Ion Idriess – författare

Out of print for nearly 70 years, more classic tales from Ion Idriess, who explored Australia, chasing down the stories of a changing continent: "The stories in this volume record happenings or incidents in men''s lives which interested me during years of wandering among the bushmen and natives of Cape York Peninsula; the pearlers, trochus and beche-de-mer getters of the Coral Sea; the native islanders of Torres Strait; the "beachcombers" of the Great Barrier Reef; and along the eastern coast and in the Arafura Sea towards the west."With authenticity that sometimes surprises the reader, Idriess introduces us to Aboriginals from Northern Australia, Papuan head-hunters, and Islanders around the Great Barrier Reef, all still in the colonial phase of European contact. Chinese gold diggers appear too, well before the rise of China. Idriess knew these individuals; he met them, lived with them, before the contemporary world had a chance to make so much difference. The first peoples in the stories are in their tribal state, infused with age-old traditions and behavioral norms, proud but fearful of the white colonialists. It wasn''t so long ago - barely three generations. That closeness in time can be said to offer a benefit to the reader; to some extent it helps us understand better their descendants who are alive today and within our society''s reach.- Tony Grey, from his Introduction.

In this book, Ion Idriess reflects on his life prospecting in far North Queensland from 1912 to 1914, and coincided with his earliest writing as "Gouger" for the Bulletin.In Back of Cairns, Jack gives the reader a picture of what life was like when the peninsula jungle was falling under the settler''s axe, his own day-to-day experiences, and the district''s historical background. The book is peopled by characters given to polite chiacking and the writing of poetry, and the reading of ''pomes'' by the evening campfire... Perhaps the most interesting is the ''Jungle Man'' who could scent animals and Aborigines in the scrub before they scented him. He also possessed incredible hearing... who took Jack into the rugged mountains and the dense jungle and showed him a primitive world few men have ever seen. Jack was treading in the paths of his heroes - the explorers.Beverley Eley, from her biography Ion Idriess.

''I felt certain there must be gold in those hills, Jack'', wrote a prospector to Ion Idriess, ''but I know very little about the game.'' And so Jack Idriess wrote Prospecting for Gold in 1931. This is the 20th edition and known throughout Australia as the classic self-help manual for would-be prospectors. ''This book is written to help the new hand who ventures into the bush seeking gold... The "towny" prospector, with this book as a guide, will soon master methods of prospecting and the working of his find.'' In an easy conversational tone, the author of Lasseter''s Last Ride and Flynn of the Inland sets many a hopeful prospector on the road to discovering gold.

Idriess was a trooper with the Light Horse at Gallipoli, all the way to Beersheba, and his diary was published as The Desert Column. Drawing on his military experience, this is one of six manuals written for soldiers and civilians in 1942, when invasion by the Japanese seemed imminent.Written in his characteristic, colloquial, man-to-man style, Mr Idriess here reveals the secrets of the dead shot. What to do and what not to do are impressed upon the budding rifleman. He brings out clearly the importance of apparently trifling points.No more opportune book could have been published. Australia for the first time in its history has been bombed. Invasion looms on our northern frontier. The imperative need now is for rifles, more rifles, yet more rifles - and riflemen.

This true story came from the ship''s log of the HMS Rattlesnake under the command of Captain Owen Stanley... who was searching for the Kennedy expedition... sailing the Coral Seas searching for men in the peninsula ranges, and Barbara Thompson was captive on Murralug; Billy Winn, an escaped convict from Norfolk Island, had, through a reign of terror and treachery, cowed the most fearful of all peoples - the Coral Sea headhunters. He had taken power on Badu as the feared demi-god Wongai. Hearing that a white woman was to be found on Murralug, he gathered the Badu headhunters to raid Murralug... However Barbara, after being held on Murralug for five years, succeeded in escaping from the Murralug people and Wongai, and incredibly, was rescued by Captain Owen Stanley and taken back to Sydney.- Beverley Eley, from her biography Ion Idriess.

Idriess was a trooper with the Light Horse at Gallipoli, all the way to Beersheba, and his diary was published as The Desert Column. Drawing on his military experience, this is one of six manuals written for soldiers and civilians in 1942, when invasion by the Japanese seemed imminent. Here Mr Idriess gives in illustrative detail the technique of guerrilla warfare under Australian conditions. As will be seen by the subject headings, every phase is dealt with. Here is the complete vade-mecum for the guerrilla fighter, a forceful, vivid book that teaches how, in Australia, he may play a part as vital as that played by the Russian guerrilla in aiding his army.

''To attack and ambush, to snipe and raid is the job of the Australian Guerrilla. By rifle and grenade, by machine-gun and mortar to kill them, harry them, trap them, grant them not one moment''s peace day or night. Break their hearts! Smash their outposts, blow up their tanks, bomb their communications, burn their airfields. To be a hawk by day and a shadow by night, to be a killer by day or night is the sworn job of the Australian Guerrilla on his native soil.'' These Australian guerrilla manuals were written by Ion Idriess at the time of imminent invasion by the Japanese. Following the massive bomb attack on Darwin in early 1942, Idriess wrote six manuals in one year to help aid the local militia, based on his extensive experience in guerrilla tactics in World War 1. As the Japanese continued to raid Sydney Harbour, Newcastle, Broome and Toowoomba, Idriess offered his knowledge on the art of warfare to Australians at home.

Abdul the Sniper was the pride of the Turkish Army. They named his rifle ''The Mother of Death''. Because, so declared the Ottoman Guard, ''her breech gave birth to bullets which destroy the lives of men''... Idriess was a trooper with the Light Horse at Gallipoli, all the way to Beersheba, and his diary was published as The Desert Column. Drawing on his military experience, this is one of six manuals written for soldiers and civilians in 1942, when invasion by the Japanese seemed imminent. This volume includes the full story of the duel between Australian sniper Billy Sing and his opposite number, Abdul the Terrible in the trenches at Gallipoli. A believer in guerrilla warfare in the open spaces of Australia, Mr. Idriess seeks, by thrilling narrative and advice, to teach young men and people of the back country how to use the rifle to the best advantage. To be a guerrilla one has to be a good rifleman - a sniper - acting independently of other troops, clever at camouflage, with keen ears, and with eyes that are observant and sharp. - Newcastle Herald

Throughout all the game of war, in every Age, there has been no task so fascinating, so alive with thrills, as that of the scout. Against an enemy army he plays a lone hand as does the sniper. But the scout''s job is not to hide and kill, his is to press forward and see, but never be seen. And - he must return.Ion Idriess''s Australian guerrilla manual presents a rare insight into one of the most vital functions of small-unit combat intelligence - scouting. Despite great technical achievements in modern military science, the small-unit commander must still rely heavily on the eyes, ears and stealth of his scouts. Details obscure techniques often overlooked in most U.S. Army and Marine scouting texts.The sixth book of the Australian Guerrilla series, The Scout, by Ion Idriess is now available. It is packed with knowledge and bush lore, and gives to any soldier who studies it most of the data necessary for the job of scouting. With the rest of the series it provides a small compact little work that, carried in the haversack, is a means of learning as you go. - Hobart Mercury, 1943.