I’m Jeff OHalloran and I was born and live in Perth, Western Australia. Perth is a great city in many respects due to its isolation from the rest of Australia and the world with its isolation providing one of its greatest setbacks. You form views and opinions of the world based on your circumstances, experiences and interactions and I was happy to leave Perth to gain such life experiences. I hope to draw on some of my experiences from my time in Perth for this blog but mostly from my travels in other parts of Australia and the world.

The completion of my apprenticeship in 1989 allowed me to leave Perth and work on numerous mining and construction sites throughout Western Australia fueling a nomadic lifestyle. 1997 saw the end of my full-time work in mining and construction to pursue my travelling ambitions. Returning to mining on a regular basis from 1998 until 2002 ensured I maintained financially secure whilst funding regular trips overseas.

Growing up in Perth generated a passion for watersports including scuba diving, sailing and kayaking. Combining diving with travel has allowed me to dive in the Asia/Pacific region as well as Europe and the middle east. Becoming a divemaster in 1999 whilst scuba diving in Turkey allowed me to work in diving before returning to Perth to become a dive instructor.

Many of my travels for diving have allowed me to see parts of Asia, the Pacific and Europe that I would normally have missed. Working as a dive guide in the early 2000s allowed me to travel through parts of Western Australia meeting many fine people and changing the course of my life. Previous work in the mining sector gave me great mobility in Western Australia with diving allowing further paid travels to many unique and untouched locations.

Finishing full-time employment as a dive instructor saw me return to engineering utilising the instructional and facilitation skills learnt as as dive instructor to become an engineering lecturer at a leading Western Australian college from 2006 onwards. One of the many benefits of an academic appointment ensures regular holidays and the ability to travel whilst remaining financially secure – the best of both worlds.

Heading back to study part time for an advanced diploma in management, a bachelor in training and development and a graduate diploma of organisational learning and capability development will provide the basis for the next phase of my learning in life.