[2] He worked for the architectural firm of McConnel Smith and Johnson,[3] and was responsible for designing the Law Courts Building in Queens Square, Sydney.
[4] In 1969, the founders of Producers Authors Composers and Talent (now PACT Centre for Emerging Artists) attended a Sydney University Architecture Revue, with sets by Atherden and Grahame Bond, and invited Bond, Atherden, Peter Weir and his friend, composer Peter Best, a chance to do a show at the National Art School's Cellblock Theatre.
Prior to working in television he wrote Balloon Dubloon – the revue in 1965 and theatre show in 1970.
He then concentrated on screenwriting, but continuing in writing for theatre again from 1994 onwards, including Hotspur (1994) and Black Cockatoo (2020).
[13] Atherden was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2009, "For service to the television industry as a scriptwriter, and to the advancement of writers for performance through executive roles with professional organisations.".