Born 150 miles east of Alice Springs, beneath a mulga tree on the banks of a dry river bed, Ted Hampton was the eighth of eleven sons born to Ted and Sarah Hampton. He was placed by his parents at St. John's Hostel in Alice Springs when he was 12 years old in order to get an education. He attended Hartley Street School for three years and then moved to St. Francis House in Adelaide from 1953 to 1956.
Hampton became a senior Vocational officer and has operated his own consultancy business in Aboriginal affairs, specialising in employment and training.
