Mulga Madness: Old Hands, Smart Alecs and Gullible Blokes of the Australian Bush

Rex Ellis is a master of the ingenious leg pull, the laconic understatement, the often explosive climax. He draws on his experience as jackaroo, sheep station overseer and outback guide, to introduce us to ‘bushies’; the men and women from outback towns and stations, often folk of few words who will go a long way for a beer and a laugh, and whose oddities and eccentricities, made more marked by isolation, make them fair game for the story teller.This wiry little bushman reckons he has had his fair share of ‘mulga madness’ over the years, but it’s not a bad afflication to suffer from, in fact, it’s a very desirable disease, being more likely to prolong life than to shorten it. Mulga is a tough desert acacia [Acacia Aneura]. It covers more area than any other Australian tree.