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Andrew was born at Molong, New South Wales, in 1949, one of a family with a long heritage as bushmen. His father is Walter Stackpool, internationally recognised as one of Australia's foremost illustrators of horses and childrens' books. Andrew was educated at Sydney Grammar School and his Matriculation in 1965 included Honours in Ancient History and an A-level Pass in Modern History

He found that many of the dynamics and lessons of history were relevant in the modern business world. In 1994 Andrew and his family moved to Orange so as to better explore Australia's colonial history. Andrew has always had a deep interest in history and his present interest in Australian Colonial History goes back to 1979. His primary focus is on the period 1850 to 1880, concentrating on the Goldrushes and their societal impacts, particularly on rural Australia. Andrew is the owner of the "STACKPOOL COLLECTION" , a growing collection of colonial weapons, relics, documents, artifacts, ephemera and pictures relating to the goldfields era, which he has displayed at venues around New South Wales and which he intends one day to establish as a Colonial Museum. Andrew is regularly sought as a speaker on colonial history and, supported by items from the collection, has given dozens of motivational and other talks on the period to schools, business organisations and other groups in New South Wales and Victoria.