Red Fred
by Fred Newman and Les Newman
ISBN 978-0-85905-774-5, (New, 2019), A4, 166 pages, illustrated, 460 grams, $45.00*
This biography of Fred whose earlier book, The Golden Era of Animal Health, we published in 2014, covers an interesting life close to the land, and covers WA from South to North. The title alludes to his early political interests.
This book is not just about Fred, it is an attempt to preserve the identity and character of the bush, principally the Wheat Belt before the changes wipe out the past. The farms are increasing in size each year and the characters that one used to find are no longer there. You may find them, as Les did, in the station country or the mining camps, but the shutting down of stations to preserve the ecosystem and the proliferation of fly in fly out work systems are diminishing that source. Future writers may have to look in the cities, and the unique flavour of the bush will have gone for good.
Read this to remind you of that vanishing scene and to get a few chuckles as you read.