Australia’s bush legends: the heroes, larrikins and adventurers who shaped the nation. Graham Seal. 2026.

Around the campfire and in the pub, and on the verandah on a long summer’s evening, the old folk like to tell stories about the extraordinary people from yesteryear. They are quirky, rugged, roguish, funny and sometimes inspirational characters, and in the bush even dogs and tractors can have personalities.

Master storyteller Graham Seal has spent his long career uncovering tales of Australia’s best known historical figures and plenty of others who live on in bush legend. He shares some of his favourites in this collection.

From Murray River pioneered Captain Cadel to the last bushranger, from the Afghan Prince to Bob the Railway Dog, from Lasseter’s undertaker to the Wild Woman, from the trickster Jacky Bindi-i to the formidable Daisy Bates, Australia’s Bush Legend carries us into the past, when transport was a horse, communication was a letter and neighbours were never strangers.