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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. -
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 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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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 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.
