Iain Finlay

Iain Finlay (21 October 1935 – 6 May 2025) was an Australian author, journalist, radio and television host, and humanitarian. He was known for his work with the ABC, including a lengthy stint as a foreign correspondent for ABC News.^[1]

Iain Finlay
Born	(1935-10-21)21 October 1935 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Died	6 May 2025(2025-05-06) (aged 89) Tumbulgum, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations	Author journalist radio presenter television host

Early life and career

Finlay was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory in 1935, his father served in the military and was an aide-de-camp to Governor-General Issac Issacs^[2]

He was educated at schools both locally and internationally and worked in the mines, before becoming a journalist, which one of Finlay's earliest jobs was reporting for the United Press during the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956.^[2]

He co-founded and hosted the science and technology television series Beyond 2000.^[2][3] He was a presenter on the ABC current affairs radio program PM, on ABC radio morning shows (together with Trish Sheppard),^[4] and also hosted This Day Tonight. ^[5] He has written both fiction and non-fiction books.

Finlay reported all over the world and visited more than 100 countries.^[2] He was named the 2017 Australia Day ambassador.^[1]

Personal life and death

Finlay married Janice Phegan in 1958 and had one son, Guy, born in 1958. In 1962, Finlay moved to Hong Kong and became the Southeast Asian correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Finlay left Hong Kong in 1965 leaving his family behind and continued a relationship with Trish Sheppard in New York until eventually returning to Australia. Finlay and Trish Clark had two children together and lived in Tweed Heads.^[2] Together, they worked on humanitarian and education initiatives in Asia, including building a primary school in Laos.^[1]

Finlay, who had amyloidosis in his later years, died through voluntary assisted dying at his home in Tumbulgum, New South Wales, on 6 May 2025. He was 89.^[6]

Bibliography

• The Azanian Assignment, New York: Harper & Row, 1978 - novel
• Africa Overland: A Trek from Cape Town to Cairo, London: Angus & Robertson, 1977 - with Trish Sheppard
• South America Overland: From New York to Tierra Del Fuego, London: Angus & Robertson, 1980 - with Trish Sheppard
• Across the South Pacific: Island-hopping from Santiago to Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1981 - with Trish Sheppard^[7]
• Good Morning Hanoi : A Year of Radio in Vietnam, Pymble, NSW: Simon & Schuster, 2006 - with Trish Clark
• Savage Jungle : An Epic Struggle for Survival, Sydney: Simon & Schuster, 1991 ISBN 0-7318-0279-9

Finlay also provided the illustrations for Trish Sheppard's book, Australian Adventurers (Angus & Robertson, 1984).