John McBeth
John McBeth (born 31 May 1944) is an author and journalist from New Zealand, with the majority of his career spent in Southeast Asia. Early life and career McBeth is the son of Sandy McBeth, a Taranaki dairy farmer, and Isla Dickinson, and was born in Whanganui, New Zealand. He attended New Plymouth Boys' High School. McBeth commenced work at the Taranaki Herald on 8 February 1962 and moved to the Auckland Star in late 1965. Move to Southeast Asia McBeth left New Zealand around 1970 and headed for Fleet Street in London, but never made it there. The cargo vessel that he was aboard ran aground during its night-time entry into Tanjung Priok Harbour in Indonesia so he spent time in Jakarta before travelling to Singapore and on to Bangkok. Work at the Bangkok Post and in Thailand McBeth started employment at the Bangkok Post shortly after arriving in Thailand. He covered stories relating to the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia and the Indochinese refugee crisis and appeared briefly as an extra in Michael Cimino's film The Deer Hunter (1978). McBeth also worked as a freelance reporter in Thailand for Agence France-Presse, United Press International (UPI), London's