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.
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.
Worse Things Happen at Sea
Tales of Life, Love, Family and the Everyday Beauty in Between
by William McInnes & Sarah Watt (Hachette, 2011)
audiobook read by Clem Fechner (QNS Audio, 2014)
Entwined memoirs with a cumulative focus on family, mortality, embracing life and coping with death. McInnes reaches his conclusions through rambling associative leaps, Watt by more direct reflection. Fechner’s audiobook reading captures the sometimes humorous, always heartfelt tone (but not female voices).
Full Bore
by William McInnes (Hachette, 2016); audiobook read by William McInnes (W F Howes, 2017)
A gentle, rather wistful gathering together of memories and musings. McInnes presents recollections within recollections, the weave of his stories constituting less a riotous series of anecdotes and more an appreciation of life as a mosaic of shared happiness and small moments.
The Making of Modern Australia
by William McInnes (Hachette, 2010); audiobook read by John Burnley (QNS Audio, 2013)
A thoughtful social history of Australia post Second World War, structured around McInnes’s own reminiscences plus interviews with Australians from a wide variety of backgrounds. Without shying away from our well-documented national failings, McInnes makes a case for embracing a common heritage.
Fatherhood: Stories About Being a Dad
by William McInnes (Hachette, 2018); audiobook read by William McInnes (W F Howes, 2018)
McInnes reflects upon his own journey as a father but also, with the benefit of passing years, upon childhood experiences and his dad’s parenting. Discursive but always with purpose; wistful yet laugh-out-loud funny; McInnes is a natural storyteller (and narrator). Highly recommended.
A Man’s Got to Have a Hobby: Long Summers With My Dad
by William McInnes (Hodder, 2006); abridged audiobook read by William McInnes (ABC Audio, 2015)
What starts as a gentle memoir grows in McInnes’ telling (and especially his reading), becoming at once a character study and tribute to McInnes’ larger-than-life father, a nostalgic piece of Australiana, and a moving reflection on childhood and the love of families.