Blackpool-born Stephen W. Starling went on to make Australia his adopted homeland, beginning a life of travel that would eventually take him across continents and provide the inspiration for his writing. After leaving Britain in the 1970s, Starling travelled extensively, backpacking through Africa, Asia and South America and exploring other parts of the world by motorcycle and sailing boat. His professional career also took him overseas, including periods working as an engineer in China and the Middle East.
Australia became particularly important in his story. Starling settled there and came to regard the country as his adopted homeland. His travels by motorcycle included extensive journeys through Australia, and one of these adventures provided the inspiration for his first book. His years overseas also developed an interest in different cultures and in the ways history, economics and politics shape the societies through which he travelled.
By 2010, Starling had begun writing articles and short stories, combining his interests in travel, photography and the people he encountered along the way. His American travels subsequently became the subject of Three Harleys, Three Aussies, One American Dream: A 5,000-mile Motorcycle Adventure Around the USA, published in September 2015. The title itself reflected how far Starling’s life had travelled from his beginnings in Blackpool. He was now one of the “Three Aussies” setting out to discover America from the saddle of a Harley-Davidson.
Together, the three Australian baby boomers travelled thousands of miles through the United States, following twisting backroads, crossing mountain passes and deserts and visiting national parks, cities and famous landmarks. But Starling was interested in more than producing a record of a motorcycle holiday. The journey became an attempt to find what he called the “real America”, meeting people from very different backgrounds and considering how contemporary American life compared with the enduring idea of the American Dream.
His experiences also produced travel writing beyond the book. In 2016, Wanderlust published accounts by Starling of episodes from the journey, including encounters in Nevada and a difficult ride through the intense heat of the Mojave Desert. The magazine described him as an author, photographer and motorcycle enthusiast.
For a man born in Blackpool, it was an extraordinarily international journey. Britain was his birthplace, Australia became his adopted homeland, and motorcycles, engineering and travel carried him through countries across several continents. By the time Three Harleys, Three Aussies, One American Dream appeared in 2015, the description “Aussie” was therefore no accident. It reflected the Australian life Starling had built after leaving Britain – while adding another unusual story to the list of writers and travellers whose lives began in Blackpool.
THREE HARLEYS, THREE AUSSIES, ONE AMERICAN DREAM: A 5,000-mile Motorcycle Adventure around the USA by Stephen W. Starling, published 30 September 2015.
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