My name is John Dickson and my wife and I live in Perth the capital city of Western Australia.  I was born in Kalgoorlie, the site of the famous "Golden Mile".

My father was involved in the mining industry and as such most of my early memories relate to the times that I spent in various small remote mining towns that are no longer on the map.   No luxuries such as electricity and running water , only lots of heat, snakes, spiders, scorpions and bush fires... but still wonderful places to spend a childhood.  It was during this period that I started to develop a fascination for accordions.  Every so often a "bush band” would come to town to run a dance and there was always one or two accordions in the group.  In hindsight they were probably pretty average players but they certainly impressed me. All the kids would sit at the side of the old bush hall and listen to music while the adults danced. 

Around about 1950 my father left the industry and we relocated to Perth which presented better opportunities.  Having arrived at the "Big Smoke" I asked my parents if they would buy me an accordion. They bought me a small 48 bass "Stradalla" brand accordion.  I remember it was blue....and I commenced lessons which I kept up for over 5 years.  

My accordion was upgraded several times during the period and on my 16th birthday Mum and Dad presented me with a brand spanking new Scandalli Super Six.  I still have and play the same accordion and count it amongst my most valued possessions.  

In my late teens I achieved a pretty reasonable level of playing and had my own regular 15 minute radio program on which I played 4 accordion solos each week.  My working life was spent in the Finance Industry but I maintained my involvement in music along the way.  

I retired from "The Rat Race" about 10 years ago after our two children had completed their university degrees. These days I divide my time between the Perth Accordion Club, which I co-founded about 5 years ago, my rather large garden of vegetables and fruit trees, watching my investments diminish on the stock market and the occasional solo gig. I have also collected about a dozen accordions, most of which are of pretty good quality.