He worked for many years as a radio host on ABC Radio Sydney but one of his most significant assignments was as a special correspondent with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force who were sent to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guinea in 1914.

[2] He published a book of poetry in 1912 and in 1914, after being rejected for active service, was assigned by the Sydney Morning Herald as a special correspondent with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force.

[5] Burnell's publication covers life on board ship on the way to New Britain, the actions of the forces under Colonel William Holmes and the surrender signed at Herbertshohe (Kokopo) by Dr.

[6] After World War One he visited Cape Town, Dakar, Dunkirk, Ypres, Hull and then London where he attended a dinner given by the P.E.N.

[7] From the early 1930s Burnell hosted a Sunday afternoon show of "armchair chats" titled "Ships, Shoes and Sealing Wax" for the Sydney radio station 2BL.