Biography
Ken's early life

The years 1922  to 1945

The fascinating story of Ken really begins with one of his greatest earliest influences - his father Charlie - who was orphaned as a baby and brought from New Zealand to live at the famous Daly Waters Station in the Northern Territory.

As a toddler, Charlie became separated from his family, yet he remained safe and well in the care of a nomadic aboriginal tribe. He was discovered some years later in that tribe and taken back to Daly Waters. Charlie's remarkable childhood forms a fitting introduction to the story of Ken and his own extraordinary life.

Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers was born in Sydney on 14 July 1922 to Florence and Charles Dyers. Ken was the youngest in the family with a brother, Frank, and a sister, Eileen. Ken constantly acknowledged his father's influence on him. Charlie was a unique and genuine Northern Territory bushman, of great character and repute, influenced deeply by his initial upbringing with indigenous people.

Ken was always taught that before you have dealings with any living thing, you must find the spirit of that thing, be it animal, plant or human: This was your point of contact. The unique reality of the spiritual side of man was something he grew up with and maintained, exploring it in depth throughout his life. Coupled with this, was the understanding natural to all children; understanding of the human spirit, which is that child-like part of every person that represents a common denominator between us all.

Over and over again throughout his life as a communicator and lecturer, Ken would share these earliest realities which he continued to embrace. He kept in his heart, the Sunday School text he had learned as a young boy; 'God is Love'. As a child it gave him an understanding of 'God'. To Ken, God was love. The human viewpoint is the one that loves. An evolved spirit will naturally take care of its human. It was this constant reach into the nature of the spirit and the human, - and their relationship to the life of the body, the genetic and the mind - which personified Ken's life.

A child during the ravages of the 1932 Great Depression, Ken grew up with his father working hard to ensure his family survived but caring for others at the same time. Charlie would slaughter a sheep once a week, and distribute it amongst the street to share with other families. To survive, Ken learned, you take care of those around you and your survival potential increases. With initiative, hard work and caring for others, his family and neighbours withstood the hardships of the Depression.

Ken listened when one day his father said, "There can only be one master in this house, son". And so at just 14 years of age, Ken left home to become his own master. He often recounted the story of his first evening, after leaving the family home. With nowhere safe to sleep, Ken spent the night walking the streets of Sydney, looking into lighted shop windows.

The next day Ken went to an employment agency stating he would take any job, anywhere. He was promptly put in charge of cleaning pots at Loreto Ladies College in Normanhurst. His living quarters were modest - a hut out the back with a dirt floor and a hessian mattress - and here, Ken began his 'adult' life. Ken talked of the great friendship he formed with an old retired nun at the college. They both used to go hunting possums in the roof of the college, then bag them. However, the other nuns finally deemed this improper and it was stopped.

In the years to follow, Ken called on those awarenesses his father had encouraged, of the spirit and human. He survived and grew and flourished as he came to terms with the reality of the inhumanity of man to man. Those principles served him well; his anecdotes of this time always contained strong human qualities so necessary for survival. Ken then worked in many fields, including as an overseer, supervising much older men who were steaming the soil in a tomato growing venture. He also worked as a butcher.

From a very early age, Ken's father, a bare-knuckle fighter, had taught him to box. In fact his father had arranged for the famous boxer Ern McQuillan to train Ken, paying McQuillan extra to ensure he didn't put Ken into professional boxing. Although Ken sparred and trained with many professionals of the period, he only ever fought as an amateur. He had 48 bouts and won 46 of them. Ken was also an avid participant in YMCA activities. He played in their basketball teams and did gymnastics along with many other sports. Every young photo of Ken shows him surrounded by people as he lived a full social life.

Then came the Second World War, and the beginning of a whole new set of challenges.