Goldie: Adventures in a Vanishing Australia

"Like, I only thought he was joking. But the bore hole of the rifle's staring straight at me. Then I sees the look in his eyes. And it wasn't a good look, aye. I think: Gees, this feller's fair dinkum... Just as I did there's this 'Bang'!" And Jack 'Goldie' Goldsmith is as fair dinkum as you can get, with a knack of always finding himself in some strife or other. Born during the worst year of the Depression, he escaped an abusive stepmother and headed out to western New South Wales. Times were tough for a teenager so for the next few years he tramped from place to place, trapping rabbits, picking spuds, working on the railways and building fences: anything for a little money and a bit of tucker. After a brief stint in the army during the Korean War he followed his real dream, to work on the big cattle runs in Queensland's Gulf Country. There he made a living from working in the stock camps, horse breaking, droving and cattle duffing. He also made history by becoming only the third person to successfully swim the crocodile-infested river at Normanton.