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Into the hard-living world of travelling shearers in the Australian outback comes internationally acclaimed writer Roger McDonald, driving an old truck rattling with cooking gear. He has abandoned writing for a time and found work as a cook for a team of New Zealand shearers working through New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. He is determined to find a sense of belonging: somehow to join his life with the landscape, the places and the people he meets along the way; somehow to fill the inexpressible yearning he feels. This is the story of that quest, of its triumphs and its failures - a story told with a heartfelt sense of of the profundity of ordinary lives. Written with an insider's affection and familiarity sharpened by an outsider's perception, this moving account of working life in a classic Australian industry gives a new twist to a long tradition of outback travel writing. -
This book deals with the many facets of fire control and fire behaviour and is written particularly for the great army of volunteer bushfire brigade members, without whom rural fire control in this country would be in a sorry state. Although it draws on some 30 - 40 years of Australian fire research experience, it is written in simple terms for ready absorption of the information contained therein. The chapter written on safety and survival was written by a medical man who is an active member of a volunteer fire brigade. There are sections on combustion, fuel, fire behaviour and fire effects as well as legislation, organisation and suppression problems unique to each State and Territory. Illustrated with colour and black and white photographs. -
The Gay Genius: Lin Yutang
$65.00The biography of Su Tungpo, the celebrated and famous philosopher, poet, artist, government official and gourmand of 10th century China. He was a product of a centuries-old social system - a member of the literati. Taught to absorb the classics of Chinese literature at a young age, he rose to prominence by his remarkable performance at the national examinations, the entry point into a life of participation in the upper levels of the Chinese government. He was outspoken in his criticism of corrupt practices of government officials. From the book: ...an incorrigible optimist, a great humanitarian, a friend of the people, a prose master, an original painter, a great calligraphist, an experimenter in wine making, an engineer, a hater of puritanism, a yogi, a Buddhist believer, a Confucian statesman, a secretary to the emperor, a confirmed winebibber, a humane judge, a dissenter in politics, a prowler in the moonlight, a poet, and a wag. He sounds like someone we'd all love to know. Illustrated with black and white photographs of truly beautiful Chinese art of the period.
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A fabulous chunk of Australiana in this wide selection of anecdotes compiled by John Laws and Christopher Stewart that ranges through Australia's history: from the First Fleet to the rock 'n' roll of the 1950s, these are fascinating stories that detail the people and events that helped shape the Australian legend. There's heroism, perseverance, strange coincidences genius, tragedy and warfare. And with every tale, no matter how well-known - there was always a little more to it. -
Augustus and his brothers Francis and Henry left Yule's Station (60 miles north-east of Perth) on August 7, 1846 with four horses and seven weeks' provisions and explored a considerable amount of the country north of Perth. The party returned after 47 days, having covered 953 miles. Two years later there was an expedition to examine the course of the Gascoyne River in order to find good pasture land; further explorations followed during his time as Assistant Surveyor of Western Australia. In 1857 he also led a party in a search for traces of Ludwig Leichhardt, a fellow explorer who had disappeared. Both Augustus and his brother were presented with gold medals by the Royal Geographical Society. This facsimile reprint of the 1884 original is a fascinating diary of their adventures and explorations. -
The Great Fletch: Hugh Lunn
$30.00When a passing French tennis superstar gave the young Ken Fletcher his tennis racquet, he didn't know what he'd started. Ken, a lonely only child with an irrepressible spirit, took the racquet, which was far too too big for him, tucked its handle under his armpit and began to bang the ball against a board in this back garden, using his whole body to get behind the ball. The result was a perfect, stunning forehand. Annersley Junction was more than a bit surprised when young Ken was seeded Number 3 at Wimbledon and won a Grand Slam with that forehand, used to devastating effect. Ken went on to lead a life of dazzling glamour: casinos,chauffeur-driven cars, beautiful women and applauding crowds. Hugh Lunn explores how a boy from Annesley Junction turned into a champion tennis player, and with his trademark humour and style he not only brings us the life of a sporting great, he describes a picture of a more innocent time in Australian history. -
It takes more than a fit of the vapours for a giant airline to ground a multimillion-dollar jumbo jet. What investigative writer John Fuller stumbled upon was a jet-age ghost story – crews refused to fly the plane because of the recurring apparitions of a dead pilot and flight engineer from a crashed sister ship. It was the famed Lockheed Tristar; the first jumbo jet ever to crash, in the Florida Everglades, with the loss of 101 persons. In his investigation, Fuller is led inexorably to repeated eyewitness experiences of the dead men’s reappearances before flight crews. After a classic reconstruction of the mysterious crash itself, he interviews scores of airline flight personnel and explores every facet of every “ghost” report. A confirmed skeptic who has always written with professional thoroughness on both scientific and life subjects, Fuller uncovers startling evidence of contact with the spirit of the dead flight engineer Don Repo. It is a spine-tingling, persuasive account with implications of spiritual realities that are of increasing interest in today’s world of ever more extraordinary scientific breakthroughs. -
This special edition includes Film Festivals; When They Were Young; Scenes That Shook Us; New Faces in Films; Stylists To The Stars... interviews, box office, spotlights, fashions and so much more. Illustrated with black and white photographs of the biggest stars of yesteryear. -
So you thought rugby league was a serious game played by hulking blokes in short pants. Think again. It might be tough out there on the field, but rugby league players love a laugh as much as the restof us. That's right - Blocker Roach and Mark Sargent are a frightening sight in full flight, but sit them down, put a cold beer in their hand and they'll spin a yarn with the best of them. And 20 more of footie's finest, ex-players and commentators do just that. Wally Lewis, Andrew Ettingshausen, Peter Sterling and more recall their hilarious moments in the game and give the inside guff of some of league's greatest mysteries and tall tales. You've heard of the 'eye of the tiger' - now read all about Tommy Raudonikus and the heart of the bull. There's the time Dallas Donnelly ate out the kitchen in Singapore and Mark Geyer stopped traffic in Paris - and just who was the Mysterious Underpants Phantom of Redfern Oval? Cartoons by 'Boo' Bailey. -
The Life and Times of the Labour Council of New South Wales. In 1871, the Sydney trade unionists formed the Labour Council of New South Wales with the words: " To mutually protect and assist each other in case of oppression." And throughout its tumultuous history, this has remained the essential rationale for the Labour Council. Author Raymond Markey presents the characters who dominated the union Movement, together with an institutional record an an analysis of the Labour Council in the union movement and society at large, including its part in the founding of the Labour Party and the ACTU.
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Yes, everything you thought you knew is STILL wrong! As made famous on QI - Quite Interesting with Stephen Fry. You'll be amazed at which country has the lowest age of consent; and that you should definitely NOT urinate on a jellyfish sting to ease the pain; and you will also discover when a spiral staircase is not a spiral staircase. Great potential for trivia buffs.
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Ballarat profited so much from the discovery of gold that one of its founders in 1837 marvelled how, within 30 years, the scene had changed from 'a flock of sheep tended by a solitary shepherd; to that of a great, teeming city. Ballarat's wealth in gold, grazing, iron and industry, together with the freedom to choose from all that Europe offered, created an architectural panorama for the studious and delightful variety for all visitors. Ballarat's dynamic history can be traced through its variety of structures, encompassing iron-filigreed verandahs, classical facades, 'Ballarat Baroque', polychrome brick and Gothic revival. -
Magonius Sucatus Patricius was a wild, carefree undisciplined Romano-British boy living in south-west Britain toward the end of the fourth century. The legions had been recalled to Rome; Christianity, the official religion of the Empire was in the ascendancy and the Empire itself was breaking apart. When he was sixteen, Patricius visited his family's seaside estate and was carried off by Irish sea raiders to endure six years as a slave, shepherd and swineherd in the pagan wilderness of Northern Ireland . He escaped and after many adventures in France made his way home to Britain. Thirty years later - now a Bishop - Patricius again braved the hostile shores of Ireland to begin the most courageous conversion in the history of Christianity: that of a nation devoted to Celtic Gods and Druidism. Gallico presents the reader with St. Patrick with reason backed with evidence, without recourse to the more dramatic myths that surround him and weaving in excerpts from two extant sources: Confession and Letter to Coroticus to separate fact from legend. A balanced portrait of the extraordinary Saint. -
A fabulously in-depth work by a highly esteemed historian, this history covers England's epic, colourful history from the conquest of the Saxons, A.D. 449 up to 829, when Ecgberht unites England under one ruler. So much is covered: the original independent kingdoms, Romanisation, topography and geography, the many roles that Christianity played in politics, Church and customs and much more. With illustrated maps. -
Kenneth Williams, star of stage, radio and Carry On, gives us, 'A Year in the Life Of...': in which he has trouble with the installation of a new 'loo, catches a cold, travels to Australia and has a wonderful time, investigates a novelty window washing device and gets into trouble over his interpretation of a recipe for gooseberry cup. Laurence Olivier, playwright Alan Bennett, Bill Kerr, Maggie Smith and even the ubiquitous Maudie 'Fun With A Frankfurter' Fittleworth make appearances, as well as many others. -
Marshall and his wife met these people - country folk from central Victoria, the Mallee and the Wimmera - real Australians. They ate with them, shared the makings with them, helped them and were helped by them, drank with them and talked with them over a nice cuppa. This is no fly-by-night collection of brief impressions - they travelled in a caravan drawn by two elderly yet stalwart horses, savouring scenes and the friendships of the road, until he had accident to his crook leg. And even in hospital he found plenty to write about - and everyone he wrote about had a story to tell him - sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes rich in courage. It's the battlers he loves - the farmer hit by drought, the woman whose husband is on the grog, the kid who never had much education, the bushman living content with only his dog for company. These are Marshall's people. -
Published by the National Martime Museum of London in association with Campbell Publishing, Sydney. Over the centuries, many men have set out from Britain's shores to fight, trade or explore. Three in particular are known the world over - Francis Drake, Lord Nelson and Captain James Cook. Few people have inspired such interest and admiration as Cook, whose courage and navigational genius determined the course of history in the Pacific region. This book covers the man, his seamanship and the life he literally gave for the British Empire. Full of colour prints, reproductions, maps and photographs. -
Julian Lennon! Mark Bego
$15.00His voice sounds hauntingly like his father's and the physical resemblance is equally chilling. But Julian Lennon went on to forge his own independence. He was born just as the Beatles first No. 1 hit exploded onto the charts but it was not until his father's death in 1980 that Julian began to inherit the legacy of John Lennon. Was he fated to be - in all things - just like his Dad? He was excluded from his father's will, however there was a trust of £100,000 established to be shared between Julian and his half-brother Sean. But he had to fight even to get that, suing his father's estate successfully in 1996. Dad could talk about peace and love out loud to the world but he could never show it to the people who supposedly meant the most to him: his wife and son. How can you talk about peace and love and have a family in bits and pieces - no communication, adultery, divorce? You can't do it, not if you're being true and honest with yourself. With black and white photographs. -
Like the Beaumont children and the Azaria Chamberlain cases before it, the backpacker murder case in Belanglo State Forest has entered Australian criminal folklore. Seven young people, most of them foreigners backpacking around Australia, brutally murdered, their remains uncovered in 1992 and 1993. It would take scores of police over three years, countless hours of forensic investigation, thousands of false leads and a few precious clues to charge and convict Ivan Milat for their horrific deaths. This is the definitive work on Ivan Milat, his family and the murders. Almost four years in the making, informed by exclusive interviews with members of the Milat family, key police investigators and Crown lawyers, this book reveals a family culture so bizarre it would lead inexorably to murder. It also scrutinises the police investigation – its remarkable success and failures, the dramatic turning point and the backbiting and bitterness that followed Milat's arrest. Thought-provoking, totally unsalacious and an exploration of the darker side of Australian life as a whole. Photographic illustrations. -
A collection of unique expeditions into Australia's fascinating places - mustering cattle by helicopter, crossing the great deserts by road train, crossing the straits and seas to explore Australia's islands. This is the magic of Australia - places most people never see and people who live differently from anyone else on earth. In this volume: Dreamtime Journey; Face To Face With The Devil; By Train Across Australia; Snake Attack; In Search Of The Perfect Pearl; David And The Goliaths; The Emu Lays A Golden Egg; A Day In The Life Of A Sheep Station; Miracle At Monkey Mia; Beautiful, Bountil Barossa; Riding With The Helicopter Cowboys; What Makes The Kookaburra Laugh? Australia's Icy Enchantress; The Tantalising Taste Of Australia; Phoenix Of The Forest - The Amazing Eucalypt; Spider, Spider; A Day In The Life Of A Monastery; All Aboard Australia's Road Train. Lavishly Illustrated with colour photographs. -
This is the history of a man, the electric guitar and an era of music that will never be forgotten. Murray pulls up the rug where good rock 'n' roll hides and rips through the floorboards with prose as bold and explosive as Hendrix's guitar. Here is an insightful and poignant book about the music of Jimi Hendrix and how rock culture and its influence defined an era. With fabulous archival colour and black and white photos.
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When John Baker died of cancer, many of his friends in the small Yorkshire village of Cracoe were devastated. During his illness, Tricia had joked with him about creating an alternative W.I. calendar - she and his wife Angela were members - but she had no notion of the events she would set in motion. Expecting only local interest, the ladies were stunned by the media frenzy when the calendar was launched in 1999. Over the next two years, the calendar girls found themselves in newspapers, on television, chosen as Women of the Year and touring America. They raised £500,000 for leukaemia research. This is NOT a film novelisation - this is the true story of the highs, lows, funny moments and sad ones too. 'It's not naked - it's nude!"
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Bill Bryson has the rare knack of being out of his depth wherever he goes - even (perhaps especially) in the land of his birth. This became all too apparent when, after nearly two decades in England, the world's best-loved travel writer upped sticks with Mrs Bryson, little Jimmy et al, and returned to live in the country he had left as a youth. Of course there were things Bryson missed about Blighty - the Open University, Boxing Day, Branston pickle, and irony, to name a few. But any sense of loss was countered by the joy of rediscovering some of the forgotten treasures of his childhood: the glories of a New England autumn; the pleasingly comical sight of oneself in shorts, and motel rooms where you can generally count on being awakened in the night by a piercing shriek and the sound of a female voice pleading, "Put the gun down, Vinnie, I'll do anything you say." When an old friend asked him to write a weekly dispatch from New Hampshire for the Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine, Bill firmly turned him down. So firm was he, in fact, that gathered here is eighteen months' worth of his popular columns about that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life. Whether discussing the dazzling efficiency of the garbage disposal unit, the exoticism of having your groceries bagged for you, the jaw-slackening direness of American TVV or the smug pleasure of being able to eat beef without having to wonder if when you rise from the table you will walk sideways into the wall, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on the world's richest and craziest country. -
This warm , frank and hilarious account of Margaret Powell's mother is a vivid account of Victorian and Edwardian working class life, recalled by a woman who never lost her humourous approach to the problems of survival. It was a recognised thing that the Germans spent all their free time raping. When I said to my father, 'It would take a very intrepid German that would attempt to get in a clinch with our Mum,' he was far from amused... -
Complete dagg John 'Nobby' Clarke (1948-2017) claimed a PhD in Cattle and held important positions with Harrods, Selfridges and Easibind; was sacked by ABC Radio and worked for various defunct newspapers; he enjoyed such recreations as reading theological works and dog trials. His address was care of the people next door. (Or just pop it inside the door of fuse box for Friday collection.) He really was the complete dagg. Chapters include: Australia - A User's Guide; Celebrity Interviews - luminaries include the late Bob Hawke, Prince Charles and Meryl Streep; Farnarkeling; The Resolution of Conflict; Golf (extensively covered...) This Week On ABC Television; Australiaform; Australia And How To Repair It (with a section on Troubleshooting); Very Worrying Developments. -
Once it was the wandering 'swaggie' tramping the bush tracks, who learnt the most about the unusual places and people of Australia. Now it's done in a specially equipped vehicle by Jeff Carter and his wife, who are on the lookout for the off-beat characters, incidents and features. He met the late Sir Donald Campbell, streaking across the Lake Eyre in the Bluebird and Charley King, travelling the outback in a tiny caravan pulled by a donkey team. They saw cattle musters, opal gouging, charcoal burning, limpet-eating star fish and man-eating leeches. They travelled from the mountains of the south to the deserts of the north and everywhere saw something new and strange. Illustrated with many black and white photographs. -
The Antarctic tragedy of Captain Oates. On March 17, 1912, he crawled from a tent to his death in blizzard conditions of -40 degrees Celsius. He had always been an outsider on Scott's Polar expedition. He died on his 32nd birthday, unaware that his daughter had been born. This is the first major biography of Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates, who became a dashing cavalry officer and hero in the Boer War, a successful jockey and, having paid £1,000 to join Scott's doomed South Pole expedition, became a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Fresh analysis is offered of his military career, both as hero in the Boer War, where he was denied a VC, and later in Ireland. This book tells of his early life and school days; and the role of his austere mother who exerted a powerful influence during his life and who continued to control her son long after his death: on her deathbed she ordered the destruction of his letters and diaries that she had hidden and believed to have been destroyed long since...all of which sheds new light on his possible motives for joining the expedition.
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