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Tall tales and true, these are the stories we tell ourselves over and over again. Australia has a rich tradition of story telling that reflects our unique history and experience. Great Australian Stories gathers some of the best of our stories from colonial times to the present, with bush yarns, tall stories, urban myths, and tales of the mysterious and downright weird. This is an Australia of down-to-earth realism, tragedy, and heroism, dry humor, an unexpectedly wide supernatural streak, and a strong sense of place. There's cocky farmers, drongos, heroes, bunyips, ghosts, famous tricksters and the world's greatest whinger, as well as larger-than-life real characters like the sad Eliza Donnithorne. With favorite yarns from around the country, Great Australian Stories is the most representative collection available of the stories we tell about ourselves. Graham Seal explains where the stories come from, and why even the outright lies reveal a truth of sorts. -
The Granny on the Roof-rack...and other tales of modern horror. Over 100 contemporary Australian legends reproduced just as they spread via word-of-mouth, the media, social media and the Internet. The stories range from the funny, to the bizarre and definitely to the terrifying. Told with tongue in cheek and a large grain of salt, topics included in this volume: The Baby In The Microwave; An Elephant On The Mini; The Frozen Chook At The Checkout; Kid(ney) Napping; and of course, the infamous Granny On The Roofrack. -
These Few Lines: Graham Seal
$25.00In 1865, William Sykes set out with some companions to trap rabbits in Silver Wood, in the north of England. Heavily armed gamekeepers lay in wait for them; a fierce and bloody battle ensued in which the head gamekeeper was mortally wounded; and William and his friends were eventually arrested and tried for murder. William was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to transportation and exile to Australia's Swan River Colony. Myra, his wife, was left to raise four children with limited resources and in the face of hostility from William's family. She had no idea that she would never see her beloved husband again. Their tale has been reconstructed through some letters between Myra and William, a letter to William's father from one of his son, William's shipboard journal and a few official documents. A moving story of love, courage and endurance.Illustrated with black and white photographs.
