Neil Thompson was born in Haslam, Streaky Bay, and grew up on the west coast of South Australia. He entered the Education Department but resigned from teaching for ten years during which time (in the 1950s) he crewed on ketches. He then studied for a BA and began a teaching career at Bedford Park Teachers' College. Thompson was the first person in South Australia to teach Professional English and his 1972 thesis on Joseph Conrad was one of the first MAs awarded by Flinders University. In the late 1960s, he secured a contract with the London publisher Robert Hale, delivering eight nautical novels in a decade. An avid sailor, he also wrote several books on boating and a travel book on Papua New Guinea. This latter experience informed the children's book Hiri which was published by Niugini Press in 1975. He retired from teaching in the 1980s and moved to Queensland.
