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African & Distinguished
I was born in Newcastle in South Africa. When I was three, we moved to Namibia, though it was called South West Africa at the time. My father was a teacher. He taught in a school for black children and became the principal. Apartheid was still practised back then, so I had to attend a boarding school for whites, which was 180 km from home. I won a lot of debate competitions when I was young, and when I visited a career testing centre, they suggested a career in law. My father died while I was in Year 10, so my mother moved to Bloemfontein. There were no universities in Namibia, so in 1978, I went to The University of the Orange Free State in South Africa, which is now called The University of The Free State. I got a BProf, LLB, and Masters. In 1986, I became a Senior Lecturer at The University of The Orange Free State in Bloemfontein. Then I got a scholarship for my LLD research in 1988. I spent the year researching company law at The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London while my wife worked. I was exposed to company law as practised in South Africa, The UK, New Zealand and Australia, so I could comfortably work in any of the four places. I was also an Alexander von Humboldt Scholar. I’ve spent a total of two years doing research on corporate law in Germany. When I completed my LLD in 1991, I became a full Professor at the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg. In 1997, the Vice Chancellor sent me to Deakin University in Australia to explore the possibilities of distance learning. The Head of the Law School there was Philip Clarke, and we got along really well, so when a staff member – Julie Cassidy - went on Outside Study Programme or OST for six months, Philip invited me to come over as a visiting professor and teach her subjects. After that, he offered me a permanent position, but I wasn’t ready yet. I went back home for two months, then I decided to take up the offer. It was an embarrassing phone call for me to make, but he accepted, and we migrated to Australia in January 1999. I started out as an Associate Professor at Deakin, which was lower than my position in South Africa. But within a year, Philip Clarke was promoted to the Dean of Law, leaving his position as Head of Law open. I applied and regained my full Professor status in the process. I held the position for three years, but I didn’t enjoy the administrative work, so I stepped down and focussed more on teaching and research, which is what I really enjoy.
14 AFRIQAN TIMES MAGAZINE | JULY 2011