I am now retired living in the bush about 25 km west of Cooktown, Australia on Cape York Peninsula, more than 300 km from the nearest traffic lights. I was born in Montréal, Canada in 1943 and raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad. I am of English and French background with a dash of Beothuk, the natives of Newfoundland, who were hounded to extinction in the 1820s and 1830s.

"Remember the Beothuk!".

I first arrived Australia in January 1964, and am now a citizen. Besides travelling widely, I trained as a young man as a Field Assistant and Laboratory Technician in virology in Trinidad. I have worked in fisheries research in Alaska both at sea (for a full year) and ashore in Sandpoint, Alaska, in 1962-63. I graduated as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in Sydney, Australia in 1967. I lived for more than three years in India doing research on Indian and Tibetan history and have travelled extensively in Asia. I have worked for many years in remote Aboriginal communities in Australia in a very wide variety of positions.

I have been editing on the Wikipedia since 30th January 2005. I have created a number of articles on the Wikipedia (see below) and significantly contributed to many more. I have uploaded more than 200 images to the Wikipedia and WikiCommons (mostly my own photos), and have made almost 12 thousand edits.

I love the basic concept of the Wikipedia and constantly encourage others to contribute.

I am particularly concerned with ensuring the Wikipedia is not taken over by fanatics or used to promote fringe theories. I also make a point of adding or updating references, external links and items in "Further reading" sections, whenever possible. I seem to spend an ever-increasing amount of time trying to reverse the constant barrage of vandalism on the Wikipedia.

Aside from the articles I have created for the Wikipedia, I have added to and edited thousands of others, uploaded hundreds of images, including many of my own photos, and I monitor and keep a close eye on edits to scores of articles of particular interest to myself.

Click here to see my edit counts

• Asian history; particularly Chinese, Tibetan, Central Asian and Indian history and the development of trade routes both overland and maritime between East and West, and pre-historic contacts between Australia and other countries.

• I have two heavily annotated draft translations of Chinese books on the Silk Routes from the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, which are freely available on the Silk Road Seattle website hosted by the University of Washington. To have a look - click on http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html and/or http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html.

• My first book has now been published as: Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. (2009). John E. Hill. (2009). BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1. It is available from several sources and is being sold at a 28% discount (at US$ $28.79 plus post) through Amazon.com at the moment.

• I have also published an article on the history of Khotan: Hill, John E.: "Notes on the Dating of Khotanese History." Indo-Iranian Journal 31 (1988), pp. 179-190.

• Australian Aboriginal issues and culture.

• West Indian (particularly Trinidadian) history and culture.

• The Beothuk people (the original inhabitants of Newfoundland).

• The history, wildlife and conservation of Cape York Peninsula and Cooktown.

• Nature conservation and alternative energy source.

• The plight of the mentally-ill, refugees, the desperately poor, hungry, and sick.

• The exploration of the potential of the mind, and the inherent as well as the learned limitations.

• The causes of racism, slavery, sexism and bigotry.

• The conversion of hatred and fear through the cultivation of kindness, tolerance, empathy and patience.

• The impending demise of our species, and what we might do to delay it.

I have made some contributions in all these areas as well as many others. I look forward to correspondence on any of them. I am able to contribute with an intermediate level of French and Spanish.

Spent a year or more:	I have also lived several years on Australian Aboriginal land.
Spent more than a month:
Spent more than a week:
Spent less than a week:
	Idea and layout filched from User:Guettarda