Joe Thompson was born in the small mining town of Minmi, north of Newcastle in 1889. This book follows his life there as a Pupil Teacher, to the Balmain area, where he played soccer for both Balmain and New South Wales, to a role as an instructor with the fledgling Royal Australian Navy. His marriage to Marjorie Roberts took them to Mudgee, where he continued teaching and began a family in 1921. Written by Joe’s eldest son, Geoffrey Thompson, now 97, we explore Australia between the wars, early motoring up and down New South Wales, and family holidays at Durras, till Joe’s sudden death in 1942.