Evan McHugh – författare

Journey into Australia''s heart of darkness... . . . where life is lived by a different set of rules and it is easy for criminals to disappear into the vast landscape - and yet it can be difficult to remain anonymous. The worst aspects of human nature reveal themselves in the red centre. Beginning with the chilling tale of convict and cannibal Alexander Pearce, Red Centre, Dark Heart explores historic and recent true-crime in the outback, including the Belango State Forest murders and the disappearance of Peter Falconio. Read these stories and you''ll discover that Australia''s dark heart is frighteningly close to home. It''s enough to make you run for the beach - Sunday Herald SunFrom the bestselling author of Shipwrecks: Australia''s Greatest Maritime Disasters, Outback Heroes and Outback Pioneers.

From the first wreck in 1622 off Western Australia to the tragedy of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Evan McHugh captures all the drama of Australia''s maritime history. There are swashbuckling mutineers, violent storms, uncharted reefs, enemy warships, as well as ripping yarns about Dutchmen and lascars, Aborigines and escaped convicts. In producing this remarkable book, McHugh has made extensive use of first-hand accounts and contemporary records. With characteristic flair, he also delves into the mysteries and controversies that still surround so many of the wrecks. Shipwrecks is a white-knuckle voyage through chaos and tragedy which proclaims the courage and strength of the human spirit. It is a powerful reminder that even in the twenty-first century, the sea remains a great, unconquered frontier.

''For the drover''s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.'' From the High Country to the Outback, there are extraordinary stories of the men and women who have travelled across Australia behind mobs of cattle, sheep and horses. These quiet achievers, of every race and creed, forged an Australian legend. Evan McHugh brings alive the hapless convicts attempting to round up the First Fleet''s escaped cattle on foot; overlanders blazing through trackless wilderness to supply the vast stations carved from the bush; stockmen who risked blizzards to bring cattle to alpine pastures; and drovers who crossed the continent behind the largest mobs of cattle the world has ever seen. These stories overflow with colourful characters: cattle-duffers like Harry Redford, renowned boss drovers like Nat Buchanan and strong women like Edna Zigenbine and Red Jack, who could measure up to any man. They lived a life most of us only dream about and came to love the beauty of Australia''s most famous and infamous stock routes, including the Birdsville, Murranji and Strzelecki tracks, and the Canning stock route. McHugh''s meticulous research and vivid eye for detail is the closest you''ll get to saddling up your moke and poking a mob of cattle off camp.PRAISE FOR EVAN McHUGH''McHugh tells the stories of these great achievers simply and without romantic or other embellishment, which is how these characters would have wanted it.'' – COURIER-MAIL

''From the helicopter I could see the property''s waterholes surrounded by paperback trees, its red-stone cliffs lit by the rising sun. And grass, endless seas of grass. Here was the vision splendid: Nat Buchanan''s grass castle. Gurindji country. And my country, Australia.'' This is big country, the outback, home to the largest cattle and sheep stations in the world. Yet few of us know what goes on behind the farm gate. What''s life really like when next door is 500 kilometres away, and a day''s work involves mustering livestock in their tens of thousands, dealing with extreme heat and backbreaking physical labour? Bestselling author Evan McHugh heads down the road to find out. He goes behind the scenes at Adria Downs in the dead heart of Central Australia, helps drove cattle from the air at Wave Hill and gets a lesson trapping dingoes at the remote Commonwealth Hill. McHugh reveals the fascinating history of these outback stations, and what it takes to work on one today. ''Outback Stations is about as Australian as damper and dust.'' Weekly Times

The story of Australia, told from the woolsheds. ''For much of its history Australia has been described as riding on the sheep''s back . . . but if the country rode on anyone''s back, it was on the aching, creaking, flexing spines of Australian shearers.'' Armed with their blades, a sense of adventure and a relentless work ethic, shearers have been a fundamental part of Australia''s outback for centuries. From legendary figures such as blade shearing record-holder Jack Howe and fearless union man cum poet Julian Stuart, to today''s young guns having to adapt to a rapidly changing industry, these rugged, resilient and proud characters have influenced the social landscape and folklore of the country. Shearers contributed to the formation of both the Labor and National parties, while Australia''s national song, ''Waltzing Matilda'', was written on a Queensland sheep station. Expert outback chronicler Evan McHugh – author of bestselling titles such as The Drovers and Outback Heroes – presents the definitive history of these men, bringing to life the toil, tumult and toughness of the shearing life, and the effect it has had on Australia''s national character.

Birdsville is one of the most remote police postings in Australia. It can be lonely and uneventful for weeks, then the dramas come thick and fast: from desert rescues to rising floods, venomous vipers to visiting VIPs.Throw in heat, dust and flies and it’s not a job for the faint-hearted, unless you’re Senior Constable Neale McShane, who has single-handedly taken care of a beat the size of Victoria for the past ten years. Recently retired from this ‘hardship posting’, Neale and his family thrived on the adventures and colourful times that come with the territory in the furthest corner of our country.Yarning with friend and bestselling author Evan McHugh, Neale’s experiences are humorous and heartfelt. How do you feed 4000 unexpected dinner guests? Where do you find a Chinook helicopter when you need one? Who’s your backup when the population explodes for the famous Birdsville Races? And what do you do when you’re the person the Flying Doctor is flying out?Among these inspiring tales of danger and death, dreamers and ‘dumb tourists’, you’ll encounter a little community with a big heart that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a larger-than-life policeman who’s become part of Australia’s outback legend.