Showing results by publisher "ABC Audio" in Biographies & Memoirs

Born in 1894, Facey lived the rough frontier life of a sheep farmer, survived the gore of Gallipoli, raised a family through the Depression and spent 60 years with his beloved wife, Evelyn. Despite enduring hardships we can barely imagine today, Facey always saw his life as a "fortunate" one. A true classic of Australian literature, his simply written autobiography is an inspiration. It is the story of a life lived to the full - the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man.

The film Rabbit-Proof Fence is based on this true account of Doris Pilkington's mother Molly, who as a young girl led her two sisters on an extraordinary 1,600 kilometer walk home. Under Western Australia's invidious removal policy of the 1930s, the girls were taken from their Aboriginal families at Jigalong on the edge of the Little Sandy Desert, and transported halfway across the state to the Native Settlement at Moore River, north of Perth. Here Aboriginal children were instructed in the ways of white society and forbidden to speak their native tongue.

254 days, 12,700 kilometres, sea sickness, sharks, crocodiles and ocean. Bonnie Hancock broke numerous records on her fastest ever circumnavigation by paddle around Australia but that wasn't the achievement she is most proud of. Testing the limits of her mental and physical toughness, she learned what it means to overcome adversity and how important teamwork and perspective truly are. What looks distressing from the rocky shore or storm-tossed waves can be inspiring when you look to the heavens.

In these frustrating days of diesel and electric trains it is hard to remember the smell of coal smoke, the hiss of steam, and the sting of cinders flying into your eyes. With his passion for the olden days and his famous ear for a good yarn, Bill ‘Swampy’ Marsh has brought together another enthralling collection of funny, dramatic and hilarious stories from drivers and gangers, firemen and guards, their families and everyone in between.

Absorbing and emotionally gripping, this new series from multi award-winning journalist Caro Meldrum-Hanna is a stunning investigation into the untold story of the 1979 Ghost Train Fire at Sydney’s iconic Luna Park. On a winter’s night over 40 years ago a deadly fire tore through the Ghost Train ride at Sydney’s Luna Park in 1979, killing seven people – six of them children. After 42 years, and despite multiple inquiries, no one has ever been held accountable for the blaze.

All I See is Mud is the story of Stan Dunkley, a soldier in World War I and the grandfather of author Andrew Dunkley. Originally presented on ABC Radio in Australia, this is a deeply intimate re-telling of an ordinary soldier and the terrible conditions he endured in the trenches along the front lines of the battlefield. For almost three years, Stan Dunkley fought, and survived, and here his story is preserved as a reminder of the sacrifices made during the darkest times in human history.

Let Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski draw you deeper into the human experience with the fifth volume of A Collection of Conversations. Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may or may not, have heard about - someone who has seen and done amazing things.

Alcohol, usually beer, is an integral part of Australian culture. Australian writers from Henry Lawson onwards praise, blame and generally celebrate the demon drink. It can develop or ruin friendships, create farcical situations, breed or shatter illusions. Broadcaster and writer Jim Haynes has collected short stories and verse from well-known Australians that place that pint of beer at the centre of things.

On the night of July 30, 1997 a landslide shattered the tranquility of Thredbo Village, sweeping away two ski lodges and burying 19 people beneath tonnes of concrete and mud. In the days that followed, the world mourned as rescuers dragged body after body from the rubble. But out of tragedy sprang an amazing story of survival. Stuart Diver, whose young wife Sally died beside him in the first moments of the slide, had clung to life buried beneath a concrete slab for 65 freezing hours.This is Stuart Diver’s story.

Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may, or may not, have heard about – someone who has seen and done amazing things. This compilation features a selection of seven of the best interviews from the program.