My father gets a faraway look in his eye that’s unmistakeable.  As his craggy face turns towards the horizon and his eyes seek out the glint of snow-capped peaks, we all know what he is thinking.  Mountaintops have always had that magnetic effect on him. The feature story in a Reader’s Digest began with the above quote.  It was a most interesting article about Edmund Hillary written by his son Peter ...

The Dad Dilemma is the title of an article in The Age about the challenges of child birth. Thea O’Connor, the writer, says, “Most Australian men are present and active at the birth of their children. But not everyone believes this is a good thing.” Having been present for the births of my five children, I quickly asked my wife for her opinion. She matter-of-factly stated, “You helped make the baby, ...

It is so hard to explain fatherhood and the many emotions it entails, but Andrew Lansdown, from Perth, has done a cracking job. His new book of poems called ‘Gestures of Love – the Fatherhood Poems’ is full of moments and emotions experienced by fathers the world over. Les Murray, arguably Australia’s greatest living poet, writes: “Many of Andrew Lansdown’s poems have to power to bless, to unsettle now with mysterious ...

On Australia’s federal election night (7 September 2013), I received an excited phone call from James Adams, one of the fathers behind Fathers4Equality. As I missed his call, he later expressed his thoughts in text: “Did you hear Abbott’s acceptance speech?  Of three aims he promised to support ‘our forgotten families’. F***king really great news! We have worked long and hard to protect children and return honesty and balance between the ...

I can remember getting off the boat at Circular Quay, Sydney. I was 8 years old and my brother was 6 years old. My mother had ‘taken’ us away to Scotland because of marital disharmony, and we had lived with our grandmother for two years in Edinburgh. This was the second time. When I was young I thought all children lived with their grandmother and apart from their father. Normality is ...

Father’s Day really is one of the great days of the year, along with Mother’s Day. Dads should not be afraid to enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame. Whatever you do this Father’s Day, make sure you appreciate your children. They should be the major benefactors of your Dadness, and I don’t mean just the Dad-jokes. If you would like to help out with our Box of Kisses Father’s Day Appeal ...

I know many men who feel uncomfortable with the attention that they get on Father’s Day. I guess for many years as a father, I was one of those. I was very hesitant to celebrate Father’s Day. Many years ago I had the same negative attitude to Christmas Day, because of all the crass commercialism. I changed, you can too. As a man once said, “When you eat the chicken, make ...

Men are leaders. They will either lead goodly or badly. For almost 40 years men have been demonised by radical feminists and a compliant media because the radical feminists have rightly observed that almost all of the world’s problems have come from inerrant men. Look at the long list of dictators responsible for the deaths of 153 million people in the 20th Century. All of them (top 36) are men. Mao ...

I had a call this week from a female Sunday Telegraph reporter, doing a story on Father’s Day, which is celebrated in Australia on 1st September 2013.  The Sunday Telegraph is Australia’s biggest selling newspaper. She asked me two questions. The first was: What is the state of fatherhood in Australia? My answer to this sort of topic always finds me quoting the Charles Dicken’s novel, “It is the best of ...

We recently moved house. The house we had been renting for 13 years was sold, and there was no other option. According to the USA Employee Relations Council, moving house is the third most stressful event in life, following death and divorce. Other lists put it lower, but whatever the case, it usually makes the top ten of life’s worst events. Moving house is stressful because you have to make decisions ...

We recently moved house. The house we had been renting for 13 years was sold and there was no other option. According to the USA Employee Relations Council, moving house is the third most stressful event in life, following death and divorce. Other lists put it lower, but whatever the case, it usually makes the top ten of life’s worst events. Moving house is stressful because you have to make decisions ...

It has been a big week for royal babies. On Monday 22 July 2013, at 4.24pm Prince William and Princess Kate had a son, George Alexander Louis, whose destiny may well be the future King of England. On Sunday 21 July 2013, at 7.08pm my son and daughter-in-law had a baby girl, Annabelle Daisy Marsh, a true princess in every sense of the word. As Paul Harvey said, “Fathers are what ...

I knew I had struck gold when I saw the subject line in my Inbox: Finally-The App All Women Have Been Waiting For..LEGEND HUSBAND! The media release said it all: The brainchild of Sydney Pastor Mark Reilly, the new Legend Husband app gives men an idea of what their wives really need.Mark is the Pastor at the Camden Baptist Church and has spent many years working with couples in pre-marriage and ...

You may wonder why I am so committed to encouraging you to be the best father you can be for your children.  I could say that it’s the mountains of sociological studies that show a direct link between fatherlessness and dozens of social problems.  Sociologists from all over the globe, through empirical studies, link increased rates of crime, health problems, suicide, child abuse, sexual violence, drug abuse, mental health and lower ...

Here I am again and I’m singing Willie Nelson’s song, ‘On the road again, like a band of gypsies travelling down the highway’. I’m writing this from Hobart, Tasmania where we are showing the film Absent to over 250 enthusiastic Tasmanian viewers.  Next stop on the road is Adelaide and then Perth. The responses to the film and the questions on fatherhood and the importance of fathers have been fantastic. Earlier ...

I am writing this on a flight between Townsville and Cairns, North Queensland, Australia. I am currently on tour with the ‘Absent’ movie and its director Justin Hunt. I say movie because the film is one hour and 29 minutes long and is a brilliant and well crafted expose on the importance of fathers and the effects of fatherlessness. Justin Hunt is a young 36 year old filmmaker who is a ...

Can I share a secret with you? Only on the condition that you promise not to tell anyone else? The secret is: “My wife makes me look good”. Now that it’s out, it’s all too late.  I can’t take it back.  That’s why it is so important for you to keep this information to yourself.  You see, I always like to take the credit for everything myself.  You know that song, “Lord ...

This is an exciting time in the restoration of fatherhood in Australia. To quote Bill Biddle, manager of film distribution for Koorong: “Interest in Absent is exploding across Australia”. Many venues booked are preparing for overflow areas with extra screens as interest gets stronger. The Facebook page is up to 461 likes and Koorong, the national distributor of the Absent movie, received over 900 click-throughs on the Absent logo of one ...

Absent, a powerful and moving film about the impact of fathers on children and society, will screen in Australian cities as part of a National Premiere Film Tour 13-29 June 2013, accompanied by the film’s award-winning director Justin Hunt. I am very excited that I will be accompanying Justin Hunt on the tour and hopefully  will catch up with you along the way. The documentary is an emotional journey that reveals ...