Reality of apartheid appalled me - Arthur

Mickey Arthur, who grew up during the apartheid era, remains a proud South African after three years in Australia. In an interview to Chris Barrett of Fairfax Media, Arthur says his origins have helped him appreciate his adopted country and he hopes someday to become a specialist coach in another sport.

''There was a lot of unrest and bombings, and setting things alight, and that was happening five kilometres from my house. But we were growing up in this leafy suburb with white picket fences and everything was great.

''Life was fantastic because we just didn't know what was going on. We had servants who worked for us who were fantastic people. We looked after them, they were one of the family and they lived on the property. But they couldn't walk outside on the streets at night after seven o'clock without a pass. That was just the norm,'' he says.