Harold Taskis had Australian-born parents of mainly Celtic origin (Taskis is a Cornish name traceable back to the 13th Century), and as a boy he lived on a farm at Mullengandra, New South Wales. After high school in Albury he attended Sydney University where he gained a Bachelor of Science degree and a Diploma of Education. After teaching briefly, he worked as a chemist in Melbourne, Glen Davis (Blue Mountains) and again in Melbourne until retirement. He has travelled throughout the world and was a member of the Australia Party until it became the Australian Democrats in 1977.
