John Cook moved from the UK to Tasmania as a boy with his mother at the outbreak of World War II.

John grew up loving the natural environment and being very practical. After serving in the Australian Navy, being a walking-track maintenance worker, operating a mobile x-ray health scanning unit and running service stations, John joined the Australian Lighthouse Service in 1968.

He was a Light Keeper and later Head Keeper at various Tasmanian lights, notably Eddystone Point, Tasman Island and Maatsuyker Island, until 1993. John was also an honorary National Park Ranger.