Robert Wuchatsch is semi-retired and lives with his wife Gaye and her animals at Pirron Yallock in the Stony Rises, in south-west Victoria. When not labouring in the garden or paddocks, he sometimes works short-term contracts for his former long-time employer in Melbourne, the Australian Trade Commission, assessing Export Market Development Grant applications. His preference, however, is for research and writing.

Robert grew up at Westgarthtown, an old German settlement at Thomastown and Lalor in the City of Whittlesea, on Melbourne’s northern fringes. He lived there until 2006 and raised a family of four children. His research interests reflect his origins, his previous books being Westgarthtown: the German Settlement at Thomastown (1985); Historic Buildings of the Shire of Whittlesea (1985); Historic Views of the City of Whittlesea (1988); The Bloods: a History of the Lalor Football Club (1995); and From Hamburg to Hobsons Bay: German Emigration to Port Phillip (Australia Felix) 1848–51 (1999). He has also contributed to other publications, notably A German Church in the Garden of God: Melbourne’s Trinity Lutheran Church 1853–2003 (2004).

Robert’s interest in horseracing and breeding arose when his early newspaper research revealed the existence of several long-forgotten nineteenth century thoroughbred studs in the City of Whittlesea. Soon after, he discovered Dan O’Brien, who, like Robert himself a century later, also spent his early years there. Fascinated by Dan’s colourful life, Robert spent the next seven years tracing Dan’s movements around Australia and New Zealand.

Robert is a past president of the Whittlesea Historical Society, the Friends of Westgarthtown, the Wendish Heritage Society and Friends of Lutheran Archives Victoria. True to form, he is now researching a history of the Stony Rises Run and its old homestead, where he and Gaye live.