Australia's Best Unknown Stories PDF Download

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 174343913X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Not only are there many things we don't know, we should never be too sure about the things we are sure we do know.' From Jim Haynes, one of our most successful and prolific tellers of yarns and bush tales, comes this collection of classic Australian stories: the unknown, the forgotten, the surprising. Jim reminds us that things are not always as they seem, or as we've been told. Was the Ghan really named after the Afghan cameleers? Does that urn that represents that greatest of all sporting clashes between Australia and England really contain the ashes of a burnt cricket bail? And who really is the most important Australian who ever lived? Jim introduces us to the forgotten nation builders, artists, poets and great unknown characters of Australian history and tells the funniest, the most amazing and the quirkiest stories that capture the heart and soul of the Australian spirit.

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1952535700
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Did you know that in 1932 the Australian army was called out to wage war on an invading army of 20,000...emus? Or that the first royal personage to arrive in Australia was the King of Iceland and he came as a convict? And how about the spooky phenomenon of the mischief-making Guyra Ghost? From Jim Haynes, one of our most successful and prolific tellers of yarns and bush tales, comes this ultimate collection of unbelievable true Australian stories: the unknown, the forgotten, the surprising, the truly weird and the completely inexplicable. Told with a refreshing understatement, Australia's Most Unbelievable True Stories vividly evokes a vanishing Australia when anything was possible, when characters were larger than life and the bizarre and strange were normal.

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781459690127
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
Not only are there many things we don't know, we should never be too sure about the things we are sure we do know.' From Jim Haynes, one of our most successful and prolific tellers of yarns and bush tales, comes this collection of classic Australian stories...the unknown, the forgotten, the surprising. Jim reminds us that things are not always as they seem, or as we've been told. Was the Ghan really named after the Afghan cameleers? Does that urn that represents that greatest of all sporting clashes between Australia and England really contain the ashes of a burnt cricket bail? And who really is the most important Australian who ever lived? Jim introduces us to the forgotten nation builders, artists, poets and great unknown characters of Australian history and tells the funniest, the most amazing and the quirkiest stories that capture the heart and soul of the Australian spirit.

Author: Graham Seal
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1741766524
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
From pioneer tales to urban myths, folklore expert Graham Seal has gathered some of the best Australian stories from around the country. Tall tales and true, these are the stories we tell ourselves over and over again. Great Australian Stories is true to its title as it wanders from bush track to spooky hollow, follows the path of yowies and bunyips, searches for Lasseter's Reef, meets Dad and Dave and, on a different path, Henny-Penny, and then rambles into the cities where just as many entertaining characters are ready to tell stories.' - From the foreword by Warren Fahey. 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 humour, an unexpectedly wide supernatural streak, and a strong sense of place. Stories feature cocky farmers, numbskulls like the drongo, bunyips, famous tricksters like Jacky Bindi-I and the world's greatest whinger, as well as larger than life real characters like the sad Eliza Donnithorne. With favourite 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.

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1743314396
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Stories that take us from the Mallee to the back of Bourke and beyond . an indispensable collection about the enduring appeal of the Australian bush.

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1925268764
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 627

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Book Description
The ultimate collection of great racing stories told in Jim Haynes's inimitable style. Jim Haynes, Australia's favourite tale teller, loves the sport of kings as much as he loves Aussie yarns and bush verse. From country picnic tracks to the thoroughbred racecourses of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, from Archer to Black Caviar, from the mysterious punter Louis the Possum to the great trainer Bart Cummings, he brings these two great loves together in the biggest book of Australian racing stories ever. In these stories, full of the humour and romance of the track, Jim reminds us of the great champions, the tragedies, and the unique characters (equine and human) of racing. Here are stories of famous races and jockeys, touts and urgers, nose-to-nose battles and a rort or two, as well as country race meeting where anything can happen. This rich collection captures the heart and soul of the turf and reminds us exactly why a day at the races and having a punt are such an important part of the Australian spirit.

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761185586
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
An incredible collection of true crime characters from Australia's master storyteller. The bold, the bad, and the slightly mad... Criminality, some say, is part of Australia's national identity, and in Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags Jim Haynes profiles fifteen larger-than-life Aussie rogues - some of our greatest ne'er-do-wells from colonial times to the modern era. These stories uncover the truth and expose the myths about characters ranging from the most despicable examples of humanity, to those whose courage has to be admired and whose so-called 'crimes' were unjustly punished. This fascinating collection features felons who have sprung from Australia's underbelly since 1788, such as the infamous Kate Leigh of the razor gangs; the convict Mary Bryant, who in 1791 escaped from the Sydney penal settlement and somehow made it back to England; James Hardy Vaux, who was sent to Australia no less than three times; Henry James O'Farrell, the madman who attempted to murder Prince Alfred in Sydney in 1868; and John Leak, who was repeatedly charged with insolence, disobedience and being absent without leave in World War I - and awarded the Victoria Cross. Told with Jim's inimitable combination of history and humour, Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags is packed with murders, mystery and miscreants: true stories of true criminals from Australia's past. 'entertaining . . . highly readable . . . you will find some genuinely amazing new facts and insights.' ArtsHub

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1760870110
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
'It seemed like a good idea...at the time.' - the lament of many a morning after Rum, beer, scotch, wine, beer and more beer. For nearly 250 years Australian history has been punctuated with stories of booze and boozing. From Cook's voyages and the First Fleet to the Rum Rebellion, the mutiny of the 99th Regiment, the soldiers' riot of 1916, six o'clock closing and beyond, we've been a nation that likes a drink. With the eye of the master storyteller that he is, Jim Haynes has collected the best yarns, verses, stories and anecdotes of our boozy history. He uncovers the good and the bad of our national character and its relationship with grog. He celebrates the social gift of alcohol and riotous moments of mateship and camaraderie, but he also offers salutary tales of its consequences - the hangovers, the suffering, the recriminations and the grave occasions subverted by drink. Amusing, wry, tragic and surprising, Best Australian Drinking Stories asks you to grab a glass of your favourite beverage, get comfy and enjoy this fascinating collection of stories about Australia's love affair with booze.

Author: Jim Haynes
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761063219
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Jim Haynes upturns some of the long-held myths of Australian history with surprising results. With all the skills of the master storyteller that he is, Jim Haynes exposes some of the great myths of Australian history. Did you know that Portuguese and Spanish explorers probably found the east coast of Australia before Captain Cook, and that the Rum Rebellion was not caused by rum? And what about Banjo Paterson writing Waltzing Matilda? As for Ned Kelly being a brave freedom-fighting rebel, in truth he was a thief, a thug and a murderer. The Ashes have nothing to do with cricket, the Ghan is not named after Afghan cameleers and Hargraves lied about discovering gold in New South Wales. Surprising, confounding, revealing and fun, Jim Haynes takes us on another great journey through Australian history and folklore.

Author: Maxine Beneba Clarke
Publisher: Black Inc.
ISBN: 1925435903
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
In The Best Australian Stories, acclaimed writer Maxine Beneba Clarke brings together our country’s leading literary talents. Herself an award-winning short-story writer, Beneba Clarke selects exceptional stories that resonate with experience and truth, and celebrate the art of storytelling. Previous contributors include Kate Grenville, Tony Birch, David Malouf, Kirsten Tranter, Anna Krien, Georgia Blain, Peter Goldsworthy, Fiona McFarlane, Elizabeth Harrower, Ryan O’Neill and Romy Ash. Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean descent. In 2015 her short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the ABIA for Best Literary Fiction and the Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her critically acclaimed memoir, The Hate Race (2016), was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the Indie Award for Non-Fiction and the Stella Prize. She is also the author of a picture book, The Patchwork Bike (2016), several poetry collections, and is a contributor to the Saturday Paper.