Denis Gregory

One of Australia’s most distinguished journalists takes a light-hearted but factual and comprehensive look at the Australian way of life. Our icons, indigenous peoples, sport, our pubs and culture, taxi drivers, our thirst for gambling, how we dress and speak and our major cities are just some of the subjects covered. Little-known facts are given, nuggets of history are unearthed and surprising statistics are presented, together with a host of amusing stories and anecdotes. The book also includes a detailed look at Australia’s unofficial national anthem, ‘Waltzing Matilda’, and the classic ballad, ‘The Man from Snowy River’.

It’s All About Australia, Mate is a great read for all of us interested in our heritage, trivia and those bits of our history we somehow missed out on. This is also a perfect book for visiting overseas tourists or those who just have an interest in life downunder. Unlike any other book on the market, this is the complete guide to our way of life and a good laugh to go with it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Denis Gregory is a journalist and country correspondent for the Sydney Sun-Herald. Now in his sixties, Denis has worked in newspapers all his life. For the Sydney Sun-Herald he has travelled hundreds of kilometres a week throughout country NSW, chasing stories and taking photographs. This book is mostly the result of all the people and places he has encountered. In 2004 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for ‘Service to the rural community of NSW, particularly as a journalist.’ He lives in Orange, NSW.

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Reviews

‘This cheery look at Australia and Australians is packed with information. It would be a great gift for newcomers or tourists but most people will learn a thing or two from browsing through it. Author Denis Gregory, who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for service to the rural community of NSW particularly as a journalist, has based his book on places he has visited and characters he has met.’ The Mosman Daily

‘This book, billed as a lighthearted look at the ‘Lucky Country’ is an absolute delight to read, a humorous and at times irreverent observation of the way we are, our national psyche and how we became what we are. Written by Dennis Gregory, the distinguished journalist based in Orange, it is packed with the most extraordinary anecdotes, local personalities, historic incident, tall tales, freakish facts and statistics collected during the many years he spent travelling through rural Australia as a leading newspaper correspondent.

‘Everything from pubs, ‘Big Things’, shearers, politicians, sports personalities, gambling, our flora and fauna, Vegemite, mateship, ghosts, original inventions, wine, our indigenous brothers, and ‘Aussie kulture’ is woven into this hilarious and fascinating journey through the history of Australia and what it means to be Australian, all written with great reverence (even though much of it is irreverent) and caring observation.

‘Each chapter identifies something unique and colourful in a particular subject. You will be amazed at the amount of unique information packed into every page, enough I daresay to provide Aussie Trivia Nights with sufficient questions to cover hundreds of sessions without repeating one of them.

‘But this is more than a snapshot of eccentricities and eccentrics. By book’s end the reader begins to make sense of our quirky humour, understands our freedom of personality, of how our national identity has emerged, and the basis of our sense of fair play both on and off the field.

‘It is a wonderful Australian laugh-out-aloud book and one which everyone from the died-in-the-wool Ocker to the overseas visitor will thoroughly enjoy. Give it to someone you admire this Christmas – or someone who doesn’t understand you!’ Land

'A loving observation and explanation of the nation and national character ... downright entertaining for anybody who likes a good read.' Sun-Herald

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SPECIFICATIONS
Size: 234 x 153 mm
Format: Paperback with flaps
Extent: 176 pages
23 line drawings
Weight: 500 gms
Published: November 2004
ISBN: 978-0-908988-29-7