Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags: Australia's Most Colourful Criminal Characters

· Bolinda · Narrated by Jim Haynes
Audiobook
12 hr 14 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

The bold, the bad and the slightly mad ... Criminality, some say, is part of Australia's national identity, and in Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags Jim Haynes profiles 15 larger-than-life Aussie rogues. These stories uncover the truth and expose the myths about characters ranging from the most despicable examples of humanity, to those whose courage has to be admired and whose so-called 'crimes' were unjustly punished. This fascinating collection features felons who have sprung from Australia's underbelly since 1788, such as the infamous Kate Leigh of the razor gangs; the convict Mary Bryant, who in 1791 escaped from the Sydney penal settlement and somehow made it back to England; James Hardy Vaux, who was sent to Australia no less than three times and Henry James O'Farrell, the madman who attempted to murder Prince Alfred in Sydney in 1868. Told with Haynes's inimitable combination of history and humour, Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags is packed with murders, mystery and miscreants – true stories of true criminals from Australia's past.

About the author

The son of British migrants, Jim attended Sydney Boys’ High and Sydney Teachers’ College, taught in schools and universities in NSW and Britain, has two masters’ degrees in literature, from New England University and the University of Wales in the UK, and is the author of 33 books. Heroes, Rebels and Radicals of Convict Australia, made the top 10 best seller list for history/non-fiction. Jim currently presents three Australian history segments a week on Sydney Radio Station 2GB. A professional entertainer since 1988, he has written many songs, recorded for Festival, Sony, EMI and ABC, had a national hit with ‘Don’t Call Wagga Wagga Wagga’ and is the Australiana expert on 2GB. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the Australia Day Honour's List in 2016, 'for service to the performing arts as an entertainer, author, broadcaster and historian'.

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