Great Australian Bush Festival Stories

Unforgettable tales of adventures and misadventure, larrikinism and laughter

'If you are going to enter a boat, here's a few instructions as to how to build the thing. Obviously, you need thousands of empty beer cans, which is pretty to get easy up here. A couple of months of hanging around a pub will soon sort that out, or a little bit longer if you want to drink your own.'

Welcome to the wild, wacky and wonderful world of outback Aussie festivals! Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has travelled far and wide to capture the true stories behind Australia's most unconventional festivals. In these pages, you'll meet the larrikin locals, dedicated organisers and competitive spirits who turn cockroaches into champions, guinea pigs into thoroughbreds and dunnies into racing machines.

From the thunderous chaos of yabbie races to the legendary tuna toss where competitors hurl flying fish with impressive force, Great Australian Bush Festival Stories is a celebration of the sheer inventiveness and resilience of bush communities. You'll discover how Darwin's beer can regatta became a quirky tradition, witness the determined waddle of inflatable duck championships and marvel at bottomless boats racing across a bone-dry river bed.

Swampy's deep affection for the Australian bush and its people shines through every tale, capturing the spirit of communities who gather to celebrate the unconventional and find joy in the unexpected. Whether it's a hilarious mishap at a dunny derby or a heartwarming moment of outback mateship, these festivals reveal the true character of life beyond the city limits.

Bill 'Swampy' Marsh is an award-winning writer and performer of stories, songs and plays. He spent most of his youth in rural south-western NSW and now lives on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. Swampy is one of ABC Books' bestselling authors of Australian stories; this is his 29th book.