Jim Haynes

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...

The trucker's job—so vital to our nation's everyday life—makes for a diverse treasure trove of stories. This first-ever collection of stories about Aussie truckers captures the humour, tragedy, and fascinating history of their world, proving once again that truth is often stranger, funnier, and more inspiring than fiction. The unlikely yarns and tales, collected by Jim Haynes, quickly transport the...

'Aussies love a good story and entertainer Jim Haynes has been telling them for decades' - Courier-Mail In Heroes, Rebels and Radicals of Convict Australia, our master storyteller Jim Haynes has collected a fascinating cast of characters who embody the resourcefulness, bravery, defiance, successes, and tragedies of the convict era, the men and women who forged the nation we would...

Australia's national character and spirit have always been defined, rightly or wrongly, by 'the bush'. This entertaining, thought-provoking, humorous, nostalgic and, above all, highly readable collection of stories for the modern reader shows why the romance endures. From Jim Haynes, one of our most successful and prolific Australiana authors, comes a collection of classic and iconic stories from the remote...

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...

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...

'Aussies love a good story and entertainer Jim Haynes has been telling them for decades.' - Courier-Mail The Big Book of Australian Yarns is master storyteller Jim Haynes' comprehensive collection of factual and fascinating stories and humour. The yarns range from the poignant to the hilarious, from the ridiculously Australian to the unexplained and spooky. There are heroic and inspiring...

Trucks, trains, boats, and planes – welcome to a treasury of unsung heroes and extraordinary journeys that have shaped Australia's history. From the bravery of Australia's sailors to our great age of rail, the resilience of the truckers crossing the Nullarbor to the daring aviation pioneers who turned the skies into a new frontier, Great Australian Odysseys is a rich...

'The bravest thing God ever made,' said a British officer of the insubordinate Aussies at Gallipoli. And before the Normandy invasion, Field Marshal Montgomery's chief of staff remarked, 'I only wish we had the Australian 9th Division with us this morning'. But there is more to the Australian experience of war than heroic endeavour and bravery. Jim Haynes has rediscovered...

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...

Did you know that Jorrocks raced till the grand old age of 19? Or that Melbourne Cup-winner Grand Flaneur never lost a race? Or that Sunline was the top stakes-winning mare in the world in her day? The Best Australian Racing Stories is chock-a-block with the victories and tragedies of these amazing champions and many more. Insiders reveal fascinating stories...

'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...

The petty thief... who escaped Van Diemen's Land, twice, stole the government brig and set sail for Japan, where, by the Shogun's decree, all foreigners were to be executed. The world's best cricketer, a champion of Aboriginal people who 'invented' Aussie Rules, survived the worst massacre of white settlers in Australia's history and killed himself with a pair of scissors....