An Author Bites the Dust
by Arthur W. Upfield (Doubleday & Co., 1948)
audiobook read by Peter Hosking (Bolinda, 2010)
Bony is particularly energetic this case, the Yarra Valley setting rendering his bushcraft less germane than a bonhomous interest in people and his knack for pursuing odd, imaginative lines of inquiry. Miss Pinkney and Mr Pickwick provide charming evidence of Upfield’s popularism.
Hamlet is Not OK
by R. A. Spratt (Penguin, 2023); audiobook read by R. A. Spratt (Penguin Random House Australia, 2023)
MG masquerading as YA. Though the speculative mechanism alters without explanation (beyond authorial convenience), the mental health aspect is worth its weight, and the protagonist’s small-town backstory makes for a peculiarly Australian point of difference. Viva Hamlet’s sojourn in the real world!
D-E-D Dead!
by Geoffrey McGeachin (Penguin, 2005)
audiobook read by Peter Hosking (Bolinda, 2010)
Rather mis-marketed as a sexy thriller, whereas McGeachin devotes most of the runabout spy plot to taking leisurely snapshots of Australian and Balinese culture, which he does well. The characterisation mostly works, too, but the humour is jarring in its stylised flippancy.
That’d Be Right: A Fairly True History of Modern Australia
by William McInnes (Hachette Livre, 2008); audiobook read by William McInnes (Bolinda, 2008)
By contextualising his personal reminiscences within a potted, three decade–spanning observational history of Australian prime ministers—from Whitlam to Rudd, pitching each PM as emblematic of the national mentality—McInnes paints a gently contemplative picture of social change and maturing self-awareness.
Irreverent
created by Paddy Macrae (Netflix, 2022)
Very Australian, very quirky, if a little too untethered to be a true classic. The premise—duped of his money by a disillusioned priest, an on-the-run Chicago enforcer takes refuge posing as a minister in a remote Australian town—says it all.
Mr Inbetween, Season 1
by Scott Ryan; dir. Nash Edgerton (Fox, 2018)
Six-part crime drama/comedy done the Australian way. Scott Ryan has unique presence as a no-frills hitman balancing work and family life (although this latter aspect is neglected in the final act, which favours regulation black comedy and somewhat squanders the show’s potential).
The Waler: Australia’s Great War Horse
by Russell Vines & Barry Strickland; dir. Russell Vines (ABC, 2015)
documentary narrated / audiobook read by William McInnes (Bolinda, 2015)
A short, solemn documentary about the Australian Light Horsemen who served at Gallipoli (sans horses) and then in the Middle East during the First World War. The Waler horses suffered but endured, underpinning a victorious campaign… only to be shamefully cast aside.
Dangerous Remedy
dir. Ken Cameron (ABC, 2012)
A disquieting if murky ‘based on’ historical drama centred around Australian abortion laws and police corruption in the late 1960s. Medical campaigner Dr Bertram Wainer (Jeremy Sims) acts almost as an antihero, evincing bullying manipulation in single-minded pursuit of a just cause.
Sinister Stones (reissued as Cake in the Hat Box)
by Arthur W. Upfield (Doubleday, 1954)
audiobook read by Peter Hosking (Bolinda, 2018)
Though the murder investigation is somewhat nebulous, the story remains notable for the extreme remoteness of its Western Australian setting, and for its historical depiction of cattle station life—and particularly the relationships between Aboriginal and white folk—in the mid-20th Century.
Holidays
by William McInnes (Hachette, 2014)
audiobook read by William McInnes (Hachette, 2015)
McInnes reminisces about holidaying mishaps from his childhood and adult life (and those of people he has known). With the growing wisdom of experience, he draws wider, often subtle, gentle and empathic conclusions about Australian culture, family and what makes us happy.