Bush Tragedies (Paperback)

Award-winning journalist Bill Poulos delves deep into Australia’s turbulent and lawless past with this collection of stories recalling crimes, murders and tragedies that once made headlines around the nation.
His detailed research takes the reader into townships, settlements and the wide-open spaces of the outback where there is no escape from the shocking and often brutal events he vividly recreates.
Bush Tragedies throws a light on shocking events that occurred far from the big cities – tragedies that disrupted and divided tight knit communities in obscure towns and settlements.
The author takes us well beyond the bare facts of crime and punishment. Postscripts add fascinating backgrounds and outcomes to those involved – the cause and effect of the brutal deeds he describes.
Readers become observers at inquests and trials, even joining the witnesses at the gallows.
We are introduced to rogues and villains, their unfortunate victims, and the lawyers and judges who decide their fate.
This rollicking time capsule brings to life the truly appalling crimes and tragedies that horrified a nation all those years ago.
They are retold in graphic detail from start to finish, complete with the cut and thrust of cross-examinations by police and lawyers.
It can be a tragic world out there in the bush . . .
“Bush Tragedies is a meticulous, well researched work of brutal and sordid crimes. It is an incredible tribute to country law enforcement officers and judiciary ‘back in the day’.”
—Judith Flitcroft, author of Walk Back in Time
“A magnificent job of researching primary source material and bringing it together in a clear and succinct way. Bush Tragedies will amaze you, shock you and on occasions bring a tear to your eye.”
—Ken Price, author of Broken Lives and Kokoda Mist

Bill Poulos is a former freelance features and sports journalist based at Moree in north-western NSW. His passion is the thoroughbred racing industry, and he wrote extensively on this subject for numerous magazines, newspapers and websites across the eastern states of Australia for more than thirty-five years.Bill's research for a book on the history of horse-racing in north-western NSW was the reason Bush Tragedies serendipitously evolved - historical stories of crime, murder, misery and heartache kept dragging him away from the project at hand. Bill won the John Newfong Award for Outstanding Indigenous Affairs reporting at the 2016 NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in NSW Journalism and was also nominated for three Racing NSW Awards for Excellence in Media (2003, 2005 and 2010), winning in 2010. Bill lives in Moree with his wife Cindy and stepson Yang. Bill and Cindy own and manage a small business in Moree, and Bill writes every chance he gets.