WALK into a restaurant in the tiny city of Knoxville, Iowa, or any of its surrounding townships with Anthony "Skip" Jackson and you become acutely aware of the whispers.

Relatively short in stature, with slightly greying hair, fine rimmed glasses and a distinctive walking gait, the diminutive, but painfully shy, Aussie is immediately recognisable.

It's a level of celebrity that the father of thr...