Hugh Lunn worked as a journalist for the Courier-Mail, the London Daily Mirror, Reuters and the Australian newspaper. He was variously based in London, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia. During his career he has won three Walkley Awards. As an outcome of his covering the Vietnam War for Reuters (1967-6868), he wrote Vietnam, a Reporter's War (1985) recounting his experiences as a war correspondent.
Lunn is best known for his feature articles and for his series of memoirs, which began with Over the Top with Jim (1989) his story of growing up in 1940s and 1950s Brisbane. Lunn has also written numerous works on the politics and history of Queensland.