As the header on this website once said, I live in Sydney and do “media stuff”. And right now I run an Internet and IT business called Prussia.Net. But I’m planning to do more media work again — stay tuned for details.
But there’s much more…
Originally I’m from South Australia. I was born in Gawler, just north of Adelaide, but spent the first decade of my life on a dairy farm about 60km south of Adelaide at Mount Compass — a town whose only claims to fame are that it holds a cow race every year and that it’s half way to places you might want to visit if everywhere else was closed.
I was educated at Prince Alfred College, not because we could afford such an elite school but because I won a scholarship. The experience sharply focussed my understanding of hypocrisy and the arbitrary nature of power and status.
I studied Computing Science at the University of Adelaide, and got straight distinctions in those subjects — someone even said I topped the course, but there’s no official confirmation. I would have rounded off a BA in Computing Science with a second major in Linguistics except that the course was killed in a budget cut before I could complete it. So I left without a degree. It doesn’t seem to have made much difference to my life.
After a couple of years working in the public service, I ended up becoming a broadcaster, first with community broadcaster Radio 5UV (now called Radio Adelaide) at the University of Adelaide, and then with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Most of it was as a producer of daily talk radio with what’s now called ABC Local Radio, though for one year I also presented a somewhat popular dance music program on Triple J called “Club Escape” which went to air only in Adelaide.
I left the ABC when it became apparent that “progress” there meant doing the same kind of work at different hours of the day or moving into middle-level management. Stuff that.
Instead, with a partner we started a weekly dance music magazine called The Core, which soon built a cult following and destroyed our relationship. But we successfully published it every week for two years before the toxic interpersonal atmosphere brought that to an end.
I was station manager at community broadcaster Three D Radio for a year, and did some other bits and pieces before moving to Sydney in 1995 when I was headhunted for the dot.com madness. The company I worked for spent a lot of money with very little result before it imploded. I learnt a lot, built some great friendships, and reinforced my sharply focussed understanding of hypocrisy and the arbitrary nature of power and status.
I’ve been doing freelance things ever since, mostly with the IT and Internet business which evolved into Prussia.Net, but also some corporate media work for little family businesses like Telstra and IBM. I’ll post more about all that in due course.
And apart from that listing of what we could laughingly call a “career path”, I’ve had a personal life.
It was on a Wednesday, if I recall correctly.
OK, I’m a workaholic. But when I’m not working I share my home in Enmore in the inner west of Sydney with a most wonderful man who takes excellent photographs and two annoying but oh-so-cute cats. I read when I can find the time — mostly magazines, non-fiction books and cyberpunk novels — and dabble in photography.
I love good food and wine, to the detriment of my waistline, but hopefully a couple sessions at the gym each week will help.
And I guess the rest will emerge as this blog unfolds…
Oh yes, I only have one name — a given name “Stilgherrian” with no surname. Yes, there’s a story there, but I’ll tell that another time. It’s not all that interesting.
What have I left out? Please add it in the Comments!
[Comments on this page are now closed. However you can add comments to the current version of About Stilgherrian. Main photo: ©2007 Roger Bishop.]
hey Stil,
Just found your site through your article on Crikey. I doubt you’ll recall me but I remember you from various meetings around Adelaide — whether collecting free party tix prizes from The Core office on Frome, or just chatting with you at Mars Bar a few times. Glad to hear all’s well on domestic and professional fronts, and I do like the blog.
Best regards
Marc
Ah Marc, thanks for the comment. I know several Marcs with a “c”, but the back of my brain is saying “slight of build and a #2 crop”? No? If we had conversations at Adelaide’s Mars Bar there’s probably a reason for any memory loss… 😉
Ber, I can’t find your email address…
Fiona’s just visited me – http://zhasper.com/zhasper/harry_potter_done#comment-695
The nasty lady attacked my masculinity! It’s very upsetting. I’m going to go have a cry now 🙁
@zhasper: The email address is at the bottom of the secondary column of every “index” page. And it’s stil@stilgherrian.com.
Hah! I didn’t bother looking on that – who ever puts contact details on the front page?
Stilgherrian puts contact details on the front page.
Hey Stil, long time not type. or see or chat for that matter. I have nothing of substance to add, only that I was here. Much in the way Kilroy might have been in a time before I was born – had your site existed then.
Cheers,
Andrew :o)
Ah! Stilgherrian, the man whose PO Box address I know for entirely improbable reasons. We still have ridiculous numbers of mutual friends, even outside the little Society for the Culturally Autistic that I notice you not mentioning in your blurb. I followed a link here from Crispin “Crunch” Harris’s new blog, which I’m hosting. Hope you’re not still getting my mail!
– Bat
Oh Bat – of course he is still getting your mail.
Or at least reading it :-), I make sure he gets a copy of all your mail, and that of all other ‘persons of interest’.
C
@Eric TF Bat: I didn’t mention the SCA here because it seems so long ago — I haven’t done anything significant for more than a decade, though I do understand that I’m an important mythical figure.
It’s a pleasure to share postbox numbers with you — though you’ll be pleased to know I’ve seen nothing for you for ages.
@Crispin: I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. [starts shredder]
I think I know the Wednesday in question.
Greetings Stil
(if I may be so familar).
Like the cut of your jib sir, you are feeding me.
Cheers
CST
P.S. I also find having my contact details on the footer of my home page, most effective for stopping people from contacting me. (Except for wannabe emigrants from Old Blighty waking me up at 3.30am on a Tuesday morning …)
@Cassie ST: Thanks, and welcome. I’ll have a poke around your parts of teh intertubes once I get a chance later this week. It’s going to be a busy one!
Teh interweb is a strange thing. Found this via a trackback from Possum Pollytics. We should reconnect and go out for dinner some time.
Zebee
@Zebee: Yes, dinner sounds good. I shall email.
Stil, you write as you sound, or you sound as you write. Every paragraph has the voice of radio. If you know what I mean. . .