One of Pete’s Performance Posters

It is no surprise that musicians can also be academically inclined. Pete Wild is no exception to this rule.

Pete is a songwriter and musician and is about to release an album called ‘Calm.’ The title is somewhat ironic, as  many tracks are the antithesis of calm, but others will help to put you in a tranquil and sultry mood. Pete lives in Candelo in the Bega Valley, so it is little wonder he is able to write so effectively about the serenity of living in the country. In the track ‘Country Season,’ Pete refers to milking jersey cows and having hives filled with bees. In fact, I suspect this music would be great to study to- maybe this is his secret to success!

Pete’s musical journey started when he was just 5 years old- with a ukulele. He then started playing the piano after he rescued the old instrument from a demolition site. Now he is also an accomplished guitar player and can turn his hand to any instrument he can get his hands on. According to Triple J, Pete’s indie music has a sound which is similar to Ben Folds, Billy Bragg and Monty Python!

Pete playing the piano
Photo Credit: Eryca Green

Pete is clearly a passionate person and during his life has been involved in a number of interesting and exciting projects. Pete worked in a whole foods shop for 20 years which he was central in converting from a partnership into a not for profit cooperative. He has also been key to setting up a 21 lot subdivision. This was no ordinary subdivision though- instead it was built as a community which managed resources and assets in an ethical and sustainable way. Some of the ways this was achieved, was by implementing rainwater and grey water systems which the whole community had access to. Of course, in order to achieve this, Pete needed to get his head around a whole set of by-laws and community title legislation. Rather than finding this a chore and daunting, Pete actually enjoyed this process!

Pete decided to study law in his mid-thirties after having his interest piqued from his involvement in the mentioned community projects. Pete decided to enrol in a combined economics and law degree at UNE. In 2001, he had started a science degree at Melbourne University, but found he was not ready to fully commit to study at that time. 16 years later, Pete is loving UNE and he finds studying online fits in perfectly with his young family and lifestyle!

Pete was pleasantly surprised he did so well in LAW100, as on the day of the exam he settled on a house where, of course, he did the conveyance himself! Pete completed LAW100 with Dr Ying Chen and he found her have a great sense of humour and a clear presentation style.

The things Pete likes most about studying law is being able to pique his curiosity about the world and allow him to explore different ideas. In the future, he would like to do more to support communities, both small and large. In particular, he is interested in managing collective resources and assets. This may lead to policy, community or activist work!

Pete is going to use his $300 LexisNexis voucher to buy corporations law textbooks!

If this article is legal in nature, it should not be seen as constituting legal advice. UNE School of Law makes no representations as to the accuracy of the information on this site.