A descendent of eleven convicts from the first three fleets, Laurie was born in the small country town of Barellan in the Riverina. Following schooling at Yanco Agricultural High School and training at Armidale Teachers College he taught at Richmond, Cowra and Queanbeyan high schools and at Dunedin in New Zealand.His later work as an Inspector of Schools and Regional Director was broadened by his studies overseas with a Teaching Service Scholarship.Following his service with education and post-graduate studies, he established his own management consultancy, specialising in organisational development, industrial relations, crisis and change management and mediation. Most of that work was with the Police Service, Crime Commission, Corrective Services and Juvenile Justice.His first published ventures were workbooks for secondary students. This was followed by three guide books for managers and supervisors for dealing with conflict, negotiations and employee relations.His first fiction book was a collection of bush yarns from the outback titled: Dust, Dags, Drongos and Flies. This was followed by a series of crime fiction novels based on the exploits of Detective Harry Taylor, a former Z-Force commando from World War II. They are titled: HARRY, The Ants Nest, HARRY, The Target and HARRY, Amazing Grace. These books are set in the post war period of 1947 and 48. He is the process of writing the fourth in the series. It will be titled HARRY: Mark of the Red Raddle. It will be on the market in 2023.Laurie lives on the Sunshine Coast where he enjoys writing, painting, travel, good food, company and wine. He is an active member of Buderim Craft Cottage.Laurie is a member of the Australian Society of Authors and the Australian Crime Writers Association.
