Born Sept 1946, to Major John Birt and Mrs Winifred Davies of Reading Berks, UK.
1948 Moved briefly to Calcutta, India, back to the UK 1949 and then to Australia in 1952.
Lived in Albury until 1961 where mother was involved with the local theatre and had two weekly radio programmes on 2AY. The major highlight of those years was being awarded “Best and Fairest” of the 8_ stone grade at the annual Rugby carnival.
Moved to Mornington and survived school to 5th Yr Leaving Certificate (Yr 11). Went on to work for a small advertising agency in Collins St. and played as a founder member of the Mornington Soccer club on weekends.

Attended RMIT First Year Advertising in the initial year of that diploma course. With pens, inks and a typewriter, designed, wrote and produced the first magazine/programme for the Brooklyn Speedway, from a small flat in South Yarra.
Did a modelling course at “that place in Collins Street” and some photographic and catwalk modelling including the opening of Chadstone (or the extension - approx 1966).

Worked for TAA (now part of Qantas), mailing services, printers and the government until 1966 and took off along the east coast spending some months as a labourer, roof painter, and more until returning to the Public Service (to make some money). Left the Education Dept at the end of 1967 and by February 1968 had reached Portiguese Timor and was on a cargo boat enroute to Singapore.
Several months later in London selling clothes in Carnaby Street and Wardour street (opposite the famous Marquee Club). Then worked as a computer operator on an English Electric KDP8, the size of a house, at the Bank of London and South America.
Returning to Melbourne via North Africa and Milan in 1969 with a new partner,

A member of the board of directors for a Mercedes commercial

after accidentally becoming a leather worker in Kabul, Afghanistan, became the founder and co-owner of “EARTH” Leather, in Glenferrie Road Hawthorn. Here the works of L Ron Hubbard were discovered and continued to play a major role in life and the lives of many friends.
A year later, after reviving the relationship, it was overland back to London where Earth2 was set up.
The Isle of Wight Festival saw Jimi’s last gig.

A few weeks later with the relationship listing badly - busted! And a week later on surfacing from the bleakness of HM Prison Brixton, into the crispness of a London Autumn the headlines read “Jimi Dead”!
1971 was not a good year and the affair finally failed with almost soap opera crescendo.
EARTH 3 Leatherworks was born in New York in 1972 in a barge moored near the Bayonne bridge which joins New Jersey to Staten Island and looks like a minature Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Spent 18 years as a “hippie” leatherworker from 1969 in the middle east and Melbourne, then London,
1972 in New York and California. Enjoyed a few weeks in San Francisco “accidentally” taking part in a Disney shoot in Sausalito, the hippie mecca of cool, just across the the Golden Gate bridge, and Los Angeles hanging out with film editors and crew between contracts, even spending time with a younger Harvey Keitel.

Spent Election night in Hollywood watching the rise of Nixon and the fall of McGovern.
Returning to Australia in December saw the news-stands announce “How Labour Won!”. An era was over. The baby boomers were standing up to be counted, those that could stand up anyway, and those not too stoned to count.
Back in Melbourne in 1973 Ayisha, daughter to Tracy and the first of four children, arrived.
EARTH FIVE eventually happened and became one of Australia’s best known leatherwork shops, often doing the hats, bullet belts, and assorted gear for movies and TV series’, as well as supplying retailers as far afield as Perth and Queenslands Far North Coast.

In 1980 Ayisha’s mother, Tracy, died.
In 1981 Meg and I were privileged to be married at the home of Kate Ceberano and in 1982 Meg gave birth to a son, Simeon, number two.
During the next 9 years Naomi and Natasha arrived.
1987 saw the passing of my father, the wonderful John Davies, Major, storyteller and gentleman.

A haggard seaman on Moby Dick

The novelty of leatherwork had worn off and the cloudiness of the 60’s and 70’s had finally evaporated into a clear day. It was back to publishing and advertising … and something else.
Art Director and Designer for the Australian Guitar Journal was a good start and the graphic design and publishing business was going well. The Australian Music Teacher magazine soon followed and life was pretty busy.

Ayisha had left school with her VCE and gone on to a Film and TV course. Simeon played football and Naomi was a dancer and as a ten year old had appeared with the Australian Ballet.
Meanwhile, somewhere the thespian lurked, and while watching “A Chorus Line” something inside clicked, albeit very quietly. What was it with the younger years around my parents, their talk of the theatre, their superb voices and mothers radio shows, the brief stint in modelling, occasionally making the props for movies and even wandering around Hollywood almost thirty years ago?
Naomi went for an audition one day and while waiting to pick her up the casting agent said, “Would you like to go onto our books?” and took a couple of photos.

That was July 1994 and in August there was the call to be in the Mercedes Benz TVC. With no agent to advise, a suit was bought in a hurry, the first suit for over thirty years. It felt really good.
Then there was the sleazy flamenco guitarist in the Video Retailers Association advert.

A singer friend said “get an agent, here’s the number!”
By Monday the potential agent had seen the VRA ad and loved it.
In November played the role of “Einstein” at the opening of the New Museum Complex.
Each week there are rehearsals for “Truth, Lies and Six Old Men”, a play by Jason Cavanagh, to open in Feb 2001.
And December 2000 was two weeks as the Santa Claus at Victoria Market! Learning to say “Merry Christmas” in Norwegian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Japanese, and an assortment of other languages was more than half the fun.
I haven’t given up my day job. (I’ve just forgotten what it is.)