"Shirl" was born in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern.

He was a qualified carpenter, an avid surfer and a really good singer, as lead singer of the legendary 70's band, Skyhooks. His nickname "Shirley" was given to him by his surfer friends because of his long, sunbleached and very curly hair, referring to Shirley Temple.

He joined Skyhooks in 1974, replacing Steve Hill as lead singer. In September of that year, the iconic "Living In The 70's" album was released, with the vast majority of the tracks banned from radio airplay because of their suggestive lyrics. As is usually the case, the ban led to increase album sales and the 'Hooks were on their way.

Shirl released a couple of mildly successful solo efforts, including Tracks of My Tears and Every Little Bit Hurts.

He left the Skyhooks in 1978 and then worked as a radio and television presenter, and became known to a new generation as host of children's television series Shirl's Neighbourhood in the early 1980s.

In the 1990s he was a regular presenter on home makeover program, Our House where he resurrected skills from his carpentry days. He was also a breakfast DJ with Triple M during the 1990's.

Tragically, on 29 August 2001, Shirl was killed in a helicopter crash near the Queensland town of Kilcoy. He was 49 years old.