Welcome to Notes From Pig City. This is my online archive for as much of my journalism as I can keep up with. Published pieces will be reposted here as soon as they can be. I also write exclusively on my Patreon page; those pieces are not republished here.
I’m the author of two books: Pig City (2004), a book about Brisbane, and Something To Believe In (2019), a music memoir. I'm currently employed by AAP. I continue to freelance occasionally for other publications, mostly Guardian Australia, where it doesn't conflict with my full-time gig.
I have a wide variety of interests, and they’re reflected by the number of tabs in the main menu. You can click through those, or the archive list at the bottom to find what you might be interested in, whether you’re a casual visitor or looking for something specific.
If you want to get in touch send me a message here.
It was one of the first odd, angry shots fired in what we now know as the culture wars. On the morning of 14 February 1989, a plain-clothed officer from Queensland police’s licensing branch was sniffing around Rocking Horse Records in Brisbane. He asked the owner, Warwick Vere, if he had any rude records that might […]
The “wild Valentine’s Day” raid on Rocking Horse Read More »
A few years back, when Anthony Albanese first ascended to the nation’s top job, I was asked to write about what the occasional DJ’s taste in music might say about him. But now DJ Albo™ has nominated his top 10 Australian songs of all time, for Triple J’s upcoming Hottest 100 Australian Songs competition, I think
DJ Albo™’s reminiscence bump Read More »
If you’ve had the acute misfortune of following the North Melbourne football club for the past decade, then Saturday’s victory over Carlton was a long time coming. True, the Kangaroos have beaten Richmond and West Coast in the past month, but those are the only teams below them on the ladder. They were overdue a proper
Roos reverse-Bradbury over Blues Read More »
When I meet former Go-Between Robert Forster at a cafe in the centre of Brisbane for a walk around his home town, it’s no surprise to see a book on the table in front of him. It is The Café With No Name, by Austrian novelist Robert Seethaler – a gift for his wife, Karin
Robert Forster: What can ordinary be? Read More »
They don’t make footballers like Robert Walls any more. Walls, who died on Thursday at the age of 74, was just 16 years and 275 days old when he made his VFL playing debut for Carlton against Hawthorn in round two of the 1967 season. These days, players have to turn 18 in their draft year,
Robert Walls: 1950-2025 Read More »
Julian Kingma was afraid of dying. In this regard, perhaps the award-winning portrait photographer is not much different from the rest of us. But Kingma’s obsession with mortality had stalked him since childhood – and spilled over into adulthood. Sometimes, in his work, he would be sent out on end-of-life stories, documenting terminally ill people.
VAD: The Power of Choice Read More »