Author(s): R. M. Williams; John Howard (Foreword by)

Australian Non-Fiction

Understand, then, that these chapters are concerned with the spirit of men and women from whom something of worth has shone out to make them worthy of record. You will note that the book is not of deeds, achievement, great honour; just that indefinable something that has no other name in our language but spirit... When Williams sold a handmade packsaddle to Sir Sidney Kidman for 5 pounds in 1933, he was in fact beginning one of the country's most highly successful manufacturing enterprises. The R. M. Williams label - famous for its sturdy riding boots, moleskins and oilskins - has since become beloved of country and city people alike. In I Once Met a Man, legendary Australian figure R. M. Williams tells wonderful stories of his most memorable encounters in the bush. From the rough riders to sideshow fighters, from the best woman drover in the west to a young English lady who raised her sons with their Aboriginal father's tribe, Williams recreates the characters he met in his harsh and hungry years spent on the road with a swag. This illustrated edition contains stunning photographs from leading Australian photographers taken in and around locations mentioned in R M's stories. It includes an introduction by former Prime Minister Mr John Howard and three new stories never before published.