Overview

Yarns, legends, myths, jokes and anecdotes are our national lifeblood. These home-grown and borrowed tales, told and re-told over generations, offer an insight into the larger national story of which every Australian has a part. Was Breaker Morant the Gatton murderer? What happened to Sniffling Jimmy and Black Mary? We revisit some of the most colourful characters in Australia's past, and the stories that have grown around them. We go looking for the real illywhacker and find out what happened after the execution of our most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly. It takes a certain character to make a living in the Australian bush. In the most difficult situations, laughter often comes to the rescue. Here are pioneers and battlers, convicts and settler's children, and a land that tests them with fire, flood and drought, all in stories resonant with Australia's distinctive wry humour. Dip into Larrikins, Bush Tales and Other Great Australian Stories for a taste of Australia's rich history and traditions. 'Full of interesting yarns, tall tales and intriguing details that come to life in a fascinating storyscape' - Robyn Floyd

Full Product Details

Author:   Graham Seal
Publisher:   Allen & Unwin
Imprint:   Allen & Unwin
Weight:   0.280kg
ISBN:  

9781760290436

ISBN 10:   1760290432
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   04 January 2016
Recommended Age:   From
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

The Great Australian storyscape Acknowledgements 1 WIDE BROWN LAND Eaglehawk and Crow Great floods Firestick farming 'The landscape looked like a park' Captain Cook's Law The corners 2 UPON THE FATAL SHORE Leaden hearts The Ring The melancholy death of Captain Logan The Convict's Tour to Hell 'Make it hours instead of days' Captain of the push The Prince of Pickpockets 3 PLAINS OF PROMISE 'I was not expected to survive' The town that drowned Wine and witches Phantoms of the landfall light Tragedy on Lizard Island Who was Billy Barlow? The temple of skulls Chimney Sweeps' Day The dragon of Big Gold Mountain 4 A FAIR GO Black Mary The Tambaroora line Mates A glorious spree The Greenhide Push waltzes Matilda The Bunuba resistance The bagman's gazette Homes of hope 5 HOW WE TRAVEL THE LAND Rangers and rouseabouts The swagman's union The oozlum bird The Tea and Sugar Train The black stump The rise and fall of Cobb & Co. The Long Paddock The real Red Dog 6 DOING IT TOUGH Depending on the harvest 'Women of the West' Cures! A seasonal guide to weather and wives Backyard brainwaves Sugar bag nation Happy Valley Sergeant Small The farmer's will 7 HOME OF THE WEIRD Curious discoveries The marble man Was Breaker Morant the Gatton murderer? Vanishing vessels Yearning for yowies 8 ROMANCING THE SWAG Lore of the track Sniffling Jimmy The poetic swaggie 'There you have the Australian swag' A swagman's death Where the angel tarboys fly Bowyang Bill and the cocky farmer The Mad Eight 9 AFTER THE KELLYS The saga A Glenrowan letter 'I thought it was a circus' A death in Forbes Living legends The stranger 10 THE CHILD IN THE BUSH The beanstalk in the bush Forgotten nursery rhymes The lost boys of Daylesford Fairies in the paddock Surviving Black Jack 11 LARGER THAN LIFE The fate of Captain Cadell The Fenian The last bushranger Lawson's people The Coo-ee Lady Australia's first Hollywood star A vision splendid The illywacker 12 WORKING FOR A LAUGH Droving in a bar A fine team of bullocks A stump speech Working on the railway Service! High-octane travel Railway birds Rechtub klat The Garbos' Christmas A Christmas message Total eclipse of communication The laws of working life Somebody else's job The basic work survival guide Twelve things you'll never hear an employee tell the boss Excessive absence Running naked with the bulls Doing business The end of a perfect day Sources Bibliography Picture credits

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Author Information

Graham Seal AM is Professor of Folklore at Curtin University, and a leading expert on traditional Australian culture. He is the author of many books about Australian history and culture, including the bestselling Great Australian Stories, Great Anzac Stories and The Savage Shore. His These Few Lines: The Lost Lives of Myra and William Sykes won the National Biography Award.

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