Australian Fiction

Last week while jonesing for more secondhand books that I don't need I stumbled across a three-book volume by an Australian author called Ion Idriess. Ion was an author in the 1930s, 40s and 50s and was one of the bestselling authors of his day. I have a non-fiction book of his about diamonds (Stone of Destiny) and so I decided to pick up the set, which contained the books 'Silver City', 'Lightning Ridge' and 'The Desert Column'.
'Silver City' recounts the author's childhood in north-western New South Wales in the 1890s, culminating in his family's settlement at Broken Hill after the big lode was discovered. 'Lightning Ridge' picks up the story when Ion is old enough to go roving and heads to the opal-fields to become a 'gouger', or opal-miner. 'The Desert Column' is set several years later and recounts the author's experiences at Gallipoli and in the Palestine Campaign of WW1.
While I have struggled to read colonial fiction before (the sadistic 'For The Term Of His Natural Life' and the excrable 'Robbery Under Arms' being cases in point) Ion's work proved very different. I devoured the three volumes in a matter of days. I liked it so much that I decided to read Xavier Herbert's 'Capricornia' as soon as I could find a copy.
What was it about Idriess that struck a chord? The reality. There was no "beauty of the bush" arty soliloquising, and no overdone "we're all white Irish slaves banished to a life of the lash" moaning. It was a simple story told in simple language and, thank Hubbard, the words 'crikey' and 'strewth' do not appear anywhere. My previous excursions into Australian 'literature' had convinced me that unless your main character spoke like Alf Stewart then you just ain't got it, kid.
I'm actively on the hunt for more of Idriess' work now, particularly his major work 'Flynn Of The Inland' but also 'Nullabor Crossing', in which he proves that the Nullabor can be crossed in a tiny post-war Peugeot.
All in all, thank you Mr Idriess for restoring my faith in Australia historical fiction. It was looking a bit bullshit there for a while.