Jim was born at Summer Hill in Sydney in 1927 and later his family moved to the Blue Mountains where Jim did most of his schooling and began his working life.

Jim was a member of the Griffiths Tea family. In 1873, one of Jim's close relatives migrated to Australia with his wife and a cousin to start a tea business.  

By 1875, Griffiths Brothers Tea had become a sensation, providing tea, coffee, cocoa and chocolate to caffeine junkies all over Australia.  It was a very successful business and indeed the Griffiths Tea Building still stands in Sydney, now housing many luxury apartments.

Jim had many passions. The Australian bush and environment was a passion and in those school days in the Blue Mountains he took any opportunity to enjoy it. 

Jim and  school mate, Freddie Wiggins, both conscientious students,  but on occasion would decide not to waste time at school today......so they would leave the school train and disappear into the local bush and forest, not far from the Three Sisters.

Nearby was a large sandstone area trimmed by nature to resemble a ruined castle. This was a favourite haunt. What better place to spend a school day.....then back to the school train and home. 

During these youthful years, Jim was a avid bicycle rider. He was known on more than one occasion to ride down the Blue Mountains to Sydney and catch the train back...BUT...if he missed the train, it was a long, hard and slow ride home.

He also rode his bike beside the Zig Zag railway...not surprisingly he was riding his bike well into his 80's. 

On completion of his schooling, Jim's first job was at ASTOR Radio factory in Sydney. He later was to buy his own radio shop, back in the Blue Mountains at Hazelbrook.

It was a natural progression for a man who had been building radios, crystal sets and generally building and fiddling with all things electrical, particularly radio. TV wasn't around just yet. 

Jim was the man who installed the first two-way radios in Sydney taxis. Shortly thereafter, he installed them in Newcastle taxis.

He was then – and remained for all his long life – devoted and passionate to radio. 

In 1957, Jim and wife Helen moved to Wauchope where Jim had successfully applied for a position at Bill Cavanaugh's TV, Radio and Electrical store, in High Street in Wauchope.

Since his early days in the Blue Mountains, Jim had become  very enthusiastic in the Scouting Movement, and he carried it on in a very big way in Wauchope. In total, he gave 25 years of his life to scouting.

He was supported by Helen, who also gave much of her life at this time to the Girl Guides at all levels. It was a period when Jim and Helen made a wonderful contribution to the community, and a mentoring contribution in the development of the lives of so many young teenagers. 

Jim organized and directed some wonderful projects and opportunities for the scouts. Examples such as senior scouts constructing a number of two- man canoes, built when spare time from high school and other commitments allowed....and they were beautifully made. Marine ply, all copper and brass, and more coats of lacquer then that applied to the paintwork of a Rolls Royce.

Jim was an enthusiastic amateur radio operator, with his station set up in his home. He taught the scouts about amateur radio, the phonetic alphabet, microphone procedures, the functioning of the equipment, aerials, dipoles and so on.

Jim was a member of the Westlakes Amateur Radio Club and a lifetime member of the Old Timers Network.

Another passion was Morse code.....He never stopped believing that society would rue the day it totally abandoned Morse code as a means of communication. Again, he taught his seniors all about Morse code and how to use it.

Long before it was ‘fashionable’, Jim and Helen were very aware, very passionate about protecting the environment. Protection of so many local species ...wildlife, insects, plants of all kinds and, of course, the land itself.

Family recreation time was so often travelling into national parks, forests, camping and enjoying the great outdoors.....the Forbes River was a particular favourite spot.

Jim always spoke his mind and didn't suffer fools. He loved Wauchope and the Hastings Valley, often said: "There is nowhere else I would rather be than Wauchope." 

If Jim considered things/events were not right in the community, if he reckoned the council, the councillors were wrong.....had lost the plot....were not acting in the best interests of the community....you could read all about it in Letters to the Editor in the Hastings Gazette...and bless the various editors for publishing, and probably also bless them when they didn't publish, because they considered his contribution was a little too harsh. 

He loved tinkering, inventing, not to change the course of mankind, but he knew he could design and build an existing product of interest in a better way. Inevitably he did. And to make it last was imperative...he hated the ‘throw away’ mentality.

Jim had a marvellous sense of humour and like so many, loved British comedy ......the Goons, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and the great Spike Milligan.....Monty Python and many, many BBC radio comedy shows. 

Music was another great passion - jazz, big swing bands and classic stuff. He had many original recordings on 78's, 45's and LP's. Music was one of the most important gifts he gave the senior scouts.

Jim was a talented musician. He played piano, guitar, banjo, mandolin, double bass, and if you gave him an instrument he hadn't played before, just wait a short while and he would be producing tunes.  He taught some senior scouts to play a musical instrument and eventually established a Senior Scouts Band.

The most important gift Jim gave many young people was, he encouraged them to think. He made them analyse, ask questions...he challenged their thinking.  

Jim was also a professional photographer and  his life long passion for motor racing was the source of some wonderful action shots. From black and white shots of open-wheelers racing at Mount Panorama in 1945 to rally driving on the Mid North Coast.

Sometimes we are blessed to know quite remarkable and outstanding people....such was James (Jim) George Griffiths.