Ted Skuse

Ted was born in Gisborne, New Zealand and studied law in Wellington and Christchurch. In 1970 Travelling to Australia in the exciting days of the mining boom, he appeared in Courts in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, working in remote communities such as Halls Creek, Kununurra, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. After narrowly surviving Cyclone Tracey, which brought his new house down Ted was blown down to Alice Springs where the practice of law put him in the sights of a deranged gunman in a near fatal case of mistaken identity. Ted was conducting a case inside the Supreme Court when he was shot through the chest by an unchallenged assailant. Undeterred, Ted continued legal practice in Central Australia for twelve more years, meeting many outback characters and collecting many amazing stories. His love of the striking landscape is clear in his vivid description of the bush. In 1987 he resettled at Mudgeeraba near Brisbane ,where he continues to practice law .He has served on the Board of the Law Society.He teaches scripture at 2 local schools. He has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. In 2011 he was honoured by the State of Kentucky U.S.A.when he was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel.