George Bostock

I was born in Grafton in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. While I was still quite young, my family moved to Brisbane where I completed my primary education. I left school at the age of 13 and worked as a labourer, knocking about in both Brisbane and Sydney and getting into trouble. At the age of 20, I was told that I had two choices: join the army, or join my friends in prison. I chose the former, joining as an infantryman with the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) in 1961. I saw active service with the Fourth Battalion (4 RAR) in both Borneo and in South Vietnam. I had various postings after returning from Vietnam. In 1981, after 20 years service and having attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, I was discharged.

In 1992, I was awarded an Australia Council grant and thus my play ‘Seems Like Yesterday’ – which I originally wrote to record my experiences for my grand children – underwent significant development and was subsequently produced by Kooemba Jdarra. In 2003, I was awarded the Centenary Medal for my work in community with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans. In 2014 as part of the Sydney Festival, I was cast in the Queensland Theatre production of the play ‘Black Diggers’ directed by Wesley Enoch and performed at the Sydney Opera House.

So, I have served – in the armed forces, in art, and in life.