The Almighty Algorithm threw something wonderful in my path in the wee hours of the morning. I look forward to exploring the work of Les Hiddins, aka The Bush Tucker Man. This is exactly what I needed at the present moment — literal time in the bush and virtual time in the bush — to stay grounded in the turning and turning of the widening gyre. (To that end, I took Lady Marilyn out for a ramble among a plethora of wildflowers at Zimmerman Meadow a couple of days ago; a fine way to bust out of COVID confinement).
Anyhoo, Les Hiddens is our kinda feller. I get a kick out of the fact that his Akubra hat became so iconic that it’s in an Australian museum. That’s a hat-appreciating culture.
Hiddins came to fame through a 1990s TV show that was apparently quite beloved in Australia. He’s still at it out in the bush — a bit thicker and more weathered as we all tend to be as time marches on. He replaced his hat.
Retired Australian Army Major Les Hiddins, also known as Australian television’s ‘Bush Tucker Man’, briefs soldiers and Marines from the Australian Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on some ‘rules of the bush’ prior to them stepping off on a 15km overnight hike up Mount Bartle Frere, the tallest mountain in Queensland, during Exercise Kowari 2017.
From his homepage:
Major Hiddins served in the Army in Vietnam and was later tasked by the ADF to catalogue all of the edible plants in far north Queensland, which he did working with Aboriginal people from the area – who gave him the nickname “the Bush Tucker Man”.
In 1988, the ABC turned Major Hiddins’ research into a television show featuring him as the host and the aptly named show the Bush Tucker Man, with three seasons beamed into Australian homes.
As a soldier with the Australian Army, Hiddins did two deployments in South Vietnam between 1966 and 1968, the first as a forward scout in the infantry. In 1980, he was awarded a Defence Fellowship to research survival in northern Australia. He was the principal author of the Australian Army’s military Survival manual (1987) and was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1987.[1]
This research turned into the TV series The Bush Tucker Man. The series involves Hiddins driving around in a Land Rover Perentie, then in later episodes a County 110 with his trademark hat, finding and describing native Australian bush food or “bush tucker”.
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From bush tucker to badassery…
The final season of Peaky Blinders hits Netflix today — the climax of the epic saga of a Birmingham gang of Irish Gypsies. I invoke the Colin Calloway theme that frontiers exist in all kinds of places, including urban environments to proclaim Peaky Blinders outstanding Frontier Partisans storytelling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nsT9uQPIrk&feature=emb_imp_woyt
Dark Winds premiers on AMC+ on Sunday.
The Old Man premiers on FX on June 16.
The Terminal List is a couple of weeks down the road, but there’s now a full trailer.
That oughta keep us well occupied…
Matthew says
I spent the day looking at ancient cliff dwellings.
JimC says
Outstanding. Details?
Matthew says
Drove to Mesa Verde Colorado to look at the ruins. Found out that you need a ticket to see most of the ruins. When I was a kid you could just hike up to them. You could even go inside. Not now. So my parents who were also on the trip and I hiked to the one you did not need a ticket. Then we drove through the park and looked at them from a distance.
David Wrolson says
Been really busy with farming lately so my reading and watching has really fallen off. I have seen a few Peaky Blinders clips so I may move that to the top of the watching pile.
Speaking of Australia-I have started a favorite book from my youth called “A Town Like Alice.” It has been many years since I read it and I only read the Reader’s Digest condensed version so there may be some extra good stuff in it.
We also used to have the movie on VCR and at one time we (my wife and I) were seatmates on a flight (mid 1990’s) with a lady about our age that reminded me a lot of the actress who played the female role and she even was wearing her hair like the main character did in Malaya.
I have long carried a big crush on her-she is one of those (in another life, maybe, girls). The flight was from Minneapolis to Memphis and we simply talked the whole time-it was like we were long-lost friends.
lane batot says
Never heard of the Bush Tucker Man until now–thanks, Frontier Partisans!
JimC says
You’ll enjoy his work.
Brian H. says
Just recently watched “Danger Close”, based on the Aussie time in Vietnam. It was watchable. A lot of the early counter insurgency strategy started with Brits and Aussies in Malaysia.
JimC says
I’m going to have to check that out. I see Travis Fimmel is in it.
Geoff Miller says
I remember watching Bush Tucker Man when it was first broadcast — will have to revisit it. His revolver (.44 S&W Magnum) was also on display in the National Museum, but I haven’t been there for a while so I don’t know if it’s still there.
JimC says
Hat AND Revolver? That’s legendary status…
Geoff Miller says
I think his status as an Australian Army officer on official duty was what allowed him to carry it — he was never seen to use it, but I’d imagine it gave him and the camera crew a sense of security with buffalo, pigs and salties a-plenty in the Northern Territory. I’ll check out the museum, since I live in Canberra, and see if it’s still on display.