User:John Hill

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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.

Involvement with the Wikipedia

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

My main interests

User language
fr-2 Cet utilisateur dispose de connaissances intermédiaires en français.
es-2 Esta persona tiene un conocimiento intermedio del español.
it-1 Quest'utente può contribuire con un livello elementare in italiano.
Users by language
  • 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.
  • 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.

My path

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