Mind you, his curious nature didn't leave him unscathed.

Rob was one half of The Curiosity Show, which first aired on NBN in 1972. The show was originally part of the Here's Humphrey show, but it became a show in its own right.

Rob and his mustachioed partner in science, Deane Hutton, filmed more than 500 episodes of the show before it finally got the chop in 1990.

They were known as "jumper and skivvy wearing scientists".

Rob has just released his memoir, Curious Recollections.

"Deane and I both grew up without TV, so our boyhoods were full of making and doing, building models, exploring scientific matters and so on," Rob said.

"Deane came up with his segments and I came up with mine. Nobody told us what we could or could not do, so the show reflected in a very real sense what we were both really interested in."

For Deane it was largely mechanical, geological and visual imagery. For Rob, it was natural history [especially animals], music and art.

Rob and Deane grew up in the age of fireworks, Guy Fawkes night and other "rather dubious homemade explosives".

"We were at home with these things," Rob said.

"None of that is allowed today, certainly not on TV. I would not now do some of the segments that we did then. Perhaps children are too protected these days, but it may not be the wisest thing to encourage playing with fire.

"The paradox is that the internet, freely available to all ages, now shows the most appalling things from detailed instructions on bomb-making to 3D-printed pistols, all of which can be seen and copied by children of any age."

Nevertheless, Rob says science does need a bit of danger.

"Life needs a bit of danger, although I stress that it should not be out-of-control danger.

"We would always advise our audience to get adult help if the segment involved saws, kitchen chemicals, fire and so on, as parents in those days were expected to be involved."

The program was in the specially created and legislated timeslot for children "in an age when parents were expected to supervise such things".

"These days, parents have often had much more sheltered and protected childhoods," he said.

Given this, he wouldn't be confident that any child doing something hazardous would have a parent around "who could properly monitor the activity".

Things have changed a lot since Rob was a youngster.

In school cadets, he was one of the last instructors of the Vickers machine gun.

"We fired it endlessly a couple of feet from our ears with no ear protection. We had range days with lots of gunfire and no protection. I am now a bit deaf as a result," he said.

He has no sense of smell because of chemicals used in his PhD on brain physiology.

As part of his doctorate, he had to section brains that had been soaked in formalin.

"Doing one brain would take a full day, during which I steadily inhaled formalin vapour so strong that the following morning my face peeled as if sunburnt," he wrote in the book.

"It would never be allowed today, especially as formalin is now deemed carcinogenic, but for me the damage was done."

The book features Rob's career highlights - on and off screen - including being an expert witness on dingoes in the Lindy Chamberlain case.

Rob has in his possession a cast pawprint from a dingo that may well be the one that killed Azaria Chamberlain.

Selling Houses Australia will be filming at Waratah on Saturday from 2pm to 3pm and they're looking for locals to be involved

The house at 18 Delando Street is in dire need of a makeover.

"Come along and let us know what you think of the house in its current condition," a show statement said.

The Lifestyle Channel show features host Andrew Winter, landscape gardener Charlie Albone and interior designer Shaynna Blaze.