Arnie: Pearls and Luggers in the Torres Strait (2021), jointly written by Lee Duffield with an older cousin, Arnie Duffield, is a biographical and historical treatment of life in Northern Australia. It was launched in September at the Queensland Maritime Museum where it also formed part of an exhibition on indigenous water craft including the sailing luggers. The book records the long life of Arnie Duffield in a vivid historical setting: the Great Depression, boom and bust in the pearl shell industry, the Japanese pearling fleet, ...

Tommy felt aware of the tingle of excitement making its way to the back of his scalp as he settled uneasily into the back seat of the car. It was smooth and a bit hot there, and made him dreamy. He had a feeling and he tried to put his finger on it. He discovered he was deadly bored, that was the feeling – but that couldn’t be right. He was having a busy day, a big day; he had something on his mind; he was doing something important; something important was happening, and he was still restless and bored.

Edward Bean was a bushman living outside Townsville in Northern Australia where the suburban sprawl had come all around his household. He became a noted local figure, of his own kind, in the semi-rural, semi-suburban life of that area. The bush, low country mainly, very grassy, was nearby.