Embark on a thrilling series of adventures
AVAILABLE
25th Nov 2024
A rugged but true tale of an 18 year old youth travelling through outback Australia in the late sixties.
‘Toughen up’ had certainly become the catch cry for a young teenager travelling rough throughout the back blocks of Southern and Western Australia, but nothing could have prepared Bruce for the testosterone driven shearing sheds of outback Queensland in 1969!
Following on from Bruce’s first memoir ‘Catch The Wind – From The Nullarbor To The Far Northwest in 68’ this entirely new memoir faithfully records his always memorable, sometimes brutal, but often hilarious ongoing travel adventures.
Meet feared shed fighter Knuckles as he bullies his way through the shearing season with overwhelming menace and physical violence, while rouseabout car racing fiends Gaz and Bluey make the regular 50 kilometre trip to the pub the most hair raising experience of a lifetime. Meanwhile the extremes of the hard work in the shearing sheds demanded a high protein diet that was almost as difficult to describe as it was to digest.
Bruce had left his home near Melbourne in search of adventure and respite from a broken heart: what he found was some of the wildest characters to be found in the Australian bush. Join Bruce in this rowdy coming of age tale set against the dramatic backdrop of rural Queensland.
Sequel to ‘Catch The Wind’
AVAILABLE
NOW
Propelled by the collapse of an intense love affair, eighteen-year-old Bruce Lowery sets off from his home in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria for a yearlong adventure in 1968.
Unexpectedly armed with a letter of permission from his father, Bruce and various mates hitch-hike to the remotest corners of outback Australia. They master the rudiments of fettling and sheep mustering, and find lodgings in some of the most isolated places on the planet. It’s hard yakka under the hot Australian sun, and encounters with wildlife are part and parcel of the experience.
It is an era when social mores are changing and young men and women have more sexual freedoms than ever before, yet Bruce still chafes against the conservative views he comes up against. His long blonde hair is considered an impediment to employment, but he’ll be damned if he’s going to cut it.
As Bruce struggles to come to terms with the ambiguity surrounding his relationship back in Victoria, he encounters a host of colourful characters who amuse, alarm and inspire him. From the middle-aged nurse with an unhealthy interest in young men’s testicles, to the drunken railway ganger and the law-evading jackaroo, join Bruce as he travels vast distances across this wide brown land.
Now available for online ordering through Amazon Australia in both paperback and eBook versions.
Also available to order through all good book stores
Reviews
“If you want to relive the late 60’s this book is an escapade, an odyssey and a vicarious adventure to the West.”
“Although I never hit the road as Bruce did, I derived a great deal of pleasure from his book as I came of age in the same era. Many of the men in it reminded me of men I met, and mostly disliked.”
“Nothing is sacred when it comes to these memoirs.
Wild tales of mateship, music, girls, brawls, and near-death experiences!”
“How many 18-year-olds do you know who, with no qualifications except self-belief, travelled close to 4,500 kilometres from Victoria to Far North Western Australia in the late 60’s on the smell of an oily rag? A real-life drama freely sprinkled with humorous anecdotes. This coming-of-age saga is a great read.”
“I enjoyed this book so much that I had difficulty putting it down.
A great story of a brave young man setting out on the adventure of a life time with only $40 in his pocket.
It is well written and the author has a special gift for story telling.
I can’t wait for his next book.”
“Just letting you know that not only did I finish your book faster than I’ve ever read any book but loved it and can’t wait to read the next one!!!”
The Journey
“It was in the early hours of the morning that I suddenly felt an extreme tiredness that seemed to take over my senses completely. My now befuddled brain was struggling to function as I made my way off the road towards a cane field. If I can just get an hour of shut eye, I’ll be okay, I said to myself as I lowered my body to the ground. Oblivion took over immediately and completely.
I slowly became aware of a strange sensation of movement all around me. Rousing myself from my slumber I suddenly came to the realisation that some furry creatures were scurrying all over my torso, and that one of them seemed to be nibbling at some of the unhealed scabs that still studded my face - Bloody Hell! Rats!”
— Out Of Time
“As we headed back to O’Malley, I could hear the motor missing again, so that the rail trolley eventually came to a coughing and spluttering stop about a kilometre from camp. The Snowman, Col and Pete all took turns at examining the little motor, without any success in getting her started again.
Henry and I sat watching the activity without a great deal of interest, when all of a sudden Henry nudged me violently, and with eyes protruding grotesquely, pointed back down the track. Away in the distance was the unmistakable outline of a train, heading in our direction at great speed.”
— Catch The Wind
About the Author
Bruce emigrated from the UK to Melbourne in 1955 with his parents Bob and Effie Lowery, together with his elder brother Bob Junior. After a brief stay with relatives in Clayton the family moved to Victoria’s beautiful Dandenong Ranges where he has had the good fortune to live ever since.
Following the late 1960’s adventures described in this book Bruce accepted a position as office boy with the Australian arm of the German/Belgian imaging company Agfa where he eventually rose to the position of National Sales Manager. This allowed him to eagerly participate in many varied Australian industries, that included Motion Pictures, Music Recording, Medical/Industrial X-ray Imaging and Printing over a 37 year period.
Away from work Bruce is a Life Member of the Olinda Ferny Creek Football Netball club having enjoyed many positions that include Player, Coach, President, Secretary and Chair of the Sports Management Group.
He is the proud father of two much loved daughters and grandfather to three wonderful granddaughters. He remains happily married to his wife of over 50 years Sue.
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