Hesperian Press

A Foot in Both Worlds

by Sue McKenzie

ISBN 978-0-85905-691-5, (New, 2018), A4, 84pages, illustrated. 250 grams

$30.00 + POST

Sue was a taxi driver at Yirrkala in Arnhem Land. She writes passionately of the people and life in a place still little known by Australians.

A history of Coast Watch Post 16 & Radar Station 48 at North Head, Jurien Bay 1939-1945

by Bob Sheppard

ISBN 978-0-85905-778-3, (New, 2019), A5, 24 pages, illustrated, 50 grams, $12.00*

This little known once secret unit has been examined by Bob Sheppard. Produced jointly with the Dandaragan Shire. Available from the Shire.

Shire of Dandaragan

69 Bashford Street, Jurien Bay WA 6516

PO Box 676, Jurien Bay WA 6516

Phone (08) 9652 0800

Fax (08) 9652 1310

A History of Dressage in Western Australia

by Marion Hercock with Zoe Harrison.

ISBN 978-0-85905-750-9, (New, 2019), 160x240mm, French flap soft cover, 398 pages, well illustrated, indexed, 940 grams, $55.00* + POST Country and Interstate $14.55 Perth metro $10.90 or free pickup at office.

The progress of horse and rider training underlies the story of the development of the specialist sport of dressage in Western Australia. This history covers the years from 1829 to 2000. It includes the mounted police and the first riding schools; the hunt club, the pony clubs and the original Dressage Club of Western Australia. It looks at the horses and the riders, from the hackies and eventers to the FEI masters of dressage. Historical detail is blended with personal memories to create an informative and lively ride into the past; and for some readers, a trip down memory lane.

A Short Walk in Paradise

by Peter W. Board

ISBN 978-0-85905-748-6, (R, 2019), A5, 165 pages, illustrated, soft cover, 225 grams, $30.00* + POST

Peter Board was a British sailor, born in Devonshire, who joined the Royal Navy at 16 and served on HMS Newcastle and HMS Consort. With his mate Ron Palmer they jumped ship after the Montebello nuclear tests. Peter headed for country WA and after some adventures ended up at Dwellingup. He describes bush town life and its people and working on the bush railways of the forest area. Eventually the RN found the pair and it was back to swabbing decks. He returned to Australia in 1972 and worked in the Pilbara. Here he took up diving, metal detecting, boating, and expeditions with the WA Museum archaeologists around the islands. Retiring from Hamersley Iron in 1987 he married again and retired to the hills, surrounded by his collections and library.

Aboriginals and Criminality

Peter J. Bridge, with a Foreword by the late Kevin Moran

ISBN 978-0-85905-667-0, (New, 2017), A4, 2 parts, 92 pp, 280 grams.

$40.00* + POST

Records of crime that have generally been suppressed by the establishment propagandists. Gives a fresh light on both colonial and modern incidents.

Around the Goldfields

A study of possibilities and dreams. An overview of the goldfields during the great depression.

Anon.

ISBN 978-0-85905-450-8, (2019, new), A4, indexed, 48 pages, 150 grams, $22.00* + POST

Barrowmen of the Westralian Goldfields

Peter J. Bridge

ISBN 978-0-85905-730-1, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 52pp, 160 grams

$25.00* + POST

In the goldrushes from the 1880s to the 1930s prospectors travelled far and wide with bush made barrows. Their fortitude and fame are one of the finest examples of the tenacity of our pioneer prospectors.

Ben O'Dowd - Hero of Kapyong 

by Rory Steele

ISBN 978-0-85905-752-3, [New, 2019], 160 x 240, French flaps, section sewn, illustrated, 197 pages, 500 grams, $50.00*

In their most important engagement in the Korean War, Australian troops were cut off from other battalions and surrounded by units of China's People's Liberation Army. Earlier, as members of a United Nations force responding to the invasion of South Korea by the North, they had fought their way up the peninsula. China then intervened and turned the tide with a series of massive offensives; in late April its forces were poised to break through the UN line and descend on the South Korean capital. Defending a hillside above the Kapyong Valley four hundred men of the Third Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, confronted a determined enemy ten times their number who came at them in wave after wave. Fighting went on for a night and the following day until the order came to the senior officer on the ground to withdraw. Major Ben O'Dowd led the four rifle companies under fire to safety without suffering a single loss. His heroism was never properly recognised. The Chinese onslaught was checked at Kapyong and the war went into stalemate.

O'Dowd, taken into state care at the age of four, left school at fourteen and fended for himself during the Depression. A miner at Kalgoorlie, he enlisted as a private in 1939 and was sent to the Middle East where he was wounded. Later in New Guinea he was decorated for bravery and commissioned in the field as an officer. From 1945 to 1950 he was stationed with occupation forces in Japan. After Korea he served with the British in the Malayan Emergency and became deputy commander at Australia's jungle training centre in Queensland. For ten years after retiring from the Army Ben O'Dowd played a major role in building up the nascent Victorian State Emergency Services into a major institution.

The Best of times

Michael Gugeri

ISBN 978-0-85905-689-2, (New 2018), A4, 193 pages, illustrated, indexed, 750 grams

$50.00* + POST

Michael’s first book, God Before Gugeri, is popular among all who know the Derby family. This new book continues the stories of Kimberley life and people with an emphasis on his family. His unconventional tales are a favourite among all who have lived in the Kimberley.

Bill Cooper's Oil Rig Shift Story.

by Bill Cooper

ISBN 978-0-85905-801-8, (New, 2020), A4, 16 pages, illustrated, $15.00*

Old trucker, Bill Cooper's description of the 1939 transport of an oil rig and associated boilers from Derby to Nerrima. Well illustrated with the trucks, rig, and gear that is still there as a historic relic of early oil exploration.

BMC Leyland in Western Australia 

The People, the Cars, the Dealerships

by Gary Mentiplay

ISBN 978-0-85905-751-6, (2018, New), A4, French flaps, heavily illustrated, 346pages, 1.4kg, $70.00*

Covers the story of the various motor vehicle makes Austin, Morris, Wolseley, MG and Leyland that eventually made up the BMC (British Motor Corporation) and Leyland Australia during the years 1908 to 1978.

The main focus is on the post World War Two years, with an emphasis on the cars and the people in Western Australia who sold and serviced them. The inter-war years, 1919 to 1938 are also covered. The book contains a large amount of information, and is well illustrated with photos and period advertisements.

A4 size with 338 pages, 19 Chapters, six Appendices and Index. Appendix A is an extensive listing of over 640 Austin, Morris, Nuffield, BMC and Leyland dealers and agents in Western Australia.

Australia wide post is $14.55. Overseas post details and orders to

Author: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone: 0420 448 036

Bull Catchers & Wild Riding Ringers

Geoff Allen

ISBN 978-0-85905-737-0, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 147pp, 420grams

$40.00* + POST

The last of the old time ringers of the Kimberley.

Camels, Exploration and Development in the North

by Herbert M. Barker

ISBN 978-0-85905-739-4, (New, 2019), A4, soft cover, illustrated, indexed, 24pp, 75g, $16.50* + POST

A collection of reports, letters, etc. by Barker on the NW. Details of his exploration to the east of the Oakover River and proposals for development.

Cannibals, Cooke and Customs

 by Peter Bridge

ISBN 978-0-85905-666-3, A4, 120 grams

$22.00* + POST

An examination of some undigested customs of our indigines.