Books in the Great Australian Stories series

ABC Books series 'Great Australian' stories captures the experiences of being an Australian in the outback, from times gone by to the present day. We've all got memories - good and bad - of our days at school, but going to school (or teaching) in outback Australia is a completely... different experience from attending school in the city! Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has travelled Australia gathering first-hand these wonderful memories and yarns to bring together this collection of sixty stories that so perfectly capture school days in the bush.
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This collection of amazing, hilarious, controversial stories pack a real punch. Listen as these drovers, ringers, stockmen, stockwomen and scoundrels speak about their way of life in an Australia that is fast disappearing.

When you're a kid, adults often say to you 'your school days are the best of your life'--and you think they must be barking mad! But when you look back, you can see what they meant, because when you are at school you were free of responsibilities--you had adventures, got up to mi...schief, hung out with your mates, made mistakes and, above all, had fun. This collection of more than sixty stories, gathered by Bill 'Swampy' Marsh in his travels across Australia, harks back to a simpler time and perfectly captures the experience of life growing up in the outback, when the days were long and hot, the kids were cheeky but innocent, and adulthood seemed a long way away. Whether you loved school or not, these stories will bring a smile to your face and maybe even a tear to your eye, as students and teachers share their yarns and memories of a time gone by...this little kid, he spun around at me and he snapped, 'Piss off, Miss.' Of course, I immediately replied with, 'Excuse me. In this school we always use our best manners when we talk to teachers and adults. So what should we say, then?' And this little kid, well, he looked up at me all sheepish and he said, 'Well then, Miss, piss off, PLEASE.'
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For the first time, Bill Marsh's terrific collection of outback yarns centred on the Royal Flying Doctor Service are available in one bumper volume. the Royal Flying Doctor Service is a unique icon of Australian culture. Since its beginnings with the Reverend John Flynn in 1928, ...the RFDS has helped build our nation. the Flying Doctors, and the remote stations and communities that they serve, have become enduring symbols of what it means to be Australian. the Complete Book of Australian Flying Doctor Stories is a fascinating, moving and often hilarious collection of true stories about the life in the Australian Outback. Hear of those whose very lives depend on the Royal Flying Doctor Service, like the man suffering from extreme burns who rode his motorbike eighteen kilometres back across his property to get help while opening and closing every gate along the way because you 'always leave gates as you find them'. Out here, stoicism and a sense of humour go hand in hand, as in the case of the stockman with a compound leg fracture who, when asked by the Flying Doctor if it hurt, replied, 'Oh, it itches a bit.' through fog, lightning, thunder, flooding rains and dust storms, the Flying Doctor braves the elements to get to the remote outback landing strips where they're needed -...and the tales they live to tell will have you shaking your head in amazement.
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An enthralling new collection of first-hand accounts of Australian rural life gathered from around Australia by popular and award-winning master storyteller Bill 'Swampy' Marsh.