Hesperian Press

PLEASE NOTE: Any book title starting with "The" - the second word of the title is used to list by.

All prices quoted are in Australian currency and include GST. * Short trade discount.

If you are unsure of a title use the search facility on the left hand side of this page.

I See Something Better Soon by Jim Heslop has been reprinted as an illustrated edition.

The price has not changed. See details in our booklist.

This is an important study of early teaching in the remote community of Warakurna.

30-1-2019.

Gift of $10,000 worth of Hesperian titles to the WA prison system.

We have given some 15 copies each of 24 titles that are still current books but of which we are overstocked. We need the space. Hopefully some of the prisoners will appreciate good books as a relief from the mind rotting TV. We even gave an extra set for the staff so they do not have to pinch the prisoner’s copies.

Free books this month.

Starting February 1. For any retail purchase you may have one free book from this month’s list.

That is you can have a free book for each book you buy. The downside is that you pay the postage.

This month’s free books :- Misfortunes of Phoebe, Golden Land of Silence, All Australians now, Borneo Surgeon, The Thousand Hours, The Growing Up, Thermo-electrical Cooking.

Book details on our booklist.

Honours.

Our author Phil Bianchi has received an OAM in the Australia Day Honours List for his work on community history. Phil is a prolific compiler of bush history including on the woodlines and the Canning Stock Route. His new masterpiece on the Woodlines is now at the printer and will be launched this month. (February).
 

Coming soon.

The new volume of the Exploration Diaries leading to the goldfields, a history of dressage in WA, and the full story of the recovery of the wreck of the Gilt Dragon treasure ship.

It is important that we get support for our books from our readers. Hesperian does not get taxpayer funding like Fremantle, Magabala and University. I can confidently state that several of these would collapse within days of having their grants removed. Which would be a very good thing. Many millions of dollars have been mis-spent on unreadable novels and plainly irrelevant and obnoxious propaganda.

There is no other publisher like us in Australia concentrating on REAL Australian history and people.  Hesperian books will stand the test of time. But if we do not get buyer support we may not be around too long after our forthcoming 50 years anniversary.  

Aboriginals and Criminality

Peter J. Bridge, with a Foreword by the late Kevin Moran

ISBN 978-0-85905-667-0, (New, 2017), A4, 2 parts, 92 pp, 280 grams.

$40.00* + POST

Records of crime that have generally been suppressed by the establishment propagandists. Gives a fresh light on both colonial and modern incidents.

Barrowmen of the Westralian Goldfields

Peter J. Bridge

ISBN 978-0-85905-730-1, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 52pp, 160 grams

$25.00* + POST

In the goldrushes from the 1880s to the 1930s prospectors travelled far and wide with bush made barrows. Their fortitude and fame are one of the finest examples of the tenacity of our pioneer prospectors.

Bull Catchers & Wild Riding Ringers

Geoff Allen

ISBN 978-0-85905-737-0, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 147pp, 420grams

$40.00* + POST

The last of the old time ringers of the Kimberley.

Cannibals, Cooke and Customs

 by Peter Bridge

ISBN 978-0-85905-666-3, A4, 120 grams

$22.00* + POST

An examination of some undigested customs of our indigines.

The Common Thread – Arnold Weinholt

Aussies in the thick of it. Stories from East Africa WWI, WWII. Ada Woodhill, Australian First Lady of German East Africa. And SOE’s Ethiopian Mission 101

Geoff Blackburn

ISBN 978-0-85905-710-3, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 40 pp, 185 grams

$25.00 + POST

The first, and hopefully not the last, Australian politician shot for spying. Unreported byways and fascinating African adventures in the Great Game.

Cue to the Klondyke

Herbert Annesley Ainsworth

ISBN 978-0-85905-724-0, (New, 2018), A4, 28pp, 100 grams

$15.00* + POST

A great story of adventure and perseverance in two great gold rushes.

Dingbat Flat

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Riots of 1934

Rod Moncrieff

ISBN 978-0-85905-711-0, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 178pp, 500grams

$35.00* + POST

The race based riots and their causes have echoed over the past century. The first dispassionate study of a usually highly politicised incident. Essential reading for the multiculters.

Horse Trams of the old West

Peter J. Bridge

ISBN 978-0-85905-733-2, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, 26pp, 90 grams

$20.00* + POST

Horse trams were a feature of the old north coastal towns, taking passengers and cargo from the jetties to the townships.

Jim’s Story

Reminiscences of a petroleum geologist

Jim Parry

ISBN 978-0-85905-726-4, (New, 2018), A4, 93pp, Illustrated, 270 grams

$30.00* + POST

Jim Parry joined WAPET in 1952 and was involved in all their oil exploration, including Rough Range. Later he worked in Libya, returning to work on Barrow Island. A good read for all the old rock choppers.

Massacre!

Peter J Bridge

ISBN 978-0-85905-734-9, (New, 2018), A4, 53pp, illustrated, 170 grams

$30.00* + POST

The brutal shootings and bludgeoning to death of many Aboriginal men, women and children at Laverton in 1910 shocked the nation. It was the culmination of a series of attacks and murders but the trial resulted in the acquittal of the perpetrators.

Memoirs of Ted Cockram

Teamster, Tailor and Tourism

A life in the NW

Ted Cockram

ISBN 978-0-85905-703-5, (New, 2018), A4, 220pp, illustrated, 600 grams

45.00* + POST

Ted’s early bush life led to his being one of the major promotors of tourism in the North and the Goldfields, long before the current slick marketing campaigns have made their millions. An important bio of a genuine Westralian.

The Murchison in 1887

William Frear Forster & Frank Wittenoom

ISBN 978-0-85905-716-5, (New, 2018), A4, Indexed, 57 pp, 170 grams

$30.00* + POST

The newly created stations in the Upper Murchison became a byword for enterprise and have remained important pastoral properties to the present. A visit by a group of government officials and business people recorded much that was otherwise lost.

Nor’ West O’ West

Tales of Old Onslow

Herbert E. Riemann

ISBN 978-0-85905-728-8, (2018, R + New, 2018), 160 x 240mm, illustrated, 182 pp, 450 grams

$40.00 + POST

Short stories of Onslow and the Ashburton set in the early 1900s. Riemann was judged the best short story writer in Australia in the 1950s. These are some of his best, set in the Old North of pearlers, prospectors, police and pastoralists. 

Not Only Knowledge

The making of a College of Advanced Education in Western Australia

John Renner and Sybe Jongeling

ISBN 978-0-85905-732-5, (New, 2018), 210x250mm, illustrated, 209pp, 510 grams

$45.00* + POST

The history of a unique institution, The WA Secondary Teachers College and the Nedlands College of Advanced Education. 1967-1981.

The Perils of Pearling, its Pleasures and Profits

Broome in 1910

Charles “Vagrant” Collins

ISBN 978-0-85905-736-3, (New, 2018), A4, illustrated, indexed, 32pp, 100 grams

$22.00* + POST

An incisive examination of Broome in its heyday.

Spinifex and Hessian

Women in North-West Australia

1860-1900

Susan Hunt

ISBN 978-0-85905-714-1, (R1986, 2018), 160x240mm, 178 pp, illustrated, indexed, 310 grams

$35.00 + POST

Pioneers, prostitutes, pub keepers, Aboriginals, all the women who are part of the history of the North. An important, and until now, rare book that is essential for all interested in WA history.

Through the Murchisons

The Peak Hill, Murchison, and Yalgoo Fields in 1904

Daisy Bates

ISBN 978-0-85905-720-2, (New, 2018), A4, 19pp, illustrated, 70 grams

$15.00* + POST

Daisy Bates was an intrepid reporter who was well used to tough travelling. She examined many of the Murchison mines in their fledgling days.

Triangle

W.C. Charnley

ISBN 978-0-85905-729-5, A4, 100 grams

$16.00* + POST

A murder triangle at Day Dawn in 1908 with a wanton Delilah at the point.

Working Lives

of the 1967/69 Geology Graduates of the University of Queensland

Bill Koppe, Peter Hayden and Bill Turner

ISBN 978-0-85905-731-8, (New, 2018), 160x240mm, illustrated, 119pp, 325 grams

$30.00* + POST

An important and innovative examination of geological careers in Australia.

Small essays and reports as A5 booklets have recently been produced.

These are :-

3000 Miles on Side Saddle. Daisy Bates. ISBN 978-0-85905-718-9, A5, $10.00*

Alligators of Cambridge Gulf, The by W.C. Charnley. ISBN 978-0-85905-694-6, A5, $5.00*

An Aboriginal Monster. by Daisy Bates. ISBN 978-0-85905-740-0, (RN, 2018), A5, 10 pp, $5.00*

A description of the habits and character of an Aboriginal monster who terrorised his tribe and cannibalised all he could.

A tale of the Meekatharra Track by Jean Dell & Hal Warwick. ISBN 978-0-85905-709-7, A5, $10.00*

Billy's Passenger. A voyage to Port Walcott by Richmond Thatcher. ISBN 978-0-85905-708-0, A5, $10.00*

Contributions towards an Aboriginal Dictionary of Biography by Peter Bridge. ISBN 978-0-85905-668-7, A5, $10.00*

The Count, Giovanni Francisco De Bonanate, a Perth Character. Ed. by Peter J Bridge. ISBN 978-0-85905-743-1, (New, 2018), A4, 24pp, illustrated, 80 grams, $22.00*

Goose's Puzzle, The. by Peter J. Bridge. ISBN 978-0-85905-713-4, A5, $10.00* The biography of prospector Charlie 'The Goose' Harris.

Hannans Revisited by Watty. ISBN 978-0-85905-690-8, A5, $5.00*

Matrimony at Marble Bar. ISBN 978-0-85905- 693-9, A5, $5.00* A mesalliance in the mulga.

Oldest Perth. The days before the white men won. Daisy Bates. ISBN 978-0-85905-721-9, A5, $10.00*

Pearl Station on the NW Coast, The by Richmond Thatcher. ISBN 978-0-85905-707-3, A5, $10.00*

Port Hedland to Carnarvon by Buckboard by Daisy Bates. ISBN 978-0-85905-722-6, A5, $16.00*

Real Stolen Generations, The. Lost in the bush and stolen by blacks by Peter Bridge. ISBN 978-0-85905-665-6, A5, $10. The disappeared white children.

Tin Memorials in Menzies Cemetery, The. by Yvonne Coate. ISBN 978-0-85905-717-2, $15.00*

Wild Nor'-West, The by Crosscut Wilson. ISBN 978-0-85905-692-2, A5, $5.00*

All above A5 booklet prices are + POST

MORE TITLES THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED

Coming soon:-

William F. Rudall. Surveyor and Explorer by Peter Bridge, Phil Bianchi, Alan Zweck, Gail Dreezens.

To the Golden Land. Exploration to the Eastwards, 1869-1896. Peter J. Bridge. ISBN 978-0-85905-704-2, (New, 2018), 160x240mm, heavily illustrated, colour plates, 710pp, *** grams, $140.00*

The continuation of Exploration Eastwards 1860-1869. Contains a great deal of new material on WA exploration collected over many decades. Much is not recorded in our libraries.

The Pilbarra Society.

This organisation, based at Hesperian, has been set up to concentrate on Pilbara history, its places, people, and potential. The iron ore industry has dominated the area for many decades but the history of the area since the 1860s is little known.

The characters and incidents are as interesting as that of the better known Kimberley and goldfields. Station, mine and town histories are needed and the society hopes to bring together those who can contribute to the subject.