Goldie

Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has been writing about the Australian outback and its people for many years. But as well as being a writer and storyteller he is a collector of rich outback characters - and Jack 'Goldie' Goldsmith is, he says, a gem among many. Born in the Blue Mountains more than 70 years ago, Goldie was a troubled, reckless boy. When he was 15 he left home and school and took off for the bush with his mate Bluey. It was just after World War II and there was massive unemployment, and he had to take whatever job was going. In his travels throughout western New South Wales and Queensland Goldie worked at everything: he picked potatoes, trapped rabbits, was a shearer, roustabout, railway fettler and ringer, among many other jobs. And before long Goldie became known as the kind of bloke who could do anything - and who probably would. Bill 'Swampy' Marsh tells Goldie's story in his own words, and the result is a rich and vivid account of a fast-vanishing Australia, with its values of mateship, willingness to give anything a go, determination not to let the bastards get you, and spirit of daring and adventure.