Böcker av Bill Marsh

In these frustrating days of semi-automated electric trains, it is hard to remember the smell of coal smoke, the hiss of steam, and sting of cinders flying into your eyes as you hung out a window. there was romance then, in working and travelling on the Australian railways, and hardship. With his passion for the olden days worn on his sleeve and his famous ear for a good yarn well pricked, Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has found stories from drivers and gangers, stokers and crossing guards, their families and everyone in between, to create a collection of adventures that tell in their authentic voices of the funny, dramatic and hilarious times of a world long past.

the world of the Australian drover is almost forgotten. In this book we hear of the men (and women) who travelled vast distances along Australia's stock routes. Bill 'Swampy' Marsh travelled around Australia gathering their stories. Before utes, planes and helicopters, mustering and droving were done by a group of men who, on horseback, would move thousands of head of cattle and sheep vast distances in the search for better grazing. It was an isolated and often difficult life, but one frequently filled with adventure and great humour. Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has travelled throughout Australia to make sure the voices and stories of these wry, tough men are not lost forever. In this collection of 60 adventures you will find out about the extraordinary lives on the road of the great Australian drover.

If your teacher commuted to school in a plane; if you had to watch out for rogue bulls rather than traffic; if your daily pick-up was done by a horse - you probably went to an outback school. this collection of more than sixty stories, gathered by Bill 'Swampy' Marsh in his travels across Australia, perfectly captures the experience of life growing up in the outback. 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 alike 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.'

A selection of stories from shearers in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. In late 1999, Bill 'Swampy' Marsh began to collect shearing stories. When he was interviewed by ABC Radio broadcaster Colin Munro on SUMMER ALL OVER, dozens of people phoned in with their own tales. this book is a collection of those yarns. the world of shearing is filled with outback stations, larrikins, roustabouts, sagacious dogs and babbling brooks whose blood is worth bottling.

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 a nation. Its many pilots, doctors, nurses and support staff still risk their lives daily to save others. they, and the remote stations and communities that they serve, have become enduring symbols of what it means to be Australian. In MORE GREAt AUStRALIAN FLYING DOCtOR StORIES Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has gathered together another fascinating swag of first-hand stories from all walks of life, capturing the larrikin voices retelling the wonderful, frightening, hilarious, tragic and poignant true stories before the tales and the tellers vanish into the mists of time. this remarkable anecdotal record is a chronicle that reminds us of our past and keeps us in touch with the independent and inspired pioneers of our inland.

'If you've got a minute to spare I'll more than gladly relate to you the real, true, fair-dinkum, ridgy-didge, authentic story ... ' Bill 'Swampy' Marsh is one of Australia's most popular storytellers - he knows a good story when he hears it and now he has gathered together a collection of real Aussie adventures for younger readers! Imagine droving thousands of cattle across the vast outback for months, living under the stars without any parents around. Lots of people in this collection have done just that. You'll also hear great stories about fast trains running away without drivers, learn how to shear a sheep (and how not to), and read about the flying doctor service arriving just in the nick of time. Some stories you'll have to read to believe. these are stories of an Australia that is disappearing, but you can experience them today. For 10-14 year olds.

'Where's your thumb?' the doctor asked the injured ringer. 'Oh, we stuck it over there on the gatepost, fer safe keepin'.' And just as the doctor turned around to the gatepost, he saw a crow heading skyward, thumb and all. So I don't know how the ringer actually lost his thumb in the first place, but it had certainly gone missing after the crow had flown off with it. From the pilots, doctors and nurses who spread their 'mantle of safety' throughout the remote inland of Australia, as well as the men and women they treat on the ground, comes a brand-new collection of Flying Doctor yarns as told to master storyteller Bill 'Swampy' Marsh. 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. Featuring the colourful and funny work of legendary Broken Hill artist Howard William Steer, master storyteller Bill 'Swampy' Marsh once again reaches into the the heart and soul of outback Australia with stories of heroism and heartbreak and everything else it takes to live and work in this vast land of ours.