Stu was born in Western Australia and grew up on a farm southeast of Perth (WA) and after schooling at Albany High, returned to the farm. Later, he worked for an engineering firm and as a projectionist, at the Narrogin Drive-In, before enlisting in the RAAF, as an Armament Fitter. His service days saw him living in each state and including Malaya, finally migrating to Tasmania from Victoria in 1989. He acquired an amateur radio licence in 1980 and became involved in the technical side of Tasmar Radio in 1996.
In 1998 Stu was nominated for a Pride of Australia Medal for his services to Maritime Radio Services. He joined the team at TMR at the end of 1996 and started operating in January 1997. Since then has devoted an enormous amount time and effort to operating, engineering and administrative duties. As a Home Base Operator, Stu has been on call virtually 24 hours a day in case of emergency situations or if another operator is unable to report for duty. A radio man from way back, Stu is active in Amateur Radio circles as well, being involved in the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network (WICEN).