into history, he had an aeroplane to sell when Kingsford Smith was looking for a way to fly across the Pacific Ocean for the first time and on it goes. No wonder he is sometimes compared with the fictional character Forrest Gump.

This is an extraordinary story told by a master story teller who needs all of that ability to squeeze the stories into a fascinating book. Sir Hubert was described quite accurately as the luckiest, bravest and most extraordinarily active man in history. And yet there is a surprise ending to his story that we get to hear about.

It is always a treat to get to speak with Peter FitzSimons and the story of Sir Hubert Wilkins is tailor made for all of us passionate Australians who like a bit of adventure in our lives.

Peter FitzSimons

Peter FitzSimons is Australia’s bestselling non-fiction writer, and for the past 35 years has also been a journalist and columnist with the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD and the SUN-HERALD.

He is the author of a number of highly successful books, including BREAKER MORANT and biographies of such notable Australians as Sir Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake and Nick Farr-Jones. His passion is to tell Australian stories, our own stories: of great men and women, of stirring events in our history.

Song selection by our guest Not Dark Yet by Bob Dylan

Note: This program is an encore presentation of the one aired on 13 January 2022.

Podcast (mp3)