Richard Fidler
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Appearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
The crew of the Blythe Star witnessed terrifying scenes as they banded together as best they could to survive this extraordinary ordeal.
The story is told in a new book put together by Mick and journalist Pia Wersu based on the ABC podcast series.
The book is called Back From The Dead.
Hello and welcome, Mick.
Hello.
You grew up in Doveton in outer Melbourne near Dandenong in a housing commission house in the 1960s.
Your dad was a seafaring man before you.
What kind of values did your dad instill in you as a young fella?
You say you were drawn to the sea...
at a young age, what was the appeal of that for you?
So at 16, you got trained at the Maritime Industry Deckboy School in Newcastle.
It's amazing to think there was such an institution, the Maritime Industry Deckboy School.
Yeah.
And you got a slot on a tanker.
This is your first ship that you got on.
What was it like for you to be shown to your birth on this ship?
Bloody luxury, was it?
Life's just getting better and better, isn't it?
At the same time, you had your eye on the local girl named Joni.