Tony Park

Tony Park (born 1964) is an Australian author of thriller and non-fiction books. Park has worked as a newspaper reporter, public relations consultant, freelance writer, and as a government press secretary, in addition to writing numerous novels and non-fiction books. He also served in the Australian Army Reserve for 34 years, including a 6-month tour in Afghanistan in 2002 as a public affairs officer.

Life and career Park was born in 1964 in Taupō, New Zealand, he moved to Sydney, Australia in South Western Sydney. Park attended Campbelltown Public School and Campbelltown East Public School. Park also attended St Gregory's College, Campbelltown, and was awarded dux in 1981. Park also did a journalism cadetship at The Glebe and Western Weekly newspaper in Glebe from 1984 to 1987. He worked as a journalist at the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader in 1987–88. He worked as a press secretary for NSW Premier Nick Greiner from 1988 to 1991. He worked as press secretary for the NSW Minister for Justice and Police from 1991 to 1993. Park also worked as a journalist for the Bucks Herald and Bucks Advertiser newspapers in Buckinghamshire, UK, from 1993 to 1994. Park was a PR consultant for International Public Relations, Crows Nest, Sydney, from 1994 to 1996.

Park quit his job in 1996 and gave up his career as a journalist to follow his dream of being a full-time writer. His first novel, set in the outback during WWII, failed to get published. Had a second attempt at writing a novel while travelling in Africa in 1998, and this one was accepted by Pan Macmillan Australia, and published in 2004 as Far Horizon. He and his wife spend half of every year living in a private nature reserve near the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Park is an avid supporter of several charities concerned with wildlife and people in Africa, he is a patron of Painted Dog Conservation Inc., a charity that is dedicated to protecting the painted dog in Africa.

1982–1984 served as a rifleman, Sydney University Regiment, Royal Australian Infantry

1984–1996 – served as an Air Dispatcher and Air Dispatch Crew Commander corporal with 177 Air Dispatch Squadron, Royal Australian Corps of Transport

1996 – 2016 – served as a captain in the Australian Army Public Relations Service, including brief deployments to Papua New Guinea and Easter Timor. In 2002 served as the Public Affairs Officer for the Australian Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan from July–December 2002.

Novels Tony Park is the author of 19 novels set in Africa and six non fiction biographies. Park combines his background as a major in the Australia Army Reserve and his love of Africa to write his novels. Park also wrote the foreword to ‘Hold My Hand’, a biography of Gordon Davis, by David Hilton- Barber.